Washington, June 2 : American television network CBS has rejected a legal demand for an apology after claiming that former professional road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong was a drug cheat.

CBS has stood by its ‘60 Minutes’ report in which Armstrong’s former teammate Tyler Hamilton claimed that the seven-time Tour de France winner used a banned substance.

Armstrong’s lawyers had demanded an on-air apology for the investigation broadcast on May 22. Hamilton had said that Armstrong tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug Erythropoietin (EPO) at the 2001 Tour de Suisse.

“60 Minutes stands by its story as truthful, accurate and fair,” CBS News Chairman and 60 Minutes Producer Jeff Fager said in a statement.

“Lance Armstrong and his lawyers were given numerous opportunities to respond to every detail of our reporting for weeks prior to the broadcast and their written responses were fairly and accurately included in the story.”

“Armstrong still has not addressed charges by teammates Tyler Hamilton and George Hincapie that he used performance enhancing drugs with them,” he added.

Armstrong’s lawyers had earlier claimed that Hamilton’s accusations were “incorrect, false and broadcast in error.”

“A record of all positive tests recorded during that race demonstrates that Armstrong did not test positive. Had there been a positive test, it would be easy to prove,” the lawyers wrote in a letter to Fager. (ANI)