Brennan: Nike knows Lance Armstrong did it

• Nike knows. Lance did it. Otherwise, it would still be standing by him
• It's also revealing and noteworthy for everyone else, a day that should go down in sports history
• Nike's announcement came just a few minutes after Armstrong resigned as chairman of Livestrong

If anyone still believes Lance Armstrong didn't cheat and didn't take drugs, you are now officially notified that he did. You don't have to take the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's word for it, or all his fellow cyclists', or the mountains of evidence against him – just take Nike's.

Nike knows. Lance did it.

That's why it dumped him this morning. If the company wasn't so sure, it would still be standing by him.

When Nike drops an athlete, you know he or she has done something terribly, irreparably wrong. That's because it has supported, defended and continued to pay all kinds of athletes in trouble, among them Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Ben Roethlisberger and Brett Favre.

But this morning, Nike released a stunning statement, saying it has been "misled" by Armstrong:

"Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him. Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner."

What a morning this is. It's sad and tragic for the millions of cancer survivors, victims and their families whom he deceived for more than a decade, those who hoped and prayed he was telling the truth because he was such an icon to them.

It's also revealing and noteworthy for everyone else, a day that should go down in sports history as the moment we found out the truth about a man far bigger than sports, a man who in many ways symbolizes the early part of the 21st century with his triumphs, his bravado, and now his ultimate downfall.

Nike's announcement came just a few minutes after Armstrong resigned as chairman of his own Livestrong charity. How the dominoes fell this morning. By resigning, the combative, self-centered and extremely self-assured former seven-time Tour de France winner acknowledged that something was in fact wrong. A thousand defiant denials, a hundred squashed enemies, a lifetime of lawyers and public-relations experts – and now, finally, this:

Armstrong quits as chairman of Livestrong. He stepped down a week after USADA released its massive report alleging one of the most widespread and long-running acts of deception in our culture's modern history, and a few days before the charity celebrates what it had been hoping would be a festive 15th anniversary.

So much for that. The high-profile foundation that supports cancer patients in Armstrong's name has never been in more trouble than it is this morning, and neither has its namesake. For weeks or months or years -- depending on how long you chose to believe that Armstrong was the only clean superstar in the most-drug-infested sport on earth – Armstrong hoped he could deceive all of us with his compelling story of recovering from cancer, and the notion that he and he alone should not be subject to any of the long-established rules of international sports drug punishment.

He still hasn't told us the truth, but this morning, Nike has done it for him.