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≡ USADA vs. WADA ≡
On 6 September, the World Anti-Doping Agency sent a three-page letter to the Board Chair of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Dr. Tobie Smith, complaining vociferously about its performance, noting a letter from the Central European Anti-Doping Organization (CEADO):
“The letter expresses alarm that athletes competing at a very high level, such as within the college sports system and professional leagues, do not receive the protection of the Code and are not bound by its provisions. In addition, the signatories to the letter appeared to be concerned that the U.S. was sending athletes to major events, such as the Olympic Games and World Championships, without being sufficiently tested in advance.”
On Tuesday, USADA made public two letters, a two-page reply from Smith and a six-page roasting from USADA chief executive Travis Tygart, ripping WADA for a variety of misstatements and abuse.
Smith’s letter to WADA President Witold Banka (POL) included:
● “[W]e have repeatedly offered to meet with you and even offered to have others from sport and/or the anti-doping community join in such a meeting, but you continue to refuse. Your rejection of dialogue in favor of a steadfast campaign of division shows the lengths you will go to avoid answering basic questions about your failed handling of the 23 Chinese TMZ positives [from January 2021].”
● “What we now clearly see is that your defamatory letter in September was not merely an attempt to undermine the credibility of USADA and Travis Tygart but also a baseless and false attack on the integrity of U.S. athletes and their athletic accomplishments. It is difficult to reconcile your actions with your background as a former athlete and your current responsibility to lead the global fight for clean sport. The Olympic and Paralympic movements, and all athletes, deserve a higher standard of leadership and integrity.”
● “Your letter reflects not just a misunderstanding, but what appears to be an intentional misrepresentation of the U.S. sports system which has caused harm to USADA and to U.S. athletes. …
“[T]the CEADO Chair directly and through the NADO [Expert Advisory Group] has now engaged in an informed, fact-based discussion, bringing to light the extent of the falsehoods in CEADO’s letter to you, which we now understand was prompted by WADA. The baseless and defamatory claims outlined in your letter and the CEADO letter are being revealed for what they are – a politically motivated diversion to undermine the credibility of USADA and to attempt to weaken trust in the U.S. sports governance at the very time the world is demanding answers from you as to why you allowed China to violate the rules.”
The 2,827-word reply from Tygart pulled no punches and noted:
“When you eventually responded to our requests for dialogue, you declined offers of collaboration, and you mischaracterized our statements, pursued a costly and unfounded lawsuit against USADA, and sought to exclude Dr. [Rahul] Gupta, the White House Director and the duly elected representative of the America’s region to the WADA Executive Committee, from discussions on the failures of WADA outlined in the Cottier report based on a bad-faith ethics complaint, which you later agreed to withdraw. While you state in your September 6, 2024 letter that you stand ready to collaborate, your actions indicate otherwise, which is regrettable for the collective efforts to support clean athletes and to strengthen the global anti-doping movement.
“It is concerning that significant time and resources, including U.S. taxpayer funds, are being directed toward ongoing criticisms and unfounded, defamatory statements about the United States, USADA, and U.S. athletes. These efforts to create a false narrative are both evident and counterproductive. Your decision not to engage with the U.S. Congress, German Bundestag, and the Council of Europe has raised concerns, and your continued efforts to discredit the United States only further damages WADA and the credibility of the global anti-doping system.
“It is unfortunate that the political and legal efforts devoted to casting aspersions on the United States, USADA, and U.S. athletes was not directed toward ensuring that all nations, including China, played by the rules. Your letter, which was publicly released as it was being sent to USADA Board Chair Dr. Tobie Smith, came as an unexpected surprise. It is fair to say that both she and our entire Board found your actions deeply concerning and unacceptable.”
Tygart went on to state that the CEADO letter was not only initiated by WADA, but that some of the members of CEADO did not authorize it. And Tygart focused on WADA’s own actions that were the genesis of the continuing war of words between the organizations:
“It has become evident that the United States has been singled out for seeking accountability regarding WADA’s lack of enforcement of its own rules following the positive tests of 23 elite-level Chinese swimmers for a powerful performance enhancer in the lead-up to the 2021 Games. Leveraging these NADOs to support a strategy of division and retaliation runs counter to the kind of leadership essential for strengthening the global anti-doping system.
“Equally as disappointing, the defamatory letter WADA published is riddled with falsehoods and gross mischaracterizations. Your claim that ‘90% of American athletes compete outside the protection of the Code’ is unfounded and lacks any factual basis. This figure appears to have been created for effect, as no evidence supports it. In fact, millions of athletes are under the jurisdiction of the World Anti-Doping Code in the United States. And all U.S. college athletes competing at the elite Olympic level are fully subject to the WADA Code. At this summer’s Paris Olympic Games, one hundred percent (100%) of U.S. college athletes who participated were tested in accordance with the WADA Code. Your unfounded statements can only be explained as another deliberate misrepresentation aimed at diverting attention from WADA’s own failings and advancing your agenda of division.”
Tygart also went after WADA’s criticism of the volume of testing done by USADA, which it called “far from optimal.” Tygart slammed back:
“[Y]our letter’s characterization of USADA’s testing numbers relies on inaccurate comparisons and flawed assumptions. Specifically, WADA has referenced USADA’s total budget, including funding from non-Olympic and non-Paralympic sport programs, while only accounting for testing numbers from our Olympic and Paralympic programs.
“You conveniently left out over 6,000 of our tests, leading to a deceitful representation of our efforts and the testing of U.S. athletes. If a proper apples-to-apples comparison was made-considering our full· budget alongside our comprehensive testing numbers and types of tests relative to others-it would be clear that your statements are false and misleading.”
Finally, Tygart made no doubt about where he places blame for all of the conflict:
“It is profoundly regrettable that USADA’s strong and collaborative relationship with prior WADA leadership, which spearheaded innovative and creative tactics in the fight against doping, has changed so drastically.”
Observed: Although there had been signals that communications had improved, the temperature is not going down between USADA and WADA and this is regrettable. Eventually, there has to be some discussion between the two, and WADA is continuing to move forward with a revision of possible penalties for World Anti-Doping Code signatories who have not paid agreed-upon dues.
That’s aimed partly at Russia and partly at the U.S. Relations between WADA and the Biden Administration have been better than they were with the Trump Administration from 2017-21, but Trump is on the way back to the White House in January.
This could get ugly, to the benefit of absolutely no one, and places U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Chair and new International Olympic Committee member Gene Sykes in the difficult role of being the man-in-the-middle, at least for now.
Happy holidays?
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