★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ THE LATEST ≡
The World Anti-Doping Agency dropped its latest bomb in its war of words with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, responding to a letter from a group of European anti-doping agencies with a three-page blast at the USADA.
Friday’s letter, sent to USADA Board Chair Dr. Tobie Smith and not to chief executive Travis Tygart, repeats the long-standing WADA gripes against anti-doping in the U.S.:
● “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.”
● “The fact is 90% of American athletes compete outside the protection of the Code. Specifically, we are referring to the professional leagues and college sports. Of primary concern is the matter of college sports, which account for so many athletes who go on to compete at the very highest levels, including the Olympic Games.”
● “Mr. Tygart said [in 2020] he was concerned that foreign athletes were coming to the U.S. for ‘a doping vacation where they are subject to, I think, a pretty weak anti-doping program in the NCAA.’ It should be hugely concerning for USADA that so many top athletes are competing in a U.S. system that fails to protect their interests, their performances and, ultimately, their health. We are sure it horrifies you to know that top overseas athletes may be taking “doping vacations’ on U.S. soil.”
● “Generally, USADA’s overall testing performance is far from optimal. In 2023, according to its own figures, USADA collected just 7,773 samples from 3,011 athletes. This is a disappointing number when you consider the country’s population, high number of athletes and size of their Olympic team. With more than twice the budget, USADA collects fewer than half the number of samples as its counterpart in Germany.”
● “USADA’s record does not compare favorably up against its peers in other countries. Yet, to distract from these serious issues with the state of the U.S. antidoping system, USADA apparently tries to undermine U.S. athletes’ confidence in the integrity of their rivals overseas.”
The letter, from WADA President Witold Banka (POL) and Director-General Olivier Niggli (SUI) closed with a reversal of what Tygart has been calling for from WADA:
“More generally, athletes of the U.S. and their opponents all over the world deserve better protection and support. Therefore, WADA is calling for root and branch reforms of the anti-doping system within the U.S, especially when it comes to college sports.”
This is almost funny, but it’s not.
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency head Tygart responded quickly with a dismissal of the latest WADA attack:
“It is sad to see current WADA leaders stoop so low as to attack U.S. college and pro athletes. With the full Cottier Report [on the 2021 Chinese doping incident] due for release on Thursday, this latest attempt at deflection is telling.
“WADA leaders are obviously running scared to resort to such despicable actions to deflect from their own failure to do their job as the global regulator in the handling of the 23 positive Chinese TMZ cases. Where is the accountability for WADA leadership’s decisions?
“The reality is that U.S. Olympic athletes are covered by both the USADA and NCAA programs. If WADA leadership bothered looking into all the data, not just the pieces that serve its agenda, it would know that 100% of U.S. NCAA athletes who competed at the Paris Olympic Games were tested by USADA in 2024.
“USADA has also worked closely with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) over the past several years to encourage the NCAA to advance their program. Unfortunately, the over-the-top attacks today by WADA leaders have probably completely undermined that effort. And if there was any doubt before, this latest attack is a perfect example of why U.S. college and pro sports would want nothing to do with WADA.”
Observed: WADA’s letter does nothing to advance their case, but shows that the leadership is smart enough to lay off heavy criticism of U.S. professional leagues and their doping programs.
In those cases – Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA, NHL and others – the athlete voice is real, in the form of a formalized union, which negotiates its terms of employment – including anti-doping – directly with the team owners. This is the real athlete voice in action, not an “athletes commission” which has some input and a minority vote.
WADA would do well to stay from the U.S. pro leagues entirely, because its version of the “athlete voice” is barely a shadow of the status of American major-league athletes.
As for the NCAA, WADA may be wasting its time; it’s not clear that intercollegiate athletics as currently known will even exist by the time of LA28.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 547-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!