On the evening of August 7, local time, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), headquartered in Montreal, Canada, issued a statement in response to a report earlier in the day, which revealed that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has allowed doping athletes to compete for many years, and at least one case has never been announced or sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations, which directly violates the World Anti-Doping Code and United States Anti-Doping Agency's own rules.
△ The official website of the World Anti-Doping Agency issued a statement
The U.S. agency has violated it many times
World Anti-Doping Code
The WADA statement said United States Anti-Doping Agency's practice of allowing athletes who have taken doping to participate in the competition is a clear violation of WADA rules designed to protect the integrity of athletic competition. The International Anti-Doping Agency (IADA) has not approved the practice of United States Anti-Doping Agency allowing doping athletes to compete for years.
Carl · Lewis, a nine-time Olympic gold medalist in United States, has admitted that despite testing positive three times before the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he was eventually "left on the net." Athens Olympic 100m champion Justin · Gatlin was twice tested positive and should be punished with a lifetime ban, but USADA "tried to exonerate" him and finally shortened the ban to four years.
△ Athens Olympic 100m champion Justin · Gatlin
In addition to the published cases, WADA is now aware of at least three cases in which athletes who have committed serious anti-doping violations have been allowed to continue playing for many years, and who have also been used as informants by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. The United States Anti-Doping Agency has not notified WADA of these practices, and neither the WADA Rules nor the United States' own rules have any provision permitting such practices.
A number of U.S. banned athletes have not been punished
As a member of the United States Olympic track and field team, Eriyan · Knighton was tested positive for steroids (trenbolone) during a doping test on March 26 this year. But the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) made a sudden decision before the start of the domestic qualifiers for the Paris Olympics, claiming that Knighton's positive result was caused by the athlete's consumption of contaminated meat, deciding not to impose a ban on him and allowing him to eventually represent the United States at the Paris Olympics.
△ Knightton, a member of the United States Olympic track and field team, was found positive for steroids (trenbolone) during a doping out-of-competition test on March 26 this year
In addition, in April, United States track and field athlete Aldridge · Bailly tested positive for the androgen receptor modulator oseltatralin, which USADA determined was due to contamination of the neoprene thigh compression sleeves used by athletes. The facts show that oseltat is not a common pollutant.
The WADA statement cited a case in which an athlete who had competed in Olympic qualifiers and international events in the United States admitted to taking steroids and erythropoietin (EPO) but was allowed to continue competing until he retired. The cases were never published, the results of the athletes involved were never cancelled, the prize money was never refunded, and there was never a ban. Athletes are allowed to compete against unsuspecting athletes as if they had never been doped.
Afterwards, when the United States Anti-Doping Agency acknowledged these practices to WADA, it claimed that any announcement of consequences or cancellation of results would jeopardize the safety of athletes, and asked WADA to agree not to disclose the case. In this helpless situation, WADA had no choice but to agree. As a result, the issue of doping in this athlete has never been made public.
Athletes compete against cheaters
Undermining fairness endangers security
United States athlete Gil · Roberts, who won gold in the 4x400m relay at the Rio Olympics, received a "pardon" from USADA in 2017 for posing positive for doping caused by kissing with his girlfriend. However, Roberts was again found to have taken illegal drugs in 2022 and was sentenced to a 16-month ban. Just eight months after his comeback in 2023, Roberts was sentenced to an eight-year ban for positing positive for doping. Athletes who have repeatedly violated the rules have repeatedly returned to the field of play to compete with other athletes, and the fairness of sports competitions has been seriously undermined.
△ Gil · Roberts
The WADA statement says how other athletes would feel if they knew they were playing against someone the United States Anti-Doping Agency allowed to cheat on drugs? Ironically, the United States Anti-Doping Agency, hypocritically suspecting that other anti-doping agencies were not strictly complying with the rules, has not published doping cases for years and allowed cheaters to continue playing, in the hope that these cheaters will help the United States catch other athletes who may have violated the rules.
WADA wonders whether the United States Congress, which governs or funds the United States Anti-Doping Agency, was aware of the non-compliant practices. This practice not only undermines the fairness of sports competitions, but also endangers the safety of the athletes involved.
▌Source of this article: CCTV News