Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – US Anti-Doping Agency chief executive officer Travis T. Tygart criticized World Anti-Doping Agency officials on Tuesday over plans to change testing at major events, allowing sport federations a greater role. WADA unveiled ideas for change among 19 recommendations in a report by its Working Group on National Anti-Doping Organizations Operational Independence (WGOI).
“It has been reported that some stakeholders, including athletes, perceive that there’s a potential conflict of interest where a NADO (national anti-doping organization) is solely responsible for doping control for its country’s international-level athletes,” the report said. “It’s therefore important to consider whether this perception may be overcome by putting in place mechanisms that mitigate the perceived risk, with a view to strengthening the overall anti-doping system and stakeholder trust, particularly amongst athletes.”
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Among the ideas would be having international sport federations play a larger role in anti-doping measures, which drew Tygart’s ire. “WADA leaders’ intent to push aside truly independent national anti-doping organizations and hand control back to sport and sport service providers at major events is a dangerous step backwards and risks compromising the fairness of major events and athletes’ right to fair competition,” Tygart said in a statement.
“Dressing this up as progress is an attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of clean athletes, fans, and the public who deserve real independence, real accountability, and a system that protects them — not one that protects sport from scrutiny and the global anti-doping watchdog from accountability.” Tygart also noted a Monday letter by Sara Carter, director of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, that worried WADA would diminish NADOs and undercut confidence in doping tests before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Carter urged WADA to reject any use of the WGOI Report as a springboard to major changes in the global anti-doping program. Tygart called the plans “another slap in the face by WADA leadership to all athletes who commit to competing clean and nations that enforce the rules consistently and fairly.”
The report’s 19th recommendation was to deal with anti-doping groups from a host nation deal with their own nation’s athletes. It would define roles for sport federations and event organizers in the doping control program, with the national anti-doping program not involved or contract to develop or monitor testing plans or selection of athletes for testing, test administration, and results. “Rather, these functions will be carried out by an independent, non-partisan body, removing the possibility of an actual or perceived conflict of interest or bias,” the report said.
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