The lawyer who represented Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova in her '14 doping case "has described as ill-informed rival athletes who question her place at the Games" and those pushing for "mandatory lifetime bans for anyone who tests positive to a prohibited substance," according to Chip Le Grand of THE AUSTRALIAN. L.A. sports law expert Howard Jacobs said that there was "a disconnect between the findings of the FINA anti-doping panel that judged Efimova’s case and the comments and actions of swimmers such as American Lilly King." Jacobs said that "a renewed push to introduce life bans for first-time anti-doping offenders would either be blocked" by WADA or thrown out by the courts. He said, "Most athletes who call for a lifetime ban for a first offense for anti-doping really haven't thought it through." Jacobs recently appeared before the Court of Arbitration for Sport on behalf of Russian track and field athletes banned from competing in Rio. He added, "It is easy to say that someone who dopes or cheats should be banned for life but the devil is in the detail. What does doping really mean and what does cheating really mean? There are a whole lot of inadvertent positives and to call for a lifetime ban for somebody who makes an understandable mistake is crazy. It also ignores that lifetime bans for first offenses would be completely unenforceable in court" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/12).
