The world's leading players' associations unveiled a universal declaration of player rights on Thursday "designed to give athletes a global voice and protect them from the fallout from corruption and a broken anti-doping system." The World Players Association represents more than 85,000 athletes from 60 countries, with member unions including FIFPro, the NFL and the NBA (REUTERS, 12/14).
Former Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) President Brian Cookson has "come under fire" after admitting that he knew of Chris Froome's adverse analytical finding for salbutamol before he gave an interview to the BBC saying that he felt "the reputation for the sport, the reputation of the team [Sky] and the reputation of the rider Bradley Wiggins should be reinstated." When news of Froome's failed test emerged, Cookson said that he had "no role or influence" in how Froome’s case had been handled (London TELEGRAPH, 12/16).
Canadian Women's Gymnastics Team Dir David Brubaker was "arrested and charged in court with 10 counts of sexual crimes," police said. Gymnastics Canada said in a statement that Brubaker was on administrative leave. It said that it was "shocked and deeply troubled" by the charges (REUTERS, 12/16).
A group of Japanese lawmakers promoting sports has drawn up a bill to ban doping in sports "in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games." The bill requires the government to "foster experts on doping tests and promote related research and development," sources familiar with the matter said (JIJI PRESS, 12/17).
