WADA said that going public with allegations compromises whistleblowers' protection.GETTY IMAGES
Whistleblowers in sport have been warned by WADA "not to go public with their information because they cannot be offered protection," according to Ben Bloom of the London TELEGRAPH. Whistleblowers have been "increasingly important in the fight against doping, with a number of Russian insiders at the heart of the allegations" that resulted in the nation being banned from some sports at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics and the entire Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. Evidence provided by 800m runner Yulia Stepanova and her husband, Vitaly, as well as former head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov, led to the exposure of the "doping scheme." Despite the impact of their information, the Stepanovs and Rodchenkov have fled to the U.S. "for fear of their lives." WADA President Craig Reedie said, "We will protect and defend [all whistleblowers'] interests. The problem comes when they themselves go into the public domain. Once that happens, it becomes difficult for us to offer good protection. They have now said it publicly" (TELEGRAPH, 2/8). REUTERS' Karolos Grohmann reported the Stepanovs and Rodchenkov are living in undisclosed locations and Russia has said that it plans to ask the U.S. to extradite Rodchenkov. WADA Dir General Olivier Niggli said, "It is our philosophy ... that whistleblowers should in the great majority of cases remain anonymous. They should not be the face of the investigation, precisely to protect them" (REUTERS, 2/8).
