The World Anti-Doping Agency was accused on Wednesday of "failing clean athletes, being soft on Russian doping" and "bullying and disheartening" those arguing for reform in an extraordinary emergency summit at the White House, according to Sean Ingle of the London GUARDIAN. The event, which was attended by athletes, sports ministers and multiple national anti-doping organizations, also condemned WADA for its decision to lift the suspension on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency in September. And, "in a significant development," the U.S. -- a country that provides $4.5M toward WADA's annual budget of $34M -- said that "nothing was off the table" if the organization did not reform. One of the "most powerful speeches of the day" came from British Gold Medal-winning cyclist Callum Skinner, who said, "Who and what does WADA and the IOC truly represent? The number one answer should be the athletes. But what have we got? Two bodies that suppress the athlete voice, treating it with disdain and dismissing it as misinformed when they should be applauding athlete debate and engagement. ... No one knows sport better than the athletes. It's about time the leaders of the IOC and WADA remember who they serve. But accountability, transparency and independence unfortunately is not the status quo." American 800m runner Alysia Montaño "burst into tears" as she recounted how she finished fifth at the London 2012 Olympics behind two Russians who subsequently were revealed to have cheated. The 32‑year‑old is yet to find out whether she will be upgraded to Bronze. Ireland Minister for Sport Shane Ross accused WADA of "betraying its own principles" by allowing Russia "back in from the cold." U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart described the summit as being as "monumental as the decision to form WADA in 1999." Tygart: "The time of it being business as usual with WADA being a puppet of the IOC has to stop." Tygart said that while he "firmly" supports a global regulator in the fight against doping, WADA needs to "heed the growing number of voices calling for reform" (GUARDIAN, 10/31). The BBC reported WADA said that it was not invited to the summit "but this claim was later dismissed" by Tygart. He said, "Athletes shouldn't have to shoulder the burden of fixing WADA but here they are, along with national anti-doping leaders, doing WADA's job for them. Today was the tipping point." After the summit, a statement listed reforms that WADA needs to undertake, which are:
- Governing and operating "in a respectful, accountable, democratic and transparent manner."
- Including athletes as full voting members on its exec committee and in other "essential governance functions."
- A "robust independent inquiry" to examine WADA's culture, leadership, and operations following the recent allegations of bullying and acts of intimidation at WADA.
- A "significant and meaningful overhaul" of WADA whereby individuals with active roles in sport "must not simultaneously serve in leadership positions" at WADA.
- An "open and transparent process regarding securing all of the anti-doping samples and laboratory data in Russia," with a recommendation immediately after the Dec. 31 deadline for compliance (BBC, 10/31).
'ONLY ONE SIDE': INSIDE THE GAMES' Liam Morgan reported WADA criticized the emergency anti-doping summit as "one-sided" and confirmed it was not invited to the meeting in any official capacity. WADA VP Linda Helleland was among those in attendance. However, she was not representing WADA and was not on official business for the organization at the meeting. WADA claims "only those who disagreed with the reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency were invited to the summit." WADA said in a statement, "If WADA President Sir Craig Reedie, other Executive Committee members, athletes or others that were supportive of the decision had been invited, they would have been able to bring perspective to the debate" (INSIDE THE GAMES, 10/31).
'PATENTLY UNTRUE': REUTERS' Alan Baldwin reported Reedie "hit back at his critics" on Thursday and said that he will not be resigning. Reedie "bridled at comments" by Tygart calling for him to step down and suggesting having an IOC member at the helm was "the fox guarding the henhouse." Reedie said, "It's patently untrue. It's a phrase that has been used against people from the International Olympic Committee who are involved with WADA and it ignores reality. I find it quite honestly offensive. Travis Tygart ... should not have used it." Reedie added that he will serve to the end of his second term, which expires next year. Reedie: "Nobody in WADA is telling me that I am not performing well, nobody in the IOC is telling me, so why should I resign?" (REUTERS, 11/1).
