An Unjust System

Strict liability. That phrase was burned into my mind as a teenager entering the world of elite cycling. It means that an athlete is ultimately responsible for anything and everything that is absorbed by your body, intentionally or not. An outright prohibited substance or method, a contaminated substance, or even an accidental ingestion, it doesn’t matter because the fault fell upon the athlete. That was the world I was entering, and those were the rules. Full stop. 

The burden of proof of innocence also falls to the athlete should they fail a test. Yes, they have the option to have their sample retested; they have the option to file appeals; they have the option to hire a team of lawyers, doctors, and scientists; they have the option to have a pharmacokinetic conducted to clear their name… all at their expense. An athlete without or with little means does not have that option. Example: Chris Froome’s adverse analytical finding of salbutamol. Other athletes have received severe sanctions for the same offense, but Froome and Sky- a rider and team with an estimated worth of £11 million, and £30 million a year budget respectively-were able to all of the aforementioned steps. No sanction. The rules are not applied equitably across the board.

This is indicative of a system that prioritizes money and politics over the athletes they claim to serve. 

The IOC passed-the-buck before Rio allowing individual IFs to impose sanctions and only the IAAF, IWF, and IPC took a principled stand to protect the rights of their clean athletes. I was never prouder to be a Paralympian than when the IPC stood on the side of their athletes. The IOC, in contrast, shirked responsibility and wilted in the face of pressure. They had a chance to stand up for athletes and walk-the-walk yet they chose not to. Again, illustrating a disinterest in the athletes. 

I believed in the WADA though. They conducted the original investigations into the state-sponsored doping programin Russia. They seemed to have a backbone and it seemed that their leadership believed in the athletes they served. The WADA’s decision to bend their own rules to allow Russia back in is a slap in the face. At no other time in the history of anti-doping have athletes been allowed to renegotiate their applied sanctions to participate sooner. They seem to be going the way of the IOC- putting money and politics over the needs of clean athletes.

Last week’s decision to reinstate Russia, despite not meeting the defined terms in the roadmap, is simultaneously bewildering and predictable. The process leading up to the reinstatement was conducted behind closed doors, and in back alleys. It is yet another disservice to those who want- and believe in- an athlete-centric system. Nothing was transparent. Information was only shared after a leak and public pressure was put on the WADA. Clearly, they have no interest in transparency as their actions repeatedly illustrate. How are we to believe that they will work in our best interests again?

The WADA president, Craig Reedie, admonished athletes for speaking out after this reversal was confirmed. He wanted athletes to stop complaining and offer alternative options to reinstatement. This is a cheap and insulting deflection. Athletes resoundingly spoke up with the desired alternative: stick to the roadmap. Do not reinstate. Full stop. Athletes don’t get a pass or a do-over; athletes receive a sanction and cannot return until the terms are met. This is the equitable treatment athletes demanded. And yet again, it’s difficult to see anything but politics rising above athletes yet again. 

My personal outrage is not about the Russian athletes, many of whom, I’m sure, were put in impossible positions, but about the process and the system. This reversal is a crushing blow to clean sport and the athletes who are supposedly crucial to the system. 

So what now? It certainly seems that the fight is an unrelenting one. Despite that, I truly believe that if passionate athletes and good-hearted people who cherish sport and its values continue to fight, we will eventually prevail. It has been tempting to resign from my position on the WADA AC yet as in sport, I’m not going to throw in the towel. The governance of sport must be changed; it must contain more athletes at national and international levels. Athletes, and athlete advocates, must remain strong and loud in the face of powers who wish to silence and reject them. Each person who speaks out against an unfair system and the prioritization of politics over athletes is helping. We can chip away at the mountain of injustice facing us until, eventually, it crumbles, and clean athletes will have a clear path forward.