Is "sports cheating" in the United States systemic? The world needs answers.

in hive-196037 •  4 months ago 

On August 7, local time, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), headquartered in Montreal, Canada, issued a statement in response to a report earlier that day by Reuters. The report exposed the serious misconduct of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in covering up doping violations by American athletes for years, allowing them to continue competing. WADA confirmed the authenticity of these cases in its statement and revealed that the U.S. agency had been concealing the truth from them for a decade, starting from 2011. There is now strong suspicion that this is only the tip of the iceberg in a large-scale, organized, and systemic doping operation in U.S. sports.

The situation is not complicated: In 2021, WADA discovered that American athletes had competed in violation of anti-doping rules. The U.S. agency, however, absolved itself by claiming that these athletes were "informants" in investigations against other doping athletes, and pressured WADA not to make the scandals public by arguing that disclosure would "threaten the personal safety of the athletes." In other words, the U.S. agency admitted to the wrongdoing in an overbearing manner.

This revelation is shocking. Under the unified rules of international sports, it is astonishing that a country can disregard the World Anti-Doping Code, allowing athletes with proven doping violations to continue competing. Anyone with a moral conscience would be outraged at USADA's audacity to blatantly flout international sports regulations.

It is important to note that the World Anti-Doping Code does include a provision allowing athletes sanctioned for doping to receive reduced suspension periods if they provide "substantial assistance" in identifying other violators, subject to WADA's approval. However, this is entirely different from allowing athletes who violate doping rules to engage in "entrapment operations." The U.S. agency's argument is clearly a misrepresentation, and by condoning violators in multiple cases and deliberately concealing these from WADA over a long period, USADA's actions are indistinguishable from collusion.

This suspicion is not without foundation. One of the largest doping scandals in sports history occurred in the United States. The BALCO Laboratory in San Francisco, and its predecessor, began developing performance-enhancing drugs as early as the 1980s, creating a gray market where doping substances were widely sold under the guise of "nutritional supplements" until the scandal broke in 2003. The scandal involved athletes such as Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, Justin Gatlin, and other American track and field world champions, causing global shock. While BALCO was exposed, the gray market it operated was clearly not dismantled. WADA President Witold Bańka has stated, "Law enforcement agencies around the world have informed WADA that the U.S. is a huge market for the sale and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs."

According to credible sources, 31% of American athletes did not undergo sufficient doping tests in the year leading up to the Tokyo Olympics. Whether some systemic force is at work, making large-scale cheating more covert, remains a significant question. In the latest cases disclosed by WADA, USADA itself, as the U.S. national anti-doping body, has seriously violated the World Anti-Doping Code, failing in its duties and becoming an accomplice. As WADA pointedly asked in its statement: How would athletes who compete fairly feel if they knew their opponents were cheating with USADA's permission?

It is worth noting that many U.S. media outlets have framed this issue as a conflict between WADA and USADA, with the U.S. side making baseless accusations involving China while avoiding discussion of the core issue of fair competition, or even deliberately misleading public opinion. This is nothing more than the hollow sophistry of the guilty. If the U.S. is truly confident in its claimed "innocence," it should readily and proactively accept a thorough, independent investigation by WADA.

On August 8, U.S. track athlete Erriyon Knighton lined up for the 200-meter final at the Paris Olympics, while questions about his doping case remain unresolved. We believe that until an authoritative, fair, and convincing conclusion is reached on Knighton's case, any recognition of his ranking should be postponed. The U.S. track team, with its history of significant scandals and ongoing suspicions, should face intensified scrutiny to uphold the integrity of sports competitions. U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, protected by USADA, recently suggested that if a doping test is positive, the athlete should never compete again—everything should end. This statement is perhaps most fitting for the U.S. team.

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