(ATR) The International Skateboarding Federation could be in hot water amid allegations that the WADA-approved governing body circumvented anti-doping procedures and openly allowed alcohol and drugs at sanctioned events.
Additionally, in a lawsuit being filed by the World Skateboarding Federation, the ISF is accused of providing favors to an IOC official that led to the WSF being ousted from the negotiating table.
World Skateboarding Federation president Tim McFerran tells Around the Rings that the International Skateboarding Federation and its president Gary Ream are not fit to serve as a governing body for the sport ahead of Tokyo 2020.
"We believe the lawsuit stands for itself and makes the claims which we believe we will prevail on," McFerran told ATR.
"We are seeking an injunction to keep Ream from assuming any responsibilities and that hearing is set for August 11 in Sacramento and we are confident of our position."
Skateboarding is one of the five sports the International Olympic Committee will vote on Wednesday for possible inclusion in the Tokyo Games. All five sports have been packaged together for the vote, so either all will make it or all will not.
"My goal has always been that if skateboarding is to be included in the 2020 Olympic Games it needs to be operated under principles of good governance, open, transparent processes, fundamental principles of fair play and good sportsmanship, and be fair to the entire skateboarding community, not just to benefit a few," McFerran said.
"There are thousands of skateboarders that have signed petitions and expressed loudly that they don’t want skateboarding in the Olympics for fear of corruption," McFerran added.
In a statement to ATR, Ream said "Throughout the entire process of working with the IOC and in its interest to add skateboarding to the Olympic Games, the International Skateboarding Federation has done so ethically and professionally."
Ream declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit or anything to do with the WSF.
The IOC would not comment on the lawsuit, other than to say it would not affect its decision on Wednesday.
According to a source at the WSF, ISF-sanctioned events, such as Tampa Pro, openly allowed alcohol and drugs as verified by social media posts. Many social media posts show alcohol and drug use during the actual competition.
The lawsuit claims ISF violated WADA standards by handpicking athletes who were tested, and notifying them ahead of time. It says the ISF conducted no tests after 2010, then unsuccessfully attempted to reinstate a testing program in 2015.
"I had always thought that WADA played an important role to make sure all competitors are equal as far as doping is concerned, but my own experience makes me question WADA’s ability to enforce compliance with its own code," McFerran said.
The lawsuit also alleges that ISF president Gary Ream struck up a friendly relationship with Christophe Dubi, the IOC Olympic Games executive director and provided Dubi's son with free training at a skateboarding camp he owned. It states that Ream hired a $5,000-a-month consultant who "was or is currently in a personal relationship with Dubi."
"It appears to me now that there has been some clandestine activities that have been hidden from WSF with people who have been scurrying around in the shadows trying to circumvent the agreement that we made in March," the ISF president said. "I had hoped the IOC was not involved but it seems that to some degree they were, or at least individuals within the IOC were."
In 2009, the ISF applied for and was granted WADA approval for drug testing in the sport. The lawsuit claims that this approval was based on false information provided by ISF president Ream to WADA, even though ISF has largely neglected the governing rules of WADA, including its drug testing requirements.
"The WADA issue is crazy," McFerran said. "We believe that ISF has utilized its WADA signatory status to gain favor with the IOC and certain groups within skateboarding at the same time seemingly ignoring or circumventing any compliance with WADA regulations or procedures."
Written by Brian Pinelli
Forgeneral comments or questions, click here.
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about theOlympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribersonly.
Últimas Noticias
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore
Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing
Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts
The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power
Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022
Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
