WADA Athletes Protest Russia Reinstatement

(ATR) WADA vice president and members of its athletes’ commission criticize a compromise deal plan to reinstate Russia's Anti-Doping Agency.

Last week, WADA issued a statement that its compliance review committee would recommend that RUSADA be reinstated at this week's executive committee meeting in the Seychelles.

Piling pressure on the WADA leadership, its vice-president Linda Helleland backed the athletes’ stance, telling the BBC on Tuesday that she is opposed to Russia’s reinstatement and "will vote against" the country’s readmission on Thursday.

"I can see that progress is being made and I acknowledge the efforts done by Rusada, but as long as the McLaren report is not acknowledged and Wada still has no access to the laboratories, I will vote against the reinstatement of Russia," the WADA presidential hopeful was quoted by the BBC.

"I am in no doubt that the tabled proposal is deviating considerably from the original roadmap and hence I feel I am obliged to defend previous decisions at the Wada ExCo. This is one of the most critical decisions the anti-doping community has ever faced."

In a collective statement, also published Tuesday, the group of seven – among 17 members of the athletes’ commission – said they are strongly against the reinstatement of Russia "until all the conditions of the roadmap have been met".

On the basis that Russia had not accepted the findings of the McLaren reports or provided access to the thousands of samples stored in the Moscow laboratory and electronic data, the country should still be deemed non compliant. RUSADA was suspended in November 2015 over the state-sponsored dopimg scandal revealed in a bombshell WADA report.

"It is for RUSADA to be compliant, not for Wada to change its conditions to make Rusada compliant," the athletes said in the four-paragraph statement

"It should not be possible to commit the biggest doping scandal of the 21st century, then be reinstated without completing the conditions set.

"Any compromise on the roadmap will be a devastating blow to clean athletes and clean sport."

United States Olympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland said in a statement that if athletes do not have confidence in any WADA decision, then it will be a "huge disappointment" to the Olympic and Paralympic movement.

"We hope that WADA can reach a conclusion on RUSADA that will give athletes a firm belief that when they compete, it will be on a level playing field, without any doubts," Hirshland said. "Anything that stops short of satisfying that will not only be a huge disappointment to the USOC and American athletes, but to the entire Olympic and Paralympic movements."

When asked by Around the Rings to respond to the statements critical of the apparent compromise deal hatched with Russian authorities, WADA president Craig Reedie declined to address their specific concerns.

"We have a proper process. We will debate this properly on Thursday," he told ATR.

WADA faces a landmark decision on Thursday that will set the course in the global fight against doping. Critics say bringing Russia back to the fold will undermine the cause and leave WADA’s reputation in tatters.

The Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations (iNADO), representing anti-doping bodies in more than 60 countries, says any deal in Russia’s favor would be an unacceptable compromise.

"Based on the letters exchanged by Russia and WADA, any reasonable person would conclude that Russia has not yet fulfilled its obligations to the global sporting community," it said in a statement.

"WADA must make its decisions based on consistent application of principles and not simply out of expedience pandering to the will of a powerful nation."

iNADO said WADA’s leaders were on Thursday being asked to consider "a last minute and hastily prepared recommendation" to bring Russia back into the fold.

"Given the many months of prior silence it is hard not to be cynical that a proposal, based on weakened terms to accommodate Russia, comes before ExCo at the eleventh hour," the statement said, adding that ExCo members were not being given adequate time to consult with those they represented for "perhaps the most crucial decision WADA has ever faced".

The global group of anti-doping organizations demanded that WADA "adhere to the principles of good governance" and called for the decision to be postponed.

"The Code provides no opportunity for those bound (notably athletes) to negotiate changes in the wording of the Code to suit their purpose. The Code stands and must be adhered to and so should the road map for compliance," the statement said.

"It is time for a well-considered position that reinforces WADA’s role as an unbending supporter of the rights of clean athletes."

Homepage photo: Flickr

Reported by Mark Bisson

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