Current:Home > NewsAmerican Olympic officials' shameful behavior ignores doping truth, athletes' concerns -WealthSphere Pro
American Olympic officials' shameful behavior ignores doping truth, athletes' concerns
View
Date:2025-04-15 01:35:49
PARIS — The two press conferences were separated by just one floor and 90 minutes Wednesday in the Main Press Center, but they might as well have been worlds apart.
In one, Katie Ledecky, the greatest female swimmer the world has seen, was once again speaking out on behalf of clean athletes in the wake of the Chinese doping controversy, which is headed right to the pool deck in the Olympic swimming competition that begins Saturday.
“I hope everyone here (in Paris) is going to be competing clean this week,” she said. “But what really matters also is were they training clean? Hopefully, that’s been the case. Hopefully, there’s been even testing around the world. I think everyone’s heard what the athletes think. They want transparency. They want further answers to the questions that still remain.”
In the other press conference, U.S. officials including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Sarah Hirshland, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO, were trying to explain the inexplicable: how they caved to the demands of International Olympic Committee members who apparently are afraid of being subpoenaed or even arrested when they enter the United States due to an FBI investigation into the suspected cover-up of the Chinese doping that is top of mind for swimmers here.
Ledecky and so many others — including Michael Phelps, who testified at a Congressional hearing last month on the issue — are looking to the leaders of the Olympic movement for help and transparency at this crucial time.
But instead of vowing to fight for the athletes by holding the World Anti-Doping Agency accountable for keeping the positive drug tests of 23 Chinese swimmers a secret for more than three years, those American leaders instead vowed to fight on behalf of the IOC and WADA by agreeing to work to try to shut down the FBI investigation in exchange for the IOC’s selection of Salt Lake City to be the host of the 2034 Winter Olympic Games.
MORE:Olympic gold-medal swimmers were strangers until living kidney donation made them family
What a terrible look this is for the Salt Lake City organizers and for the USOPC. Instead of standing firm for the rule of law in the United States and our nation’s ability to investigate what it wants, when it wants — including the doping that has stolen medals from deserving athletes, Americans and others — they went all in with the people who would rather deprive honest answers to Ledecky, Phelps and dozens of others.
Even more shockingly, the USOPC and Salt Lake City officials didn’t have to fall in line with this ridiculous agreement. They had everything going for them. They could have told the IOC no. There was no other candidate city for 2034 after other locations dropped out, and certainly there is none more desirable to the IOC than Salt Lake City, which successfully hosted the 2002 Winter Games after a notorious bribery scandal.
The IOC needs Salt Lake City more than Salt Lake City needs the IOC. So who blinked? Not the IOC.
This messy ending to what should have been a day of triumph for Salt Lake City emanates from the Rodchenkov Act, a 2020 law that allows U.S. authorities to pursue criminal charges in doping cases that affect U.S. athletes.
The IOC despises the Rodchenkov Act, named for the whistle-blower who exposed Russia’s state-sponsored doping scheme, so on Wednesday, it added an amendment to Salt Lake City’s host contract to address the matter. According to long-time IOC member John Coates, the organization can terminate the host contract it has with Salt Lake City if “the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected.”
OPINION:Olympics meant to transcend global politics, but Israeli athletes already face dissent
Instead of telling the IOC it could never agree to such a demand, the Americans wilted. They folded because they so desperately want to host the Olympic Games that they were willing to allow the high and mighty IOC to dictate to them, a group of Americans, what one of our laws should and should not do.
Listen to Gene Sykes, chair of the USOPC: “We certainly accept the obligations and responsibility inherent in the amendment to the Olympic host contract. So from our perspective, we take very seriously to heart all of your comments, and we pledge to you that we will be good partners and we will support, with you, this very, very important institution.”
Oh my. Here’s hoping Sykes had his fingers and toes crossed when he said that.
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart, who has been a magnificent thorn in the side of WADA since the revelation that the 23 Chinese swimmers were allowed to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and win three gold medals, with 11 of those swimmers competing here, blasted the IOC-Salt Lake City deal later Wednesday.
“It is shocking to see the IOC itself stooping to threats in an apparent effort to silence those seeking answers to what are now known as facts. It seems more apparent than ever that WADA violated the rules and needs accountability and reform to truly be the global watchdog that clean athletes need. Today’s demonstration further showed that as it stands today, WADA is just a sport lapdog, and clean athletes have little chance.”
Tygart continued: “If WADA has nothing to hide, they would welcome the chance to answer questions, not run and hide.”
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
veryGood! (77)
Related
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher announce divorce after 13 years of marriage
- South Carolina coach Dawn Staley thinks Iowa's Caitlin Clark needs a ring to be the GOAT
- Transform Your Home With Kandi Burruss-Approved Spring Cleaning Must-Haves for Just $4
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Why You Should Avoid Moisturizers With Sunscreen, According to Khloe Kardashian's Aesthetic Nurse
- Women's college basketball better than it's ever been. The officials aren't keeping pace.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests Jan. 6 prosecutions politically motivated, says he wants to hear every side
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- Foul or no foul? That's the challenge for officials trying to referee Purdue big man Zach Edey
Ranking
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Shin splints are one of the most common sports-related injuries. Here's how to get rid of them.
- Gunfight at south Florida bar leaves 2 dead and 7 injured
- Iowa-UConn women’s Final Four match was most-watched hoops game in ESPN history; 14.2M avg. viewers
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- South Carolina could finish season undefeated. What other teams have pulled off the feat?
- Cooper DeJean will stand out as a white NFL cornerback. Labeling the Iowa star isn't easy.
- Over 8 million bags of Tide Pods, other detergents recalled
Recommendation
Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
CMT Awards return Sunday night with host Kelsea Ballerini and a tribute to the late Toby Keith
Caitlin Clark leads Iowa to 71-69 win over UConn in women's Final Four
ALAIcoin: Bitcoin Prices Will “Fly to the Moon” Once the Fed Pauses Tightening Policies - Galaxy Digital CEO Says
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
The solar eclipse could deliver a $6 billion economic boom: The whole community is sold out
Proof Modern Family's Jeremy Maguire Is All Grown Up 4 Years After Playing Joe Pritchett
Led by Castle and Clingan, defending champ UConn returns to NCAA title game, beating Alabama 86-72