Having failed to meet an anti-doping deadline for action, Russia must be banned from international athletic competitions.
On Wednesday, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Sir Craig Reedie confirmed that Russia’s anti-doping authority had not fulfilled its obligation to provide data to WADA by the end of 2018. Reedie told the BBC, “I am bitterly disappointed that data extraction from the former Moscow laboratory has not been completed by the date agreed.”
Recommended Stories
Russia is playing games here. The ban on Russian participation in athletic events began in 2015 after evidence emerged of widespread doping by Russian athletes. It has since become clear that the Russian intelligence services supported that doping effort. The ban was then overturned by a shock WADA ruling in September 2018, but it is truly absurd that the Russian government is now breaking its commitment to WADA anyway. Indeed, it is a true example of Chekist humor: at once arrogant and highly aggressive.
Still, it’s clear what Vladimir Putin is thinking here. He has already been treated with far too much leniency by WADA. And so now, in true Putin form, he’s doubling down. Putin has evidently decided that WADA lacks the resolve to hold him to account. So, what does the world do now?
Well, the head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, put it best. The situation, he said, is “a total joke and an embarrassment for WADA.” Sixteen other national anti-doping chiefs agreed with this sentiment, stating that “Russia must be held accountable for its continuing failure to comply.” Tygart is right.
To allow Russia to get away with this latest breach would be to accept cheating in sports. More than that, it would tolerate Putin’s capricious disregard for international norms. If the Russian leader wants to play games in relation to doping, that’s his choice. But there’s a price, and it’s that Russian athletes won’t be playing.
