The US Senate unanimously passed an anti-doping sports bill
On Monday, November 16, 2020, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act. This sports bill will allow U.S. officials to prosecute people involved in doping and doping conspiracies at international sporting competitions. This bill unanimously passed the House of Representatives on October 22, 2019, and now will need President Trump’s signature to become law.
The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act was named for Grigory Rodchenkov. Rodchenkov was the whistle-blower who exposed the Russian doping scandal in 2016 and was himself heavily involved in a conspiracy to cover up Russia’s cheating in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. This bill is designed to enable more effective deterrence for those who promote doping to skew the results of international sports competitions.
The language of the bill states this goal: “to provide sanctions on certain persons involved in international doping fraud conspiracies, to provide restitution for victims of such conspiracies, and to require sharing of information with the United States Anti-Doping Agency to assist its fight against doping . . .”
For restitution, the bill references laws of restitution already in place for victims but does not set out anything new or specific regarding athletes who are defrauded or injured in some way by doping schemes. The bill notes that whistleblowers will be included under existing witness and informant protection laws.
The Act would protect whistleblowers and athletes but would allow fines of up to $1,000,000 and prison sentences of up to ten years for those found guilty of conspiring in doping schemes that cheat U.S. athletes.
The bill specifically excludes individual athletes from prosecution, as they are covered under other laws, but would make it illegal for anyone else to knowingly embark upon a scheme to use doping to affect any major international sports competition. This bill does not include U.S. professional sports leagues and college athletes, both of which were included in an earlier draft of the document.
This exclusion has provoked a strenuous outcry from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA has queried why what is good enough for the rest of the world is seemingly not good enough for U.S. athletes as well. Further, WADA noted that this bill gives one country the ability to do its own investigation and prosecution, which will create jurisdictional issues. WADA spokesperson James Fitzgerald said, “In particular, it may lead to overlapping laws in different jurisdictions that will compromise having a single set of rules for all athletes around the world.” He noted that the “harmonization of rules” is really the point of the global anti-doping program.
Supporters of the bill compare it with others that grant the United States wide-reaching authority on the world stage, such as the Bank and Wire Fraud Act and the RICO Act. Both of these bills protect American financial interests globally. The language of the Rodchenkov bill enumerates the many ways that doping fraud damages the interests of U.S. business, the economy, and the public.
Rodchenkov’s attorney, Jim Walden, thinks this bill will be good for global sports. “Very soon, U.S. Authorities will be able to prosecute those involved in systematic doping fraud. This will be an immediate worldwide deterrent,” he said.
Travis Tygart, chief executive of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), agrees, despite WADA’s reservations. Tygart said “The Act establishes criminal penalties for systems that carry out doping-fraud schemes that rob athletes, citizens, and businesses. It also protects whistleblowers from retaliation and provides restitution for athletes defrauded by conspiracies to dope. It is a monumental day in the fight for clean sport worldwide and we look forward to seeing the Act soon become law and help change the game for clean athletes for the good.”
