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≡ WADA vs. U.S. CONTINUES ≡
In a 5 February letter to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Executive Committee by President Witold Banka (POL) and Director General Olivier Niggli (SUI), published by Edmund Willison (GBR) in his Honest Sport newsletter, it was noted that WADA had dropped its defamation lawsuit – filed in Switzerland – against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and its chief executive, Travis Tygart.
The letter explained, in pertinent part:
“[W]e have made the decision to withdraw the lawsuit against USADA and Mr. Tygart. While we remain convinced that the lawsuit would be successful on its merits, we have determined that it is futile to argue with somebody who is unwilling to accept clear evidence, whose only goal is to damage WADA and the global anti-doping system, and who has no desire to find a resolution.”
In addition, Banka and Niggli stated that, as for the January 2021 Chinese swimming positives incident, “the world (except for Mr. Tygart) has accepted the findings of the Cottier Report and has shown a desire to move on.”
Tygart, of course, disagrees. Strongly.
In a late Thursday statement, Tygart expressed a far different view of the WADA action, which has not been disclosed other than by Willison. Per Tygart’s statement:
“The dismissal of the unauthorized and baseless lawsuit against USADA and the ethics complaint against the White House is complete vindication for us both. WADA’s actions were nothing more than retaliatory, wasteful, and abusive attempts to suppress the truth and the voice of those seeking answers to why WADA allowed China to blatantly disregard the rules for 23 elite swimmers who tested positive.
“Whether through the court process or this voluntary dismissal by WADA, it was only a matter of time before WADA’s misguided decisions were exposed. It’s time for those who value clean sport to step up and get WADA right, as athletes deserve a fair, robust global watchdog to protect their rights to fair competition.”
● Tygart also spoke to the basis of the WADA filing:
“This suit was an effort to suppress the truth and seemingly to scare others off from seeking answers about why WADA secretly allowed China special rules for their athletes who tested positive, which is what led the U.S. government, for the first time ever, to withhold its funding from WADA.
“Apparently afraid of the U.S. court system where they would have to answer questions under oath, WADA instead filed a claim in Switzerland, where the truthfulness of the statements is not a defense, and basically claimed we had no right to criticize them for failing to ensure justice for clean athletes.
“This is a voluntary, unilateral dismissal by WADA. USADA’s statements about WADA’s failures have always been truthful, and while they tried to get us to say publicly that they did the right thing in the Chinese TMZ cases, they absolutely did not. Justice was never served in these cases, and they still owe clean athletes answers. So, we did not agree to do anything in return for WADA dropping the suit.”
● While not naming a dollar figure, Tygart also noted the costs involved:
“It’s been a significant time and resource drain to defend against this unauthorized, baseless suit. USADA’s statements have always been truthful about WADA’s failed handling of the cases out of China, which is why USADA never feared WADA’s retaliatory lawsuit.
“And it is WADA’s failures in handling the Chinese swimmers’ cases that led to the U.S. government withholding its funding. This is the first time the U.S. has ever not paid its dues. The U.S. can’t let retaliatory actions by WADA leaders prevent us from speaking the truth and seeking answers as to why they allowed China special rules for their athletes who tested positive. We will also seek reimbursement for our costs.”
And Tygart made it clear that he will continue to insist that the World Anti-Doping Code be followed:
“[I]t seems like WADA is still determined to attempt to create a false narrative about how the world views its handling of the 23 Chinese TMZ cases rather than simply owning their failures and immediately conducting a truly independent investigation into the cases to ensure justice is served for the world’s clean athletes.
“We should all be concerned when an organization insists that it’s been vindicated by a self-commissioned investigation like the Cottier report but refuses to submit to a truly independent operations audit.
“Far from vindicating WADA, the Cottier report instead validated the world’s concerns and even raised new issues. Most importantly, the report confirmed that CHINADA failed to follow the rules and WADA failed to enforce them. And despite its limited remit, the report also revealed a shocking lack of involvement by the WADA Intelligence and Investigations team and scientific analysis that didn’t support WADA’s decisions or explanations.”
Observed: So, nothing has changed and the war of words continues, with no end in sight.
This is not a positive for anyone. The next steps in the drama may be these:
● 20 March: Election of the 10th President of the International Olympic Committee. The IOC provides essentially half of WADA’s funding and the view of the new President may be key to what happens next.
● 31 March: WADA announces the list of candidates approved to run for the WADA presidency, taking effect on 1 January 2026.
● 29 May: WADA elections by the WADA Foundation Board, meeting online.
Banka is expected to be elected to a final, three-year term from 2026-28, but this fight – in which Tygart and the USADA are not alone – needs to be resolved much sooner.
¶
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