War of the Wurds
March 1st, 2007 |Tygart pointed out that the USADA did not have the right to publicly comment on pending cases, and that this put the institutions accusing the athlete in a difficult situation. “We were painted as the bad guy by a one-sided PR campaign. Our rules don’t allow us to comment, and we follow those rules. As a result, we’re erroneously perceived. The reality is that we simply have the integrity to do our jobs and follow the evidence where it leads.”
Boo hoo.
This imbalance may soon be over, as one of the proposed revisions in the World Anti-Doping Agency code, which will be considered at WADA’s meeting in Madrid in November this year, would allow anti-doping officials to respond to negative statements about the arbitration process that are “directly attributable” to accused athletes.
This is heading in the wrong direction.
I came down hard on Flandis for bringing his doping fight into the public arena in order to raise cash for his defense. I am even more troubled that WADA or a national anti-doping agency will have the ability to respond in the public arena.
I don’t not believe that there is anything to be gained by drawing the public into a doping fight. As I have stated previously, it is not the public that is the final arbiter of a doping charge. Allowing the escalation of a media battle regarding a positive doping test is not going to make it more or less likely for a doping charge to stick or be dismissed. It should be the evidence and the merits of the case that determine the outcome.
Instead of giving WADA the right to respond publicly they should put the clamps down on both the athlete and the federations/agencies regarding a doping charge. It should be “no comment” until all the judgments and appeals are finalized.
Once the outcome has been finally determined everyone can say whatever they want. Until then everyone is reacting with less than all the necessary information. And yes, before you mention it in the comments section, this applies double to opinionated bloggers who shoot their mouths off without having all the info (like me).
