Following last week’s announcement, German Parliament’s goal to put into law, jail sentencing for cyclists caught using banned, performance enhancing drugs, or anyone who aids in the procurement thereof, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has come out in opposition of any such punishment.
At a meeting over the weekend, WADA’s President, Craig Reedle, proposed that cyclists caught in violation of WADA’s codes, should be punished under the agency’s rules, and not face criminal prosecution.
"An athlete should be sanctioned under the sports rules which have been developed over many years, and should not be sanctioned under criminal law."
"People who say: ‘If you cheat, you will be put in jail,’ that is not something with which we are comfortable." "We do not believe that that should happen."
Rather, WADA favors stricter, new codes, that will punish first-time offenders with a four-year ban, instead of a two year suspension, as well as greater emphasis on investigation and intelligence gathering.
In addition to stricter codes and enforcement measures, WADA also announced during its meeting, approval for a 3% budgetary increase for 2015, along with pledges from the Ivory Coast, Japan, Qatar, Russia, France, Sweden and Peru, joining Turkey, Korea, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, China and the United States – as donators for its research fund that will explore new techniques for the detection of prohibited substances and methods.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
