PHOENIX, Arizona, May 16. YESTERDAY, one of Swimming World Magazine's European correspondents, Steven Selthoffer, wrote an opinionated column about anti-doping leaks making their way to French publication L'Equipe. In the article, he questioned where those leaks were coming from, in what is supposed to be a highly-confidential process.
Today, the World Anti-Doping Agency responded with a Letter to the Editor asserting that the L'Equipe leaks cannot be coming from WADA. Here is the organization's response in full:
The article published on May 15, 2007, on your Web site entitled "WADA and Corrupt Anti-Doping Labs Threaten Swimming and Other Sports; How Does Inside Information Get to Media?" is inaccurate, sensationalist and defamatory.
Accredited anti-doping laboratories do not know the names of the athletes whose samples they analyze. Period. Samples are identified by an anonymized code. Only the anti-doping organization (e.g., the sports federation or national anti-doping agency) that has ordered the test is able to match the name of the athlete with the code from the laboratory. It is inaccurate and irresponsible to state that the laboratories are the sources of athlete information.
The so-called Vrijman report was completely rejected for being rife with false accusations, inaccuracies and misleading statements, as well as its utterly unprofessional nature, as made clear in this statement. Responsible journalism would have perceived the flimsiness of the Vrijman information and dismissed it as such.
As for the general premise of the article, "What is the connection between WADA and L'Equipe," I would recommend that the author, prior to proliferating such serious allegations, study the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), the core document adopted in 2003 by the Sport Movement and Governments of the world as the framework for the global harmonized fight against doping in sport. WADA operates in complete accordance with the rules of the Code. That means that WADA does not comment on pending doping cases. Period. Further, WADA is never involved in the management of individual doping control results. That is the responsibility, again, of the organization that ordered the tests (e.g., the sports federation or national anti-doping agency). WADA cannot comment on pending cases because its role is to assess the entire process conducted by the relevant anti-doping organizations so that, at the completion of the process, it can determine whether the process and outcome are compliant with the Code, and whether it needs to exercise its right of appeal.
The perpetuation of bogus claims and irresponsible accusations does great disservice to your readers, to those who are committed to the fight against doping in sport, and ultimately to clean athletes who deserve competition that is safe and fair.
While WADA's assertions that these leaks are not coming from them, the question still remains – who is violating the confidentiality of these athletes that should be considered innocent until proven guilty?