The anti-doping in sports just got a little bit stronger. A bill that strengthens the ability for law enforcement to deal with international doping has passed in the U.S. Senate and awaits the president’s signature.
Under the proposed law, athletes could now face jail time for doping.
The bill passed unopposed in the Senate on Monday.
The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act will allow U.S. prosecutors to go after doping schemes at international events in which Americans are involved as athletes, sponsors or broadcasters, The Associated Press reported.
The doping would not necessarily have to take place in the United States. The law would not go after individual athletes caught in the schemes.
“It is a monumental day in the fight for clean sport worldwide,” U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO (USADA) Travis Tygart said.
According to the AP, WADA has opposed key parts of the measure, withconcerns about the “extraterritorial” jurisdiction the bill proposed. In a letter sent to lawmakers earlier this year, WADA claimed the law would “have the unintended consequences of shattering the anti-doping system.”
While WADA is not in favor of parts of the bill, it is being lauded in the U.S. as a stunning agreement between political parties.
“Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much these days but they all agree that the Russian doping scandal and WADA’s handling of it undermined confidence in the global anti-doping system,” Anthony Jones of the U.S. drug-control office told the AP.
The bill is named after Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of Moscow’s anti-doping lab, who was a whistle-blower on some of Russia’s doping issues.
Should have passed this a LONG time ago!