WADA hacked reveals "free pass" for drug users

28 posts / 0 new

Fri, 2016-09-16 13:30

ikosmos

A recent hack of the World Anti-Doping Agency has revealed that athletes are being given a "free pass" and their use of banned substances is being swept under the rug.

RT wrote:
The information leaked by the group behind the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) hack raises lots of questions, as it revealed that some healthy athletes were allowed to use doping while the whole Russian Paralympic team was banned only on suspicion, Vladimir Putin has said.

"We don’t approve of what hackers do, but what they’ve done is definitely of interest to the international community, especially the sports community,” the Russian president said, as cited by RIA Novosti.

“It raises a lot of questions. It turns out that healthy athletes legally take medications that are prohibited for others, and the people who obviously suffer from serious illnesses and severe disabilities are being banned from the Paralympics only on suspicion of using some kind of drugs,” he added.

Earlier this week, hacktivists from the cyber group ‘Fancy Bears’ released files revealing that top world athletes had received the green light from WADA to take banned substances.

Prominent US sports stars - including tennis players Serena and Venus Williams, multiple Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles, and basketball player Elena Delle Donne - were mentioned among those who had received exemptions from WADA.

fyi - those given the green light also include Russian, US, German, UK, Czech, Danish, Polish and Romanian athletes.

WADA hack raises questions.

The biggest question, of course, is why the entire Russian Para-Olympic Team, as well as their Track and Field Team, were banned based on suspicion, while the athletes noted above sailed through with a winning smile .....?

....................................

Christ, didn't take long for the wheels to start flying off WADA, huh? Dick Pound was smart to bail when he did. Even if he "took the credit" for his brave "expose" and such. Brave Sir Dick.

Fri, 2016-09-16 14:21

6079_Smith_W

No it doesn't.

And it leaked a whole bunch of private medical records. Because of course no athlete has ever been disqualified for doping except for Russians, right?

Do they explain what this has to do with Russia's sport ministry using security forces to switch test samples to fake drug tests?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/15/fancy-bears-leak-british-o...

Fri, 2016-09-16 15:21

ikosmos

Clearly, WADA is in a huge tailspin and diving towards an ignomonious end. It's "so" sad after all the "good work" they recently did.

The more of this comes out, the more the IOC will be inclined to jettison the WADA debris and detris. Of course, this had already started, with the distancing by the IOC from WADA over the Nazi-like collective punishment of the Russian athletes. Some good legal advice for the IOC there, methinks.

I'm looking forward to some of the more prescient rats parachuting from the disabled craft, before its explosive and horrific end. Again, Dick Pound was quite clever in covering himself with the "glory" of the recent expose of doping in Russia while abandoing ship at the same time. A job in TV rights should be very lucrative and none of the muck from the WADA disgrace should stick, God and MSM willing.

Round up the usual Russian suspects. Because ... if it's reported in Russian media then it "can't" be true.

Fri, 2016-09-16 16:19

Mr. Magoo

So basically some athletes were caught following the rules.

Fri, 2016-09-16 16:41

NorthReport

There was nowhere near the amount of doping at the Rio Olympics this summer as opposed to previous Olympics. Why would that be? Oh yea, I forgot, very few Russians were allowed to compete. Humm........................

Fri, 2016-09-16 17:27

ikosmos

Meanwhile, back at the outhouse, things are piling up....

Quote:
The hacker group known as ‘Fancy Bears’ has released a new list of WADA drug test results of well-known athletes. The latest list includes athletes from Great Britain, Denmark, Australia, Spain and Germany.

Great Britain’s Nicola Adams, who became a double Olympic champion by winning gold at Rio 2016, is one of the athletes featuring in the list.

The documents show that Adams received a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) in 2009 for her use of banned substances salbutamol, salmeterol, fluticasone propionate, and another TUE in 2016 for the use of methylprednisolone.

Spanish gold and bronze medal-winning swimmer Mireia Garcia Belmonte is also on the list. Belmonte received a TUE in May 2013 for the inhalation of salbutamol, a medication that opens up the medium and large airways in the lungs.

The database published on the hacking group’s website includes 11 athletes from five countries.

Great Britain

Nicola Adams, boxing, Olympic gold medalist
Laura Trott, cycling, double gold medalist
Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, swimming, silver medalist
Olivia Carnegie-Brown, rowing, silver medalist

Denmark

Jeanette Ottesen, swimming, bronze medalist

Australia

Kimberley Brennan, rowing, gold medalist
Alexander Belonogoff, rowing silver medalist
Jack Bobridge, cycling, silver medalist

Spain

Mireia Garcia Belmonte, swimming, gold/bronze medalist

Germany

Julian Justus, sports shooter
Laura Siegemund, tennis player

The Fancy Bears previously released a list of names of US Olympians who were taking banned, performance-enhancing substances.

Athletes who featured on the list were the Williams sisters and Rio Olympic gold medalist gymnast Simone Biles.

Nothing to see here! Move along! And those sneaky Russians! I'm sure they're responsible! Even if they're not! I mean, "Fancy Bears" ? A dead giveaway! Obviously Russian! Round up the usual suspects! And be quick about it!

Fri, 2016-09-16 17:49

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Nothing to see here!

There kind of isn't, though.

It's a list of athletes who followed the rules. Not particularly relevant to athletes -- or whole countries -- who broke them.

Fri, 2016-09-16 18:29

NorthReport

This is conspiracy theory number what today?

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-effective-ways-deal-arrogant-internet-tro...

Fri, 2016-09-16 19:14

Mr. Magoo

It's not even much of a conspiracy theory, NR. It's more like a list of taxpayers who did declare any additional sources of income.

Fri, 2016-09-16 19:47

#10

6079_Smith_W

They named themselves "Fancy Bears", ikosmos. Sorry, but you can't pin that one on us Russophobes.

Don't know if they are trying to emulate MRA trolls with the funny animal name, or going all Dr. Evil with their "Greetings Citizens of the World".

Tue, 2016-10-11 11:51

#11

ikosmos

RT wrote:
Putin criticizes system of therapeutic use exemptions for athletes

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for banned substances give athletes an unfair advantage, AP reported. TUEs allow athletes with medical conditions to take medications which would usually be banned. Their use has been under scrutiny since the hacking group Fancy Bears released confidential World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) documents listing medical information for many athletes. “We need to understand what to do about [TUEs], otherwise we could soon face all records and victories going only to people who are ill with, let’s say, chronic illnesses,” Putin told a sports forum in Kovrov, Russia. He also said the fight against doping in international sports must be carried out with the use of clear rules and must be absolutely transparent, the methods used and athletes tested must be known, as well as the outcomes of such tests, Sputnik reported.

Nicely done, Vlad. Seems he's popped the lid off this one. Is that a can o' whup ass I see?

Tue, 2016-10-11 20:30

#12

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
otherwise we could soon face all records and victories going only to people who are ill with, let’s say, chronic illnesses

Is that currently the case?

In other words, we now have a (partial) list of athletes with TUEs. How many are record holders, or medal winners?

Also, I seem to recall you believing that Maria Sharapova was unfairly penalized for taking Meldonium to correct her magnesium deficiency.

Did Putin change your mind about therapeutic use? What if you have a magnesium deficiency? What else is an athlete supposed to do about that??

Tue, 2016-10-11 22:32

#13

ikosmos

Well sure, if all these other athletes are getting a free pass, why not Sharapova as well? Or is being Russian a "reason" to ban her? The way I read Putin's remarks ...he'd support applying the same standards to everyone.That's hard to understand for pathological Russophobes.

This loophole is big enough to drive a truck through. Vladimir Vladimirovich has a good point.

Wed, 2016-10-12 00:36

#14

Rev Pesky

Performance enhancing drugs are used throughout the sports world. When you're competing against other athletes who use PED's, there isn't much you can do except more of the same. If you are one of the extremely naive who don't think PED's permeate the sports world, take a look at some NHL (for example) video from the 70's. The first thing that strikes you is the size of the players. They all look like children.

No one really wants to stop it because it would bring an end to record-breaking. At the same time, everyone wants to appear to be opposed to PED's, so they find the balance in just the way the article says. You have your doctor diagnose a condition, then you apply for an exemption.

Or, as in the case of BALCO, you invent a new form of a drug for which there is no test. The only way BALCO was eventually caught was a disgruntled employee who sent off a sample, and the means to test for it.

In other cases, you suffer an injury which takes you out of the sport for a few months, then return when traces of PED's are no longer in the system. That's probably the best strategy because it can also be worked with the 'therapeutic use' loophole.

The central point is there is no sport that has money associated with it (either as pay for playing or endorsements) that doesn't have extensive use of PED's. That is just a fact of life. One idea would be to split the sports world into two categories, drugs banned, and drugs allowed, or just allow the use of drugs for everyone.

The battle to ban drug use in sport is long since over. Maybe it's time to accept that fact.

Wed, 2016-10-12 01:42

#15

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Well sure, if all these other athletes are getting a free pass, why not Sharapova as well?

Was her request for a TUE denied?

Wed, 2016-10-12 01:53

#16

NDPP

Shawn Barber Tested Positive For Cocaine Before Rio Olympics

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/shawn-barber-coca...

'I caught cocaine from a hook up.' And thereby hangs a tail...

Wed, 2016-10-12 12:06

#17

bekayne

Mr. Magoo wrote:

In other words, we now have a (partial) list of athletes with TUEs. How many are record holders, or medal winners?

What many are ignoring. What has been revealed is not all the athletes using TUES, but all the athletes using TUES that Fancy Bears wants revealed.

Wed, 2016-10-12 14:36

#18

Mr. Magoo

As an instructor, I will periodically receive a request for accommodation from a student with a disability. At my school, this request doesn't come directly from the student to me, but rather comes from a department that works with students with disabilities. The student makes their request to this department who validates it and gives the student a letter which they present to me. The letter simply outlines what accommodation is required.

This strikes a very reasonable balance between the interest of all parties (the school, other students, me, and the student in question) in ensuring a fair playing field, and the interest of a student in maintaining medical confidentiality (and also perhaps their interest in not having to negotiate accommodation with each instructor individually, over and over). I don't know what their disability is, nor do I need to.

It's not clear to me how a TUE isn't much the same thing. Seems to me that it also strikes a balance between the medical confidentiality of an athlete, and ensuring that athletes with chronic or acute medical issues aren't prevented from reasonably competing.

Wed, 2016-10-12 15:56

#19

Rev Pesky

Mr. Magoo wrote:

As an instructor, I will periodically receive a request for accommodation from a student with a disability.

...It's not clear to me how a TUE isn't much the same thing. Seems to me that it also strikes a balance between the medical confidentiality of an athlete, and ensuring that athletes with chronic or acute medical issues aren't prevented from reasonably competing.

If your students stood to make several million dollars as a result of this process, would you perhaps have a different view of it?

In any case, TUE's, or no TUE's, performance enhancing drugs permeate the sports world. There is not a single sport in which they don't play a role.

Maybe it's time to give up the struggle, and just allow drugs.

Wed, 2016-10-12 16:16

#20

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
If your students stood to make several million dollars as a result of this process, would you perhaps have a different view of it?

Not specifically. I would certainly expect the department in charge to have some pretty robust policies and standards, but otherwise I'm not sure what we'd replace it with. I suppose we could take a page from Putin, and suggest that maybe students with disabilities need a "special" school, or tell them that perhaps they're just not cut out for education. Or we could "go public" with their health history and let the whole class decide whether they do or don't suffer from depression. But none of those sounds better to me.

Wed, 2016-10-12 19:30

#21

Rev Pesky

Mr. Magoo wrote:

Quote:
If your students stood to make several million dollars as a result of this process, would you perhaps have a different view of it?

Not specifically. I would certainly expect the department in charge to have some pretty robust policies and standards, but otherwise I'm not sure what we'd replace it with. I suppose we could take a page from Putin, and suggest that maybe students with disabilities need a "special" school, or tell them that perhaps they're just not cut out for education. Or we could "go public" with their health history and let the whole class decide whether they do or don't suffer from depression. But none of those sounds better to me.

Or we could just say your comparison was idiotic and let it go at that.

Wed, 2016-10-12 19:45

#22

Mr. Magoo

I think it was an entirely reasonable comparison. Really, it's exactly the same thing.

Students (athletes) submitting requests for accommodation to an independent department (WADA) to both permit that request to be validated impartially, and to respect the medical confidentiality of the student (athlete).

But if you have other axes to grind, or fish to fry, then get frying those axes or whatever. :)

Fri, 2016-12-23 15:37

#23

ikosmos

from the year-end press conference (four hours long! amazing.)

On doping ...

Quote:
Nikolai Yaryomenko: I am Nikolai Yaryomenko from Sovetsky Sport.

We are the oldest sport newspaper in the country, 92 years. We have seen a great deal. But we write about more than just scores, medals and seconds. We are concerned about the country’s future in sport, and it appears, unfortunately, that we care more than some of our officials do. We have seen that some officials were fired or moved to other posts after the publication of Mr McLaren’s two reports, even if not immediately. Can we say that the doping situation in the country is improving thanks to these personnel reshuffles? Will it improve, or are the actions taken towards this end not enough yet?

My second sub-question is: Can the mega-monster, WADA, be reformed or should it be replaced with some other organisation? It is not a strictly sports question, as many people see a political component. Is there a political component?

Vladimir Putin: Let me begin with doping as such and the problem of doping. First, Russia has never created – this is absolutely impossible – a state-run doping system and has never supported doping, and we will do our best to prevent this in the future. I wanted to repeat this as my first point.

Secondly, like any other country, we have a doping problem. We must admit this and by doing so, we must do everything in our power to prevent any doping. As such, we need to closely cooperate with the International Olympic Committee, WADA and other international organisations. We will do this. I hope that the ongoing changes, which are not only about personnel but are systemic and structural changes, will help us achieve these goals. In addition, the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor’s Office are investigating all cases of alleged doping, and they will bring these cases to their logical conclusion.

As for the so-called whistle-blowers who ran away from the country, grass up everyone or make up things, I would like to say a few words. I do not remember exactly the name of the person who fled Russia. He headed the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. But where did he work before that? In Canada. And what did he do after that? He came to Russia and brought all kinds of nasty stuff with him, while serving as a high-ranking official. It is hard to imagine that he managed to cross the Canadian or US border carrying banned substances without being detected. You know what it means. Many of you have crossed the US and Canadian borders, there are very strict controls there. He travelled back and forth many times to bring this nasty stuff here. It was his personal undertaking, he forced people to take these substances, and even came up with some sort of sanctions against those who refused to do so, for example, the swimmers. When he was exposed, he escaped law enforcement, fled, and started slurring everyone in order to protect himself and secure a place in the sun in hope of a better life. At a certain point he will get what he wants. But after that, just as it happens to any rascal, they will drop him. Nobody needs people like this. Why did he not fight here? This makes me think that somebody was behind him. They waited for a certain moment and started spreading these false stories. But this does not mean that Russia does not have a problem with doping. We do have this problem, and we must fight it. We must acknowledge this, and in doing so we must focus on athletes’ health.

As for WADA, I am not entitled to assess its performance. It is up to the International Olympic Committee to do it. However, as I have already said, operations of any anti-doping agency, including WADA, should be completely transparent, clear and verifiable, and we must be informed about the results of their work. What does this mean? This means that the international sports community should know who is to be tested, when and by what means, what the results are and what measures are being taken to punish those responsible, what is being done to prevent such incidents in the future. What’s going on? Are we talking about the defence industry? No. But in this case it is unclear why everything is so secretive? This should be an open process. They always ask us to be transparent. Transparency is very important in this area.

I cannot fail to agree with what a number of legendary athletes said about the recent decisions to cancel major competitions in Russia. They said that nobody knew anything. But if it was known before, why was it made public right now? You know, politics are always involved in cases like this. Just as culture, sport should be free from politics, because sport and culture should both help bring people together instead of driving them apart.

Sun, 2017-01-22 02:37

#24

ikosmos

The International Biathlon Union has dropped investigations into alleged doping by 22 Russian athletes, citing lack of evidence. 7 others are still being investigated.

Recall that the way McClaren made his report, with allegations based almost exclusively on the testimony of a single interested party, was to make his claims and then leave it to the various sporting federations to decide on their own how to handle things.

That single witness was himself under investigation by the Russian authorities. He was, however, able to escape prosecution and, reportedly, now has a shiny new lab, at taxpayer expense, somewhere in the US or Canada. Except for those kneejerk Russophobes, it's generally agreed that relying upon such a single witness, who himself is open to question, to make such damaging and public claims.

This result is good news for Russian biathletes and fairness, but it seems unlikely that, for example, the IAAF, heavily invested as it is in McClaren's unsubstantiated claims, are about to do the same as the IBU. Ditto for the IOC. If these organizations ever were forced to change their tune say, as a result of similiar lack of evidence, their whole operations of banning outright the entire Russian Track and Field team for the 2016 Olympics would put them in very hot water. Not that they wouldn't deserve it.

But it's a start towards some fairness, presumption of innocence, etc., which civilized states and related organizations should support.

International Biathlon Union Lacks Evidence of Doping for 22 Russian Athletes

Sun, 2017-01-22 02:40

#25

ikosmos

I guess I should add that if more global sporting federations like the IBU also "discover" a lack of evidence, and make similar decisions, the pressure may build on others like the IAAF and IOC.

May.

Sun, 2017-01-22 18:12

#26

Mr. Magoo

So if I understand all of this correctly... the Russian Ministry of Sport doesn't consider Biathlon important enough for a "mousehole"?

Mon, 2017-01-23 13:54

#27

kropotkin1951

Mr. Magoo wrote:

So if I understand all of this correctly... the Russian Ministry of Sport doesn't consider Biathlon important enough for a "mousehole"?

Boy do you ever have anything to say that isn't just inanity designed to stir the pot and get people fighting? As I understand it The Russian Ministry of Sport doesn't think you are worth assassinating and that is the only reason you are still alive.

Mon, 2017-01-23 18:19

#28

milo204

keep in mind there are different rules for in/out of competition with certain substances. And medical exemptions are common with athletes with SOME substances that would otherwise be banned in competition, when approved by a doctor, and under a certain time frame (may be barred from competing for a certain time or until they are medically cleared)