Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

As an international sports lawyer who specializes in representing athletes who have been accused of doping, I have experienced how sport and the structures put in place have impacted both athletes and fans alike. With the news about the Russian State-sponsored doping program breaking in 2014 and escalating leading up to the Rio and PyeongChang Olympic Games, society has established certain biases and preconceived notions about athletes who are accused of doping and do not fully appreciate the particular facts or the governing laws in place which can determine whether an athlete is guilty of an anti-doping rule violation and if so, how long his or her sanction will be. I would like to present on the practical applications of the World Anti-Doping Code, which is the conceptual framework all of the doping violations are based on. The unique circumstances of each case have made us reassess how the Code is structured or should be structured. The outcomes and takeaways from my experience are that not all athletes are cheaters and unfortunate circumstances have put them in this situation (bad advice from others, even doctors, or contaminated supplements). The implications from my work are that there clearly needs to be a reassessment of the sanctioning scale in the Code, athletes need to do more to protect themselves from doping violations, and society must take a moment to understand the circumstances involved before rushing to judgment about athletes accused of doping.