Global Athlete

Today's statement comes from select members of the USA Fencing Team in response to USA Fencing's futile suspension of two American referees who were found guilty of violating the USA Fencing Referees Code of Ethics and the FIE - International Fencing Federation's Technical Rules and Ethical Code. "This decision, however, highlights the discrepancy in accountability standards between athletes and officials, with the latter often receiving minimal repercussions for breaking the rules of sport, as evidenced in this case. This decision provides zero deterrence for match manipulation and leaves athletes, who dedicate their lives to the sport, vulnerable to unfair refereeing and match-fixing." Read the full statement: https://lnkd.in/dvDytb7n

Since the weekend's breaking news of the doping scandal involving 23 Chinese athletes who tested positive for TMZ in 2021, the World Anti-Doping Agency has defended its actions and the allegations against the agency. In their press conference on Monday, WADA left more questions unanswered than answered. "In the end, all their scientific and legal justifications for allowing nearly two dozen positive tests to go unpunished boiled down to a single explanation: they trusted China." - Henry Bushnell with Yahoo Sports https://lnkd.in/dujUYGnx The incident has been widely covered by the media and athletes, advocates and journalists continue to raise important questions: 🔗 Call for Independent Prosecutor and Overhaul of WADA - U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Travis Tygart https://lnkd.in/grxBKHP7 🔗 Australian government representative to WADA kept in the dark - The Daily Telegraph Julian Linden Todd Balym https://lnkd.in/dUySbtfv 🔗 China doping case leaves serious questions just months before Olympics - The Washington Post Les Carpenter https://lnkd.in/dq-sSpSE 🔗 Calls for greater WADA accountability - News Hub NZ Alex Chapman https://lnkd.in/dpcmwZmM 🔗 Initiate independent investigations and follow up with consequences - Athleten Deutschland e.V. https://lnkd.in/egrGCups

Yesterday, Global Athlete and FairSport released a joint statement following The New York Times and ARD reports on the positive drug tests of 23 Chinese swimmers. "According to both reports, WADA failed to abide by its own rules – these athletes tested positive for a prohibited substance, and, per Article 7.4 of the World Anti-Doping Code, they should have received provisional suspensions and the results should have been made public. Instead, WADA allowed the athletes to continue competing and the test results to remain sealed. Consequently, several of the athletes won medals at the Tokyo Olympics later that summer." "If these reports are accurate, and if WADA refuses to release the data publicly, this event represents another catastrophic failure of the global anti-doping system and underscores the need to dismantle the WADA structure to pave the way for a complete rebuild." Read the full statement via https://lnkd.in/d9NSXRwZ World Anti-Doping Agency

Deloitte, imagine #TheFirstEffect if athletes were paid for their labour which fuels the multi-billion dollar Olympic Movement. Deloitte, if you "expect organizations with which we have a business relationship to uphold our commitment to human rights", then it’s time to call on the International Olympic Committee – IOC and the International Paralympic Committee to initiate a first and compensate athletes. Paris 2024 - Comité d'organisation des Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques de 2024 https://lnkd.in/dPr9xqMc

The Olympic Movement ➡️ relying on partners like Airbnb to pay athletes for their work because the International Olympic Committee – IOC refuses to compensate athletes. Airbnb, do you support the Olympic and Paralympic Committees profiting from the free labour athletes? Over $2 billion USD are generated annually from the unpaid work of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, leaving some of the world's best to struggle to meet the basic costs of living: "We barely get by... some months the only way I can make rent is to sell possessions on eBay." Olympic Athlete via our previous survey on Athletes' Rights: https://lnkd.in/eJ9Njn9n International Paralympic Committee | International Olympic Committee – IOC | Paris 2024 - Comité d'organisation des Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques de 2024

“I think it is important we start somewhere and make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe via AP News International Olympic Committee – IOC | International Paralympic Committee

“There needs to be more support for whistleblowers. They lose everything to expose the truth, yet they struggle to get assistance.” 📣 Yuliya and Vitaly Stepanov put themselves at great risk by blowing the whistle on doping in Russia, but have been left high and dry by WADA and the IOC, argues Spencer Harris USADA and Global Athlete are backing his call for long-term support of whistleblowers. WADA says the agency is doing everything it can to support whistleblowers 🗣 Read the full article (link in the comments) 👇

📢Costly and unacceptable time delays continue to leave athletes stranded at CAS. Joint statement in support of John Campbell. ⬇️ 🏏⚖️✊ Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA)

🔦 Spotlight on the necessity and right for independent athlete representation and the undeniable truth that Olympic and Paralympic athletes must have access to human rights, importantly labour rights. 🇺🇸 Last week's release of the "Passing the Torch" report from the Commission on the State of US Olympics & Paralympics highlighted the need for full independence of the Team USA Athletes' Commission to ensure the protection and empowerment of athletes. "Congress should amend the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to make the Team USA Athletes’ Commission fully independent, clarify its duty to protect and empower athletes, and ensure a steady revenue stream to support the hiring of professional staff." (from recommendation no.6) "The Commission believes that circumstances now require that athletes have an independent organization dedicated solely to advocating on their behalf, one that is not beholden to USOPC or the governing bodies." (from recommendation no.6) Read the full report via https://www.csusop.org/ United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee | International Olympic Committee – IOC |

Skate Canada / Patinage Canada, along with the Canadian athletes from the 2022 Olympic figure skating team, have appealed the decision of the International Skating Union "to award the bronze medal in the team figure skating event from the 2022 Beijing Olympics to Russia despite one of its skaters [Valieva] being sanctioned for doping." CBC Following the January decision by the TAS/CAS Tribunal Arbitral du Sport / Court of Arbitration for Sport / Tribunal Arbitral del Deporte to disqualify Valieva and her results from the Games due to her positive drug test, the ISU upgraded USA to gold (originally the finishing place of Russia) and Japan to silver. Yet, the ISU decided that Russia's team points, without Valieva's scores, would remain and awarded Russia the bronze, rather than Canada who sat fourth before the positive test. ""Our appeal is rooted in a commitment to fairness, transparency, and the integrity of the sport," the governing body said." via CBC https://lnkd.in/dvjBsyX5