The concept of “strict liability” dictates that athletes are accountable for any positive result for anabolic steroids or performance-enhancing drugs regardless of whether it was intentional doping or unintentional doping. This concept has become fuzzy in recent years as anti-doping officials have become more open-minded with regard to plausible cases of inadvertent steroid use.
Travis Tygart, the chief executive officer of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), has publicly acknowledged that the strict liability policy may not be so strict after all.
“We’re here to stop those who are intentionally cheating,” said Tygart. “But you have to appreciate that there are rare times when athletes bring forward convincing proof that it was not intentional. The rules are flexible enough to take that into consideration.”
Tygart’s comments come in response to the return of American sprinter LaShawn Merritt after serving a 21-month long ban.
Tygart believes Merritt was telling the truth when he said he accidentally ingested DHEA. DHEA is considered a banned anabolic steroids by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Merritt tested positive for DHEA and pregnenolone three different times. His excuse was more embarrassing than a steroid ban could ever be.
The former World and Olympic champion had been using a penis enlargement product called ExtenZe. ExtenZe contains DHEA.
Tygart, and many others, were convinced that no one would go through the embarrassment of publicly acknowledging the use of ExtenZe unless they were telling the truth.
Still, the strict liability rules are only so flexible.
The flexibility in the strict liability rules only ended up reducing his ban to 21-months from the standard 2 year ban.
Another case of plausible deniability involved American swimmer Jessica Hardy. Hardy tested positive for low levels of the beta-2 adrenergic agonist clenbuterol. The ban kept Hardy from competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Hardy maintained that she never knowingly or unintentionally used clenbuterol. It turned out that her supplement company sponsor had provided her with contaminated supplements.
Avocare’s Arginine Extreme and Nighttime Recovery were found to have contained traces of clenbuterol.
American Arbitration Association panel has ruled that Hardy was entitled to a reduction in her suspension. Her ban was reduced from 2 years to 1 year.
So far, athletes like Merritt and Hardy still served bans.
The final death of the strict liability rule may come with the case of Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador.
Contador tested positive for infinitesimal levels of clenbuterol after winning the 2010 Tour de France. He maintained that he accidentally ingested clenbuterol when he consumed a beef steak that was contaminated.
There are numerous cases of clenbuterol-contaminated beef, primarily in countries like China and Mexico, that make Contador’s claim plausible.
Contador may be the first major athlete to be completed exonerated in the face of the “strict liability” and “zero tolerance” doping policies.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will decide on the fate of Contador next month. He faces a two-year ban.
Source:
Longman, J. (December 19, 2011). Sprinter Leaves Humiliation Behind. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/sports/olympics/sprinter-lashawn-merritt-leaves-humiliation-behind.html
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