光明网理论专家委员会：竹立家

The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) called on Thursday for an independent investigation into the United States Anti-Doping Agency's cover-up of anti-doping rule violations after the World Anti-Doping Agency said that USADA broke the global code by letting several athletes violating drugs rules go unpunished and kept on competing without prosecution in exchange for information on other violators.

WADA said in a statement on Wednesday that it did not sign off on the practice of permitting drug cheats to compete for years on the promise that they would try to obtain incriminating evidence against others.

When WADA eventually found out about this non-compliant practice in 2021, many years after it had started, it immediately told USADA to desist, it said.

In one case, an elite athlete, who competed at Olympic qualifier and international events in the US, admitted to taking steroids and erythropoietin drugs yet was permitted to continue competing all the way up to retirement. The case was never publicized, results never disqualified, prize money never returned, and no suspension ever served.

It's ironic and hypocritical that USADA cries foul when it suspects other anti-doping organizations are not following the rules to the letter while it did not announce doping cases for years and allowed cheats to carry on competing, WADA said.

CHINADA said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon that such practice of USADA causes severe damage to the rights and interests of clean athletes and to the fair play principle in sport, and shows a profound lack of transparency in USADA's anti-doping work.

The move is, in effect, a cover-up of anti-doping rule violations under the guise of undercover informant, CHINADA said.

It added that it strongly calls for an independent investigation into USADA for covering up anti-doping rule violations. Also, it should immediately disclose the details in relevant cases.

It was the third statement issued by CHINADA this week urging the US to drop double-standard when dealing with the anti-doping cases of athletes from the US and other countries and focus on handling its own doping problem.