There is a danger that WADA’s utilitarian approach to athletes rights, exemplified by the code, and justified by nebulous concepts such as ‘the spirit of sport’, has resulted in an imbalance between sport and the rights of athletes’. In my view, the current situation needs to change; From the sporting legislators point of view, an alternative to the current system of simply listing banned substances is needed. There has been a move toward a system which looks for general abnormalities in samples and I believe this is where the answer lies. This system will undoubtedly result in innocent athletes being caught up and tried for doping offences, however, the sporting community as a whole needs to move away from the stigma attached to a doping allegation and advocate thorough, impartial judicial proceeding. Athletes should be innocent until proven guilty and incur no ban for mere unfounded suspicion, prior to a hearing.
The current approach advocated by WADA needs reconstruction. I propose an altered version of the current system. The powers currently contained within WADA should be divided among three agencies; they could serve to act as a system of checks and balances. Each agency regulates the behaviour there counter-parts. This would ensure more democratic outcomes. The working relationship would resemble the legislature, executive and judiciary in Ireland, in terms of structure.
Any proposed overhaul must ensure that as sport increases its anti- doping regulatory framework the rights of athletes are protected and vindicated.
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