Sports authorities will soon no longer be alone in sanctioning violations of anti-doping rules in the United States. Justice will soon take its turn. The House of Representatives adopted by vote on Tuesday, October 22, a bill intended to now consider major international doping cases as a criminal act, like the Russian sports scandal at the Sochi Winter Games in 2014 The bill was named after Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory known for working with authorities to reveal the scale of cheating. Once adopted by the Senate, where it enjoys strong support, and then signed by Donald Trump, the law will come into force. It provides for fines of up to one million dollars and prison sentences of up to 10 years. In particular, it will allow the American justice system to prosecute and possibly convict anyone involved in a doping case, as it did for international football leaders convicted of corruption. This bill is supported by major U.S. sports organizations, including the Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the National Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
— Published on October 23, 2019
