Russia Seeks Arrest Of PED Whistleblower

Russia recently issues a warrant on Grigory Rodchenkov, the whistle blower on Russia's decade long state sanctioned doping and PED detection avoiding program, after Rodchenkov published an op-ed calling for Russia to suffer consequences for their illicit

Oct 5, 2017 by Andrew Spey

Russia Seeks Arrest Of PED Whistleblower

In the run-up to the Rio Olympic Games, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) dropped its bombshell McLaren Report, throwing Russia's participation in the Summer Games into doubt and casting a shadow of suspicion of PED use onto every Russian sports team and athlete.

The case was launched after Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of the Anti-Doping Centre -- a laboratory utilized by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), -- defected to the United States. As initially reported in the New York Times and later captured in stunning behind-the-scenes detail by the incredible Netflix documentary "Icarus," Rodchenkov peeled back the curtain to reveal a state-sponsored doping and PED-detection avoidance program that touched nearly every Russian athlete over the last decade.

Unfortunately, Russia has faced few consequences for its actions and as a result likely felt emboldened enough to now go after Rodchenkov, putting him on an international wanted list and issuing a warrant for his arrest.

Rodchenkov recently published an op-ed in the NY Times, highlighting the ineffectiveness of WADA and the corruption and hypocrisy of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in turning a blind eye to the Russian regime's blatant flaunting of Olympic anti-doping regulations and international standards of ethics and accountability.

As the former director of Russia's antidoping center, I, [Grigory Rodchenkov], disclosed indisputable evidence of widespread, state-sanctioned cheating by my country, hoping this would lead to change. But the expectation I once had for meaningful reform is beginning to fade.

In addition to two lengthy reports (Part I, Part II), WADA has published much of source material used by the McLaren investigation, including laboratory files and emails which Rodchenkov smuggled into the U.S. Not all the files survived the overseas trip, as before he defected Rodchenkov was ordered to expunge and destroy evidence while he was still running the program in Russia. However, of the files that were saved, at least 28 wrestlers were included (although their identities are redacted), and the freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling teams are both often mentioned.

In the below tweet, screen shots taken from the McLaren report's initial publication show translated emails from 2015 clearly implicating Russia's wrestling program in Rodchenkov's system of PED detection avoidance [Warning: screenshots contain adult language not suitable for children].

Maybe Guseinov got fired because he wouldn't pay the fees to cover up his wrestlers' PED use? https://t.co/LJmvTuidjw pic.twitter.com/hVZ1QDeR5z
— Keystaroslav Clasek (@SpeyWrestle) December 10, 2016

Although Rodchenkov is currently hiding from his home country's government -- and is likely never going to see his family again -- he continues to apologize for his actions. Rodchenkov also holds out hope that judgement will be not come down too harshly on the athletes, as they, like Rodchenkov himself, were under pressure from Russian officials to participate in the program.

Let's also be clear that doped athletes in Russia are, in many ways, victims, too. In the Russian system, they do not have much choice but to cheat, even if some did so enthusiastically. Many, even most, would prefer to compete without doping, without the constant fear of getting caught.

Ideally, the IOC would take Rodchenkov's testimony and the evidence he provided seriously and follow the recommendations of the McLaren Report that the governing body itself commissioned. One would think, after Rodchenkov "disclosed indisputable evidence of widespread, state-sanctioned cheating" by Russia, that the IOC would be eager to provide WADA with the resources and mandate it needs to properly investigate and punish "the world's pre-eminent and most organized doping violator."

But alas, the IOC and its constituent sports federations seem only eager to sweep the latest scandal under the rug and get back to business as usual. And unfortunately that means an unreformed and unrepentant Russia, which will likely inspire more unethical countries to redouble their efforts to cheat, as the international sporting community has long since abdicated its moral responsibility to effectively monitor its own competitions.