A level playing field in anti‑doping disputes? The need to scrutinize procedural fairness at first instance hearings / Shaun Star, Sarah Kelly. - (International Sports Law Journal (2020) 28 August; p. 1-24)

• DOI: 10.1007/s40318-020-00176-6

Abstract

The WADA Code upholds the virtues of procedural fairness. Minimum procedural guarantees have been strengthened under the 2021 WADA Code and the International Standard for Results Management. However, implementation of these guarantees by National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) and domestic anti-doping panels are critical in ensuring that athletes are afforded procedural fairness. While some countries have enacted reforms in anti-doping dispute resolution infrastructure, other jurisdictions are arguably lagging behind. Since few doping disputes are heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), a strong domestic dispute resolution framework should encourage independence, efficiency and cost-effectiveness, as well as promote consistency and procedural fairness at all levels of hearing. First instance hearings are particularly significant given that CAS is not considered a practical option for many athletes, especially those from developing countries, predominately due to challenges of access to justice and affordability. Irrespective of procedurally unfair decisions at first instance, CAS has the de novo right of review to correct any such irregularities. However, this approach alone is inadequate, especially given that most athletes do not appeal to CAS. CAS, WADA and NADOs all have significant roles to play in ensuring procedural fairness for athletes. WADA and NADOs need to do more to ensure compliance with procedural guarantees at first instance. This paper advances the debate on the importance of procedural fairness and proposes a research agenda to support future reform, arguing that the current anti-doping model needs to reconsider how these important standards are upheld, from first instance until final appeal.

Keywords Anti-doping · Procedural fairness · Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) · National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) · World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) · Sports law

Ligandrol (LGD-4033)-Induced Liver Injury / Mary Barbara, Sadhna Dhingra, Ayse Mindikoglu / (ACG Case Reports Journal 7 (2020) 6 (June); p. 1-3)

• PMID: 32637435
• PMCID: PMC7304490
• DOI: 10.14309/crj.0000000000000370

Abstract

We described a 32-year-old man who developed severe drug-induced liver injury after using Ligandrol (LGD-4033). The diagnosis was confirmed by a liver biopsy that showed cholestatic hepatitis with a mild portal, periportal, and perisinusoidal fibrosis. Ligandrol is a selective androgen receptor modulator that is available over the counter and via the internet.

Related cases:

CAS 2019_A_6443 CCES vs Dominika Jamnicky | Dominika Jamnicky vs CCES
July 9, 2020

SDRCC 2018 CCES vs Dominika Jamnicky & Triathlon Canada - Partial Award
May 31, 2019

In June 2018 the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Triathlon Athlete Dominika Jamnicky after her sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Clostebol.

After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement with evidence in her defence and she was heard for the SDRCC Doping Tribunal.

The Athlete accepted the test result and denied the intentional use of the substance. She argued that the positive test was the result of contaminated meat in Australia or Canada.

The CCES contended that the Athlete failed to establish the source of Clostebol nor that the violation was not intentional.

On 31 May 2019 the SDRCC Doping Tribunal in the Partial Award decided that the Athlete has not discharged her burden of proving the source of her positive test. However the Arbitrator deemed that the Athlete indeed has discharged her burden of proving that her positive test was not intentional.

Hereafter the Parties filed their submissions as to the consequences that should follow from this Partial Award.

Considering the submissions of the Parties the Arbitrator concludes that the Athlete had committed an anti-doping rule violation. However with application of the principle of proportionality as to the seriousness of the violation the Arbitrator deems that a 2 year period of ineligibility would be wholly unfair and an excessively severe sanction.

Therefore the SDRCC Doping Tribunal decides on 16 August 2019 that the Athlete has committed an anti-doping rule violation and that the Athlete's sanction is reduced to a reprimand.

Related cases:

CAS 2019_A_6443 CCES vs Dominika Jamnicky | Dominika Jamnicky vs CCES
July 9, 2020

SDRCC 2018 CCES vs Dominika Jamnicky & Triathlon Canada - Final Award
August 16, 2019

In June 2018 the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Triathlon Athlete Dominika Jamnicky after her sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Clostebol.

After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement with evidence in her defence and she was heard for the SDRCC Doping Tribunal.

The Athlete accepted the test result and denied the intentional use of the substance. She argued that the positive test was the result of contaminated meat in Australia or Canada.

The CCES contended that the Athlete failed to establish the source of Clostebol nor the that the violation was not intentional.

On 31 May 2019 the SDRCC Doping Tribunal in this Partial Award decides that the Athlete has not discharged her burden of proving the source of her positive test. However the Arbitrator deemed that the Athlete indeed has discharged her burden of proving that her positive test was not intentional.

Hereafter, as agreed by the Parties, they made submissions as to the consequences that should follow from this Partial Award.

Clomiphene Stimulation Test in Men Abusing Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids for Long Time / M. Medras, Pawel Zóźków, L. Terpilowski, E. Zagocka. - (Journal of Steroids & Hormonal Science 5 (2014) 2 (30 April); p. 1-4)

• DOI: 10.4172/2157-7536.1000129

Abstract:

Objective: Androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS) are commonly used by athletes and recreational athletes. In some cases they induce persistent anabolic steroid-induced hypogonadism (ASIH).

Design: In an observational study we assessed the function of the pituitary-gonadal axis in a series of men with suspected ASIH.

Methods: Clomiphene stimulation test (CST) was performed in 13 hypogonadal adult men with previous, prolonged exposure to AAS. We evaluated the response of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and total testosterone (T) to 50 mg of clomiphene daily administered for a week. Mean concentrations of hormones before and after clomiphene administration were respectively (mean ± SD): 3 ± 1.2 and 8.3 ± 2 mIU/ml for LH; 3 ± 1.1 and 10 ± 14.6 mIU/ml for FSH; and 2.3 ± 0.6 and 7.2 ± 1.7 ng/ml for T (p<0.001).

Conclusions: Men with ASIH, after a long-time withdrawal of AAS, present an intact reaction of gonadotropins and testosterone to clomiphene stimulation.

Doping survey in the youth school games in Brazil / Paulo Rodrigo Pedroso da Silva, Geraldo Albuquerque Maranhao Neto, Casagrande Figueiredo, Ana Maria Pujol Vieira dos Santos, Maria Helena Vianna Metello Jacob, Eduardo Henrique de Rose, Lamartine Pereira da Costa. - (Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte 23 (2017) 6 (November/December); p. 436-440)

• DOI: 10.1590/1517-869220172306163303

Abstract:

Introduction: Doping control is an important means for preventing the use of illegal substances and methods
in sports.

Objective: This study investigated the self-reported use of illegal substances among young Brazilian students in the Youth School Games, the main sporting event among school-aged athletes in Brazil with almost 2 million students during all the phases. Methods: Cross-sectional study with athletes of the Youth School Games 2006 aged 14-17 years. The subjects were randomly selected and completed an anonymous questionnaire about substances use. Chi-square test was used for comparison of proportions between different variables on self-reported use of substances. Univariate and multivariate analyzes and logistic regression were performed.

Results: Among the 402 athletes (aged 14-17) who volunteered to participate, the results showed
high prevalence of alcohol (35.8%), nutritional supplements (39.1%), and tobacco (5.4%). Regarding illegal drugs and doping, 1.7% reported the use of stimulants, 2.2% illicit drugs, 0.5% anabolic steroids, and 1.7% hormones and other similar substances. Moreover, a different use of stimulants was found (especially Judo and Table tennis), medications (especially Judo and Chess) and dietary supplements (especially Swimming and Judo, with over 50% reported use).

Conclusion: The present study suggests that the use of substances among young athletes is similar to the results found among adult Olympic athletes as per International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency, especially regarding the use of dietary supplements, anabolic steroids, and stimulants according to data collected by other studies. We consider that the findings of the present work indicate the need for specific efforts to monitor, prevent, and control use of substances among school athletes in big events and competitions, such as this research on doping in the Youth School Games.

‘It was my thought … he made it a reality’ : Normalization and responsibility in athletes’ accounts of performance enhancing drug use / Evdokia Pappa, Eileen Kennedy. - (International Review for the Sociology of Sport 48 (2013) 3 (1 June); p. 277-294)

• DOI: 10.1177/1012690212442116

Abstract

Despite the widespread interest in athletes’ use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in track and field, the voices of the athletes who use banned substances have seldom been heard. Interviews with competitive athletes were conducted to explore their relationship to doping. Two themes emerged from the interviews. Firstly, the athletes presented doping as a normalized part of competitive sport, inevitably involving the participation of coaching staff. Secondly, and in contrast to the first theme, athletes maintained that they alone were responsible for the decision to use PEDs. The study supports the ‘networked athlete’ explanation of PED use, while highlighting the individualist explanation of doping offered by the athletes themselves. Foucault’s concept of governmentality is used to explain this contradiction, by suggesting that athletes’ internalization of responsibility for doping is part of the art of governing competitive sport.

Implementation of the HIF activator IOX-2 in routine doping controls - Pilot study data / Christian Görgens, Sven Guddat, Christina Bosse, Andre Knoop, Hans Geyer, Mario Thevis. - (Drug Testing and Analysis (2020) 18 August)

• PMID: 32809277
• DOI: 10.1002/dta.2914

Abstract

Early in 2020, racehorse doping cases revolved around the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) activator IOX-2. While the composition of IOX-2 has also been known and monitored in human doping controls for several years, the testing capability of routine sports drug testing methods was revisited for this newly surfaced doping agent. IOX-2 and the analytically well-established HIF activator roxadustat (FG-4592) share identical precursor/product ion pairs, enabling their co-detection in existing initial testing procedures in routine doping controls for the intact unconjugated analytes. In addition, hydroxylated IOX-2 and the corresponding glucuronic acid conjugates were identified as major metabolites in a microdose elimination study, contributing to enhanced initial testing and confirmation procedures.

Analysis of supplements available to UK consumers purporting to contain Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators / Amy E. Leaney, Paul Beck, Simon Biddle, Paul Brown, Philip B. Grace, Simon Hudson, Deborah H. Mawson. - (Drug Testing and Analysis (2020) 3 August)

• PMID: 32748554
• DOI: 10.1002/dta.2908

Abstract

Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are compounds with specific androgenic properties investigated for treatment of conditions such as muscle wasting diseases. The reported androgenic properties have resulted in their use by athletes, and consequently they have been on the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list for more than a decade. SARMs have been investigated by pharmaceutical companies as potential drug candidates, but to date no SARM has demonstrated sufficient safety and efficacy to gain clinical approval by either the European Medicines Agency or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Despite their lack of safety approval, SARMs are often illegally marketed as dietary supplements, available for consumers to buy online. In this study, a range of supplement products marketed as SARMs were purchased and analysed using high resolution accurate mass - mass spectrometry to evaluate the accuracy of product claims and content labelling. This study found discrepancies ranging from a supplement in which no active ingredients were found, to supplements containing undeclared prohibited analytes. Where SARMs were detected, discrepancies were observed between the concentrations measured and those detailed on the product packaging. The outcome of this experiment highlights the high risk of such supplement products to consumers. The inaccurate product claims give rise to uncertainty over both the dose taken and the identity of any of these unapproved drugs. Even for supplements where product labelling is correct, the lack of complete toxicity data, especially for combinations of SARMs taken as stacks, means that the safety of these supplements is unknown.

Inside the locker room: a qualitative study of coaches’ anti-doping knowledge, beliefs and attitudes / Terry Engelberg, Stephen Moston. - (Sport in Society 19 (2016) 7; p. 942-956)

• DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2015.1096244

Abstract

It is widely assumed that coaches have an effect on athletes’ doping behaviours; however, the means by which this influence can be manifested are only superficially understood. The present study seeks to understand how coaches see their role in directly and indirectly influencing the doping attitudes and behaviours of athletes. Fourteen elite-level coaches participated in focus group discussions. Coaches displayed a low level of knowledge of banned methods and practices. While it was acknowledged that doping was prevalent in sport, coaches believed that doping was not a problem in their own sport, since doping does not aid in the development or implementation of sporting ‘skills’. While the findings suggest that coaches support the revised WADA Code, with increased sanctions for coaches, the findings also highlight how coaches may indirectly and inadvertently condone doping. This may be through inaction or the apparent endorsement of pro-doping expectancies.