The US Senate passed “Rodchenkov's act” - the bill, which criminalizes anyone involved in a doping conspiracy: to 10 years in prison and up to a million dollars in fines. Moreover, the statute of limitations “Rodchenkov's act” is 10 years. Law, if signed by the President of the United States, will affect everyone, who participates in international tournaments. Competitions are considered, featuring at least one American and three foreign athletes. NBA and NHL rules do not apply. curious, that WADA criticized the document, but the head of the agency still promised to help the US authorities in every possible way to comply with it. What does it all mean and how does it apply to our sport, explains Dmitry Lekuh.
Despite the country's split between Republicans and Democrats, Rodchenkov's act was adopted virtually unanimously. The document was sent on the same day to the current US President Donald Trump for signature., and no one has any doubts about his future fate. And what is there to talk about, if there is a bipartisan consensus. Him and Joseph Biden, be he already in office and despite dementia, just as easily signed. Differences, basically, no.
About what, properly, speech. Passed by the US Senate “anti-doping law”, immediately became known as “Rodchenkov's act”, will apply to all competitions, in which there is an American presence, – be it an athlete or a sponsor (theoretically possible, what is enough “American audience”). The place of their holding does not matter - the law is indicative-extraterritorial in nature.
In this way, he, by the senators, should be extended to almost all major international tournaments, including World and European Championships (American sponsorship of some teams) on football, as well as the Olympic Games. There may be a sudden interest in European club football tournaments: American sponsorship there is also definitely the place to be. And this is already a reason.
At the same time, this has, right word, some special cynicism - “anti-doping law” generally does not apply to professional, not even college sports leagues in the US itself, who continue to live according to their inner law and order. As the President of the organization Vitold Banka explained on the official website of WADA, “these Leagues were originally included in the law, but subsequently deleted without explanation”. And they did it right, what was removed.
in professional and “fueling” their US collegiate sports leagues “steer” quite serious, from the point of view of any US senator, people. Significant not only in the world of geshefts, but also in party American politics. Why should they bother about such an idiotic reason? And without WADA and its Rodchenkovs, everything will be calmly decided ...
Headed WADA in 2020 Vitold Banka, former Minister of Sports and Tourism of Poland | A photo: RIA Novosti / Alexey Vitvitsky
Now a little about the content of the document. I want to say right now: private violations of athletes under the new American “anti-dumping law” do not fall. It has several other tasks: work on “organizers of fraudulent schemes”, who allegedly create conditions for anti-doping rule violations and help to avoid punishment. In other words, to extraterritorial, including criminal (up to ten years in prison), organizations will be held accountable, third party officials (it is important!) nations, government officials or sports doctors. Nothing new: this approach was already discussed last year through UNESCO, but the reform failed, and the United States left UNESCO itself. Now we've decided, why do they need some kind of UNESCO, when any objectionable Platini can be judged and sentenced by any Brooklyn court. A very significant story...
the, what's happening, called simply: Raider seizure. Raider takeover of an entire industry, the entire sports industry, and it didn't start yesterday.
Tell the story of what is happening for a long time, it is well known to interested professionals, and for the general public, all this is far from a secret: as part of a very, very serious North American (and partly Canadian) media clans, specializing primarily in the field “sports show”, and affiliated marketers, manufacturers of sportswear and goods decided “privatize” under the Olympic movement. And they almost made it.
For those, who is not fully aware: just ask, What is Richard famous for? “Mad Dick” Pound and why, being the favorite of the outgoing Samaranch and “IOC wallet”, so hard lost the IOC presidential election to the Belgian Jacques Rogge. How and why Crazy Dick became the first head and actual creator of WADA. And why did he consider it solely as an instrument of power.
IOC member and first WADA President Richard Pound | A photo: Reuters
retell, probably, I will not. It's pretty interesting right now, but it doesn't matter anymore, because with acceptance “Rodchenkov's act” potential beneficiaries are not particularly interested in WADA itself. She's just written off.
Now with regard to WADA. Although “Rodchenkov's act” applies only to countries and organizations, who signed the code of this wonderful organization (NBA, NHL, NFL, professional boxing associations and American student leagues simply did not sign this garbage - on this basis and “released from liability”), the adopted American law actually simply replaces the current anti-doping rules, which almost all world sports are guided by. And WADA after that becomes just an auxiliary service (mostly laboratory) under American Themis in highly specialized cases.
Therefore, WADA was initially outraged. And paid attention to, that the US will go after doping scammers around the world and turn a blind eye to possible violations in their own professional leagues.
WADA wonders, why this bill excludes a significant part of American sports. If the law isn't good enough for American sports, why is it good for the rest of the world? Banka, President of WADA, said in a statement..
In Russian folklore there is such a tongue twister “a thief stole a baton from a thief”. Or, I speak ornately, the right of the strong. Guess one time, who will be stronger.
And here's the most important thing. How should we deal with all this nonsense?, in Russia. The answer here will be extremely boring: first of all, soberly. although this, I confess, not easy. Alas, and this is also worth acknowledging: the, what we vaguely call “professional sports”, no longer about sports. it, children, about business. About money.
And about a specific business, but at the same time operating in recent years with too serious amounts, so that they can be left at the disposal of some international sports bureaucrats. And if this is not treated as a sport, but only as a business, then it’s worth defending only your business interests in professional sports. If we have them, of course, these competitions have.
The Importance of the International Olympic Movement in the Modern World, to put it mildly, pretty much exaggerated and overblown. here, let us say, disappeared somewhere in covid darkness Tokyo Olympics. And say, a lot of people now remember this and how much they worry? That's what it is.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and IOC President Thomas Bach | A photo: REUTERS / Issei Kato
Therefore, everything is simple here: since such a gesture has gone, as the extraterritoriality of a rather bizarre American sports law, then it makes sense for us to at least think: and we really need it? AND, least, audit all sports federations: like inside your farm, as well as international relations. I'm afraid, there we can learn a lot of new and interesting things about, How does this wonderful world actually work?. And what fantastic creatures sometimes live in it, of course.
But you have to do it anyway.. Because if all this wonderful extraterritorial right is implemented in the realities of international sports organizations, then we have to decide: whether to continue to participate in these American Open Championships ... ugh, Olympic starts ... confused again. Yes, it doesn't matter. Or look for allies in this difficult matter and stir up something of your own.
What else to do, if international institutions are falling apart before our eyes, and okay, if only in sports. In sports, there is still at least some chance to resist this mediocre raiding: it's not really show business, there are laws. And it is well understood, by the way, serious uncles from professional North American sports leagues, deflected from themselves to the maximum distance this stupid, a gift born in the bowels of WADA. They're going to work for a long time, and they don’t need such petty crooks.
But with the Olympic Movement in its current form, if “anti-doping” the bill will be signed, us, as it appears, still have to say goodbye. Otherwise, it will be necessary to recognize the priority of not even international law, and internal (and at the same time extraterritorial) US laws. And it's not just about banal self-respect., although it is enough. And not even in, that this is contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Let's be frank: it is also impossible purely tactically and banally in everyday terms. And you never know that by decision of the Senate they will still decide to add to this domestic legislation: just look at the reports from the current international competitions and see for yourself, that in front of American blacks on one knee, in their opinion, not only American sports should become, but the rest of the world. Which the, actually, It has nothing to do with their oppression..
And in general, you never know what they are still there, at home in Congress, tomorrow they will come up with. Somehow I really would not like the efforts of my already my own “Western-oriented” sports authorities, this is all legally-creatively invented to perform. And no Olympics is worth it.
