The head of USADA urged Congress to pass a bill criminalizing international doping conspiracies

USADA CEO Travis Tygart testified before the Senate Commerce Committee. The House has unanimously approved the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, named for the Moscow lab director who blew the whistle on Russia’s state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and the bill — which also includes protections for whistleblowers — has bipartisan support in the Senate.

“We all now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix the global anti-doping system,” Tygart said. “We host the LA Olympic Games in 2028, and we want it real, not rigged.”

Tygart said the bill is consistent with WADA’s anti-doping regulations and that WADA’s opposition shows the organization’s conflicts of interest.

“It’s clear that the (International Olympic Committee) runs WADA and they’ve turned into a shameless political organization, using misinformation and scare tactics,” Tygart said. “The IOC is scared because of the level of corruption that’s been exposed.”

Tygart and USADA, along with anti-doping agencies from dozens of other countries, have argued for a fully independent WADA that does not include officials who benefit financially from the sports they are supposed to be policing.