WADA welcomes final dismissal of claim brought by Enhanced Games

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) welcomes the decision by a federal court in the United States to dismiss an antitrust claim against the Agency, World Aquatics and USA Swimming which was brought by the organizers of the Enhanced Games, an event that encourages athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs. WADA brought the motion to dismiss after the Enhanced Games made its civil antitrust claims to the U.S. District Court (Southern District of New York) in August. The court made its ruling on 17 November but gave the Enhanced Games 30 days to amend and seek to cure the defects in its complaint. That period has now elapsed without any such amended complaint being filed.

A WADA spokesperson said: “WADA welcomes the decision and thanks the court for its early dismissal of this claim by the Enhanced Games. It vindicates the strong stance we have taken on this matter. WADA has the right – indeed the responsibility – to speak out against the Enhanced Games, an event that risks athletes’ health by encouraging them to take powerful, performance-enhancing drugs without therapeutic need.

“The beauty and popularity of sport is based on the ideal of clean and fair competition. These values must be protected. Athletes serve as role models, and we believe this event sends a dangerous message to young people around the world. This issue is uniting almost all Anti-Doping Organizations and governments worldwide. Our clean sport partners, including athletes, have joined us in strongly condemning the risks posed by this event.

“WADA calls on all governments and law enforcement agencies to assess whether athletes who take performance-enhancing drugs in this context – or the physicians who supply or administer those substances – may be in breach of criminal laws or professional rules, whether in their own countries or in the United States, where the event is scheduled to take place.”