The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has come up with an ingenious way of re-classifying athletes as hunted criminals who need to be tracked every single day of the year.
Dubbed the “Whereabouts” program, it sounds like one that can be implemented with convicted sex-offenders, homicidal maniacs, terrorists and so on.
According to the program:
athletes say where they are for at least one hour a day over a period of time
and
Wada’s 2009 code specifies that athletes must be available seven rather than five days a week and that they are present for the whole of the hour, not just part of it. The times of day between which they can specify their location have also been restricted.
and
Wada regulations state that three missed disclosures of whereabouts in an 18-month period could result in a two-year ban…
The justification for the Whereabouts program is skimpy:
Because out-of-competition tests can be conducted anytime, anywhere, and without notice to athletes, they are the most effective means of deterrence and detection of doping and are an important step in strengthening athlete and public confidence in doping-free sport.
But random testing can be effective without a tracking system. An athlete can be called in for testing at any time. This does not require the person to be present at one location for any period of time or even report his whereabouts in advance.
At best, the athlete should be required to respond to any communication from WADA immediately, facing suspension otherwise.
Further, most drugs don’t disappear from your body overnight. An sportsman can be tested on short notice and not be able to hide evidence of drug abuse.
Lastly, it is inconceivable that WADA testers will actually be to track down athletes even if the location is disclosed. We can be certain that the number of testers worldwide will not be in the thousands and
While some athletes have abused the older honor system of not using performance-enhancing drugs, most do not engage in such abusive practices.This is like grade-school or like the Nazis: the whole , or race, is punished just because of a couple of outliers.
