The Head of Media Relations for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), James Fitzgerald, appears back in April to have attended the Masters at Augusta golf tournament, and gained entry to spots off limits to the public, under the cover of a misattributed press pass, supplied to him by a reporter from Reuters. To “avoid the appearance of bias,” Reuters has since withdrawn two stories on WADA’s criticism of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA): “Athletes Undercover? Global and U.S Anti-Doping Agencies Clash over Tactics” and “WADA Renews Call for USADA to Get Tougher on Testing.”
The quotation of Reuters’ motive comes from the Times of London, which both first reported the story and apprised Reuters of the facts. Reuters has since told Front Office Sports that it no longer employs the reporter, who appears to have left the agency before the Times raised the alert. Fitzgerald appears to retain his post at WADA, figuring under his title on the body’s website.
WADA and USADA have been at odds for a while. One dispute, as we reported in August, dates back to 2021, when WADA accepted the explanation of the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) that 23 Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) had been exposed to it by mistake. There is a bill still pending in US Congress that would withhold US dues to WADA if the body does not grant the US and its athletes “fair representation” and rid its various boards of conflicts alleged by the US.
In reaction to a story published by Reuters this August, WADA has accused the USADA of breaking the World Anti-Doping Code, by “permitting drug cheats to compete for years on the promise that they would try to obtain incriminating evidence against others” – in other words, by conducting a sting with informants. The US did this, WADA says, without “notifying WADA and without there being any provision allowing such a practice under the Code or USADA’s own rules.” According to Reuters, WADA is aware of three such stings, occurring from 2011 to 2014.
Through its CEO, Travis T. Tygart, the USADA has responded, saying that what WADA accuses USADA of doing is “what WADA should have done with the Chinese swimmers’ positives: develop the evidence to identify the truth and uphold the rules to protect clean sport.” Tygart goes on to say that WADA was “aware of the athletes’ cooperation, including the athletes’ return to competition, one of which was necessary for the U.S. federal law enforcement (the Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI) investigation into a human and drug trafficking scheme.”
