Anti-doping official wants TV and sponsors to help fund fight against cheaters

A top sports official wants to expand the fight against doping with money from television broadcasters and sponsorship fees that would otherwise have gone to the cheaters themselves.

Craig Reedie, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, suggested in a blog post Monday that a 0.5% tariff on the $35 billion broadcasters pay in media rights fees annually could make a big difference.

“That would give WADA an extra $175 million per year to protect the clean athlete,” he wrote.

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Reedie also proposed that if an athlete is sanctioned for doping, his or her sponsorship money could be diverted to WADA for the duration of the ban.

“Doping is a threat to the sponsor’s business, so why would sponsors not want to fund clean sport, and have a stake in the positive values clean sport exudes?” he stated.

Funding for WADA has become a hot topic in recent months.

Presently, doping enforcement is conducted by a patchwork of national agencies. In countries such as Russia and Kenya, these organizations have come under scrutiny for failing to police their athletes.

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A growing number of voices in international sport are calling for WADA to take over enforcement worldwide, which would require a significant increase in the global agency’s budget.

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