Gene Doping

American Enterprise Institute 18.12.2008 Gene Doping, Doping & the Future of Sport

Introduction Jon Entine

Travis Tygart Doping creates atmosphere of coercion Athletes don’t want it Public harmed by fraudulent activity Teenage pregnancy less for girls who play sports Ethical crisis Josephson institute of ethic – 24% admit have cheated on a test in school 30% have stolen from a store.

ME: who are they trying to convince, if this is so persuasive?

Gene enhancement is banned Should play by the rules

THG nearly identical to gestrinone -    yet it is unhealthy, untested

ME: drugs are bad – ie. They don’t work, they have unknown side effects.

Photos of body builders who use drugs

Organized doping can be sophisticated -    provides image of a calendar with notes about when to take the drug

liquid, cream

Kelly White – smiling faces on her calendar

ME: ridiculous to claim that this is sophisticated

The shame she faced is important

ME: Health risks are real, but the shame is not

ME Why was victor conte emailing advice? I’m not sure I would have done this.

Education -    athletes need to know why healthy comp is important. -    Achievements in sport should be result of hard work, commitment and dedication.

Been in the public domain for many years

This fight is for the soul of sport

Question about facts and values -    some of what you explained was factual

Jean: doping starts in high-school – beyond elite sport

Rule bound

High-school testing – we support, but need preventative methods.

ME: Youth Olympic Games?

Nanotechnology for human growth hormone

Ed Moses: don’t understand how athletes can run 800m without putting in miles; coaches have changed parameters of athletes.

Panel 1: Athletes under the microscope

John Ruger, Athlete Ombudsmen for USOC A federally mandated position – Bill Clinton signed it

I don’t represent athletes. I advise them of their rights But I do help with process No collective bargaining agreement

3 really important things that an anti-doping prog must have 1.    must succeed if will prosper. People cheat, there’s no doubt about it.

Not much down side to getting caught Addition of USADA – single most important thing we have done

Every case is publicised – USADA policy

2.    methodologies must be secure, scientifically sound; when lab says you’re guilty, very little you can do to fight that.

Test for gene doping must be absolutely sound Don Catlin – THG – needed test to be robust for legal defence

Athletes who got a raw deal in doping process

Luge athlete – used propecia – TUE – banned list 2005 – Zak did not check list – he was tested 8 times in 2005, listed propecia in each sheet, and in December 2005 tested positive – went to Torino 2006 and 1-year ban – was that fair? I think arbitrators had second thoughts and changed rules

3.    athletes must believe that process is open and fair

athletes must tell WADA where they are every day 3 months in advance – must live by this standard

IOC supplements test – 15% positive substance without listing on label –

Marion Jones said: I’m worrid about kangaroo court if I were found guilty – we changed rules to make open to public – first was Floyd Landis, who had sympathetic press – but case went against him -  process shown to be fair

Kicker Vencill – had supplement positive – technically guilty – but not guilty of cheating, because of contaminated supplement

Kicker Vencill Concerns about process First, I believe in clean sport and relies on anti-doping Must list a one hour window each day 365 days for when we would be available I had to update this online I’ve complied since 2001 Held at high standard

I tested positive for steroid – 4 yr ban – arbitration ruled to 2 yrs, since adopted in fall 2003 – positive test was from contaminated multi-vitamin Civil lawsuit against company – lawyer said no performance enhancement – my results were not nullified – strict liability – WADA Code 1.5 shows possible of reduction in exceptional circumstances – so best case scenario is 1 yr suspension, but always been more – supplement contamination is a huge culprit – why do anti-doping agencies refuse XXX athletes – lot of discussion about spirit of sport – this would be beneficial info to athletes – hypocritical to be aware of problem and not enough to give general warnings about supplements – I would like to know which supplements or companies that supply them are under investigation, but I’m not given this info

Anti-doping – guilty until prove innocence, contrary to law of land: innocent until proven guilty

Civil case went in my favour – but strict liability still applied – 2 yr penalty – death penalty in my career – strict liability allows ADOs to treat all case the same – for consuming supplement –

I have a huge problem being classed as same as ‘hard’ dopers Doesn't seem ethical to me

We are human beings before athletes – must respect Not much evolution in this

Imperative that athletes and ADOs are more symbiotic Unethical for only one of parties to be held accountable

Dionne Koller Uni of Baltimore, School of Law

Intro by Jon: Teaches civil procedure - Sport and law – health and law – nationalism

Move from individual stories to bring government into conversation Deconstruct fight against doping

Government support crucial to fairnesss of process Ensure viability of anti-doping initiatives Starting point is common wisdom that Olympic sport is private enterprise and doping is an individualized problem – athlete is moral actor in doping equation – focus on individual why we have calls for gov to get involved

I see doping as cheating – and indiv is actor – but not just athlete – much bigger – temptatin to cheat and ability to pull it off well beyond indiv athlete – indiv connected to national community – nationalistic – above all else values ‘winning for the country’

Promote national prestige – sportive nationalism - GDR and now China – intro itself to world through pageantry of sport - How can it maximise nation’s prestige - How does doping fit into that paradigm? - Incentive for nation to allow or encourage doping - Link between medals and doping not hard to appreciate – using drugs greatly increases chance of winning  - Doping is an easy way to get there? - US interested in winning in sport

Doping use rampant – reasons why athletes dope: athletics should be defined by indiv, but seems to be a structure that requires to win for country – now, paradigm shifted, worldwide consensus that doping is wrong and should be stopped and winning in and of itself not enough – winning with morality matters – use athletes to show that can punish if necessary

What does this all mean for doping today? – gov has recalculated to lead fight on world stage – Is this a good thing? Of course, but not convinced that this fight is for the long run – or about fairness and integrity of sport

ME: seems to me that it’s about politics

need incentives – need to show world that we’re tough   - kicker evidences that – important to understand – cold war athletes different from world today – athletes have much more opportunity today to earn money – what is at stake?   - USA no longer letting doping go on – can be doomed to fail – ignore basic fairness in pursuit of athletes can undermine legitimacy – what happens if prestige benefits for fighting doping are not apparent – are we at a place where winning not the only goal – are we at point where win at all costs is dead? – we hear that some countries are not on board.

Questions & Answers

Jon: doping and china John: indicated that there would be no doping from China athletes – 3 things filtered from my emails in Beijing – Tibet, smog, protest – after games closed had the milk scandals – Dionne: China is the big question  - 16 yr old faked passports – raises q about process.

John: believe that there has been genetically enhanced athletes in previous games. I’ve spent time in China since 1996 – Chinese coaches involved with genetic enhancement – world class result from genetic enhancement – mitochondrial enhancement – as ageing – young athlete – achieved times that were impossible – 6 months later was gone – one Chinese athlete was genetically enhanced – mitochondria enhancement – very niave to believe that china is only – scientists will tell us rightly that cannot do it safely but many places will do it anyway.

Q: US Olympic Festival – better to have athlete as certified nutritionist to help with healthier lifestyle –

John Ruger: can we get suppliers who guarantee products – some believe we should have USOC nutritional provider – to make money from – sends mixed message when USADA says don’t take supplements and then have a provider that we endorse

Jean: there is no oversight on dietary supplements – not sure how can control a dietary supplement

John Ruger: yes, so this is why should be a good diet – rather than supplement

Edwin: my programme based on natural food. I cook all from scratch – I didn't take any vitamins – Olympic athletes have some of the worst diets – Daley Thompson: terrible eater and now says he doesn’t know how he made it and could have been better if had a better diet –

Kicker: I have medal winning friends who would not stop taking supplements

Panel II: Drug Testng and Policy

Randy Mayes (moderator) Intro by Jon: triple helix – science writer – cybergenetics of Kenyan running – genetics in historical context – explains genetics nanotechnology –

Critical analysis of sports enhancements – gene doping – detection –

Ted Friedmann Clarify the terminology on gene doping – role of genetics in a variety of areas -

Use justified for serious disease – but for more trivial use such as sport, not justifiable

Washington post article

The science of doping Donald a berry -    ‘anti-doping authorities have fostered a sporting culture of suspicion, secrecy and fear’

general tenets of doping -    protecting excellence – whose excellence?

Nature article – surprising position that anti-doping is the cause.

Obligation is hard to understand

Gene modification of athletes is coming

World of pro-doping is off track

Paul Haagen

Intro to Paul: sports law book for OUP;

Series of matters where universal agreement: sport rule based activity – clarity to rules are essential to reality – sport central form of intercultural exchange because of clarity of rules and goals – second thing:  sport exists in social and political context – can influence – had worked out a conference with Bei Da – but this was prohibited – was told though that USA was still main culprit of doping – as critical is nationalism and – have a culture of performance enhancement – business people fly from North America to Asia, they are taking various supplements to deal with jet lag – ethical issues  - ADA – accommodations on tests when sufficiently test – Oscar Pistorius – what is baseline for performance aid? –

Sporting rules are artificial – so argument that line-drawing is artificial doesn't get us far – first base is 90ft, could be100ft, if change, it would change the sport – fact that we draw a line at a particular place or that this is artificial is not a serious objection

If doping is ineffective will self-regulate – people will stop doing it – in absence of effective regulation, a significant number of competitors will be winners – can take a mediocre athlete and make them win – detection more difficult

ME: what would come first, the knowledge to gene dope safely or the knowledge to test for it effectively and are the two related?

Can an agency both police and promote/educate to certain kinds of goals? – if WADA etc promote anti-doping agency, then will be v powerful tendency to exaggerate quality of testing, to create rules that make it harder to challenge, conflate rule of ethical goal – some in doping are interested in seeking of potential – what is inherent in persons – clearly different levels of culpability –

Can enforcement mature to a point where admit that uniformity is a highly ineffective regulatory structure – try to keep people out, like Andy – very difficult to enforce – another is English property crime when inadequate resources to control – so made everything a hanging offence and caught nobody – other possibilities – real danger in change – fight for soul of sport – WADA and anti-doping have been a PR and political success of incredible propositions, close to unique – enforcement mechanisms that are made to work and if you move from moral clarity, it could unravel – failure to change though: maybe signif misdirection of resources particularly moral outrage: at persons who make mistakes, demonizing of them is a real problem – hand checking in bball not same as deliberate attempts to maim and injure – any other possibilities? USADA has strated t work on these – one is criminal law enforcement – if criminal authorities cannot be brought into this world, will be involved in significant underenforcement – BALCO track and field athletes had been pervasively tested and were not caught, but were once criminal authorities involved, same in cycling – GDR when Stasi file opened – who should be the target – coaches, suppliers? So much on athletes best approach? – need to look at creation of safe harbours – or limited safe harbours – Kelly White claims initial doping was unknowing, but current rules do not allow her to get out of it – pleas is to think about problem as regulatory – some things you let slide for good reason and direct resources to most interest

Questions & Answers

Randy: 2009 Code says –

Ted: PPAR – alter way your own endogenous genes are expressing – it is a gene manipulation of a sort as effects your own genes – no gene transfer – a pharmacological agent that is candidate for gene manipulation –

Jean: mitochondria gene enhancement

Ted: putting genes into mitochondria not well developed

Paul: as a society, we are going to massively reconsider role of regulation – moral imperative – but v hard to regulate – success period so narrow – if cheat on law school exam, might get a slightly better job – but if fail to cheat at Olympic trials, you’re probably going home.