Indian players refuse to sign Anti Doping norms

[SciD]

Wonder why zMario missed out on this.

The Indian board has backed its players on the anti-doping issue and rejected the contentious 'whereabouts' clause in the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) code as it was "unreasonable". This decision was taken at a meeting of the BCCI's working committee in Mumbai on Sunday and places the ICC, which implemented an amended version code from January 1, in a difficult position.

The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), of which India is not a member, has warned that if the ICC did not penalise India's players for failing to submit to the new anti-doping norms in time, it would ensure that players from all other countries would be relieved from similar obligations.

Concerns about the 'whereabouts' clause in the amended WADA code is not a cricket-specific issue and has been treated as a matter of concern in other sports, particularly team sports such as football. FIFA, football's governing body, is still not completely WADA-compliant due to similar concerns and has suggested that only players they deem as high-risk be included in the testing pool. Tennis stars such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have also spoken out against revealing whereabouts information in advance. There is a meeting of world player associations, including FICA, in London in early September with WADA to discuss these concerns. The ICC will also raise these concerns with WADA at a review meeting this year-end.

BCCI backs players on anti-doping | Cricket News | Global | Cricinfo.com

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I say well done Indian players, good on them for standing up for their rights. Also nice to know that FICA backs them up, the ICC supports their claims and that even players like Nadal and Federer have the same concerns.


http://www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/current/story/417304.html

 

[Insomniac]

It's stupid to be honest.

How are you going to know where you are going to be for the next 3 months EVERY single day?

Seriously, just make them give a contact number, and contact them and arrange a place for them to be tested (if selected).

I'm not surprised that WADA lost their case against the PCB now.

 

[Fluroescent]

I say well done Indian players, good on them for standing up for their rights. Also nice to know that FICA backs them up, the ICC supports their claims and that even players like Nadal and Federer have the same concerns.


http://www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/current/story/417304.html

Untrue; I don't know where Cricinfo gets its sources (if they even have any), but Roger Federer has actually accepted it wholeheartedly, while only a minor fraction of tennis players, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadael, had raised objections, yes, but they agreed to them and accepted the tests later. Federer actually made a wonderful point, saying, "“You're not going to catch them by ringing up and saying, 'Look, I'd like to test you maybe in two days.' The guy is cheating and they are smart, right?”. Hear hear, I'd say.

As the IOC mention, 571 sporting bodies have all agreed to WADA's code, and abide by it to this day, including footballers and Indian athletes, the former of whom are undeniably more high profile, and none of whom have raised objections. The latter is probably due to doping being a serious issue in football that has dogged it ever since the 80s and 90s, so I'm not surprised that WADA's code has been accepted so widely. In comparison, cricket really needs to take it seriously, with the lax treatment to Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar being prime examples.

Professional players are naturally high profile figures so questions over privacy is completely moot, as is security, with the vast majority of all sportsmen, like Roger Federer, who are arguably far more high profile than Messers Dhoni and Harbhajhan, agreeing and abiding by the code. These strict measures must be enforced, so that cricket doesn't fall prey to the looming spectre of performance-enhancement drug usage. That is what should be most important.

 

[SciD]

Do you know where will you be after 3 weeks?

 

[Fluroescent]

Do you know where will you be after 3 weeks?

I'm not sure if you've thoroughly read up on the regulations, but it appears as if you've been misinformed.

Dr Stuart Miller, the head of the ITF's science and technical department, said that players would have to get used to making and changing their drug-testing appointments in the same way they change flights and check out of hotels after defeats.

“All they have to do is SMS us to update their whereabouts,” Miller said. “I can only presume in Andy Murray's case, he had said that 7am was an appropriate time and that is when the tester called. There cannot be effective out-of-competition testing without player whereabouts, it is the cornerstone of effective control.”

Federer, the former world No1, still does not feel comfortable sharing a court with any player who failed a doping test. “It's a tough system and a significant change to what we were used to before, so I think it takes some getting used to it,” he said. “But this is how you're going to catch them. It is an hour a day. I know it's a pain, but I would like it to be a clean sport, so I'm OK with it.”

The enforcers argue that without an ability to test “out of competition” during the one hour every day that the player has specified they will be available, they would be at a singular disadvantage in the fight against doping.

Like every sport that has signed up to the latest World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules, tennis is having to become accustomed to a reconfiguration of past practice. Francesco Ricci Bitti, president of the ITF, which manages the testing programme, said: “While we appreciate the difficulties of the implementation of the whereabouts programme in tennis, the goal for all of us is a clean sport. Out-of-competition testing forms a vital part of the world anti-doping code.” In short - tough.

You don't need to tell them whether or not you'll be swooning away in three weeks time; you'd just need to update one of the world's most premier governing bodies by SMS on your location. Not a problem, as far as the entire sporting community is concerned, especially when faced with a major, serious issue like drugs and performance-enhanced sports.

 

[SciD]

If they want to do drug test by using sms confirmation then why need 3 month information?

 

[Fluroescent]

If they want to do drug test by using sms confirmation then why need 3 month information?

Uh, what are you on about? Like I said, that isn't the case at all. This excellent article from the Times explains this matter thoroughly, so I suggest you read up on it.

 

[SciD]

I read that. A doctor says they need sms confirmation before coming to check up,. Did you read what Murray had to go through.

scion_sid added 4 Minutes and 25 Seconds later...

The current anti-doping code revised the "whereabouts" system in place since 2004, requiring athletes to select one hour per day, five days a week to be available for no-notice drugs tests. However on January 1, 2009 this was extended to seven days a week and unlike the previous system athletes have to be available for the full hour.

This has led to a legal challenge from Sporta the Belgian sports union who argue that the system violates Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

FIFPro is also preparing a challenge based on data protection and employment law.

A significant number of sports organizations, governments, athletes, and other individuals and organizations have expressed support for the new whereabouts requirements. The International Association of Athletics Federations and UK Sport are two of the most vocal supporters of this rule.

WADA has also published a Q&A explaining the rationale for the change.

Both UEFA and FIFA have rejected the system citing privacy concerns.

World Anti-Doping Agency - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[SaiSrini]

Good one by the Indian team. India might use their power for the right thing this time. No Champions Trophy, no problem! We are not giving 3 month information and all.

 

[Fluroescent]

That doctor is actually head of ITF's science and technical department, which is the governing body in international tennis. I don't really think Murray went through anything; it's not as if he was mugged or anything.

I think you misunderstood what that Cricinfo article said:

Players from this pool have to inform the ICC at the beginning of every quarter (three-month period) of the year, a location and time that they will be available for an hour each day in that quarter for testing.

They would just need to set specific dates for the drug test out of the next three months in a sporting calendar, just as you would set a date for an exam; they don't need to inform their governing bodies of "information" in regards to these three months. As these approach, players have the option of changing when this test will be taken via SMS, the Internet or any other communication method. So obviously you wouldn't need to know what you'll be doing in three months time, just as you wouldn't need to know what you'll be doing when your IB or A-Level exam comes up; in fact, it's better as you can even change this date, whereas we can't change exam dates. We've all been there, and sportsmen need to abide by these measures as well.

 

[SciD]

Its no notice drug test. So now players need to keep track that oh today I was supposed to be with my gf on beach but i am in Alps skiing as I sent WADA report that I might be in holiday and did not knew where I will be.

scion_sid added 1 Minutes and 28 Seconds later...

Also for security reasons why will Sachin want to reveal where he will be. He is on hit list of Let. And Let is like Al-Quida for India.

 

[Fluroescent]

Well, you'd be setting that with your sport's governing body (not WADA, actually, they only set the rules) so if you're away in the Alps you'd let them know and they'd take the necessary measures to change the specifics of the test, all to your convenience. Every other sportsman out there has been doing it, so I don't think they're all that plussed about it, to be honest; it's part of their chosen profession after all. A lot of people think sportsmen have it easy, and so that lingering distaste remains in many people's hearts these days; this could help dissuade that image by a great margin.

 

[SciD]

Why the hell they need WADA anyway in cricket. MJ was drinking his pills mixed in water in broad daylight in front of everyone. That pain killing injections that kept KP up in two test matches are not performance enhancers then I dont know what.

 

[Fluroescent]

I'm not sure if you know the difference between physiological treatment and performance-enhancement drugs; they are two completely different things. Physiological treatment are essential facets of every sport, like football, for example. Performance enhancement drugs are substances specifically used to increase one's abilities using immoral and unfair methods; as Roger so rightly said, they serve to destroy sport. These tests would also help to find any hard drug, like heroin or cocaine, so finding any of these would help sportsmen, before they end up in rehab, or worse, dead.

WADA's regulations apply to every sport, and was set up by the IOC, so every sport should abide by these, and I think all major sporting bodies have actually signed up for these measures, so they all share these concerns regarding performance-enhancement drugs, which is a serious and major issue in sports these days.