Joe.My.God. LGBT News
Vladimir Putin this morning dismissed the claims as “unfounded” as Russia faces expulsion from the 2016 Olympics due to a massive doping scandal revealed yesterday. CNN reports:
Commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and carried out by the organization’s former president, Dick Pound, the findings uncovered a “deeply rooted culture of cheating at all levels” within Russian athletics. Asked if it amounted to state-sponsored doping, Pound told reporters a news conference Monday: “In the sense of consenting to it, there’s no other conclusion.” The report says more than 1,400 samples were “intentionally and maliciously” destroyed by a Moscow laboratory even after a WADA plea to preserve them.
It even suggests the London 2012 Olympics — in which Russia won 24 gold medals — were “in a sense, sabotaged by the admission of athletes who should have not been competing.” The report also criticizes an “inexplicable laissez-fair policy” adopted by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) — the sport’s governing body — and recommends that five athletes and five coaches, all from Russia, be banned for life.
The fallout from Pound’s explosive report could possibly result in the Russian track and field team being excluded from the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. “For the 2016 Olympics our recommendation is that the Russian Federation is suspended,” Pound said. “One of our hopes is that they will volunteer that so they can undertake the remedial work needed.
TIME reports on Putin’s reaction:
The accusations of state-sponsored doping in Russian track and field appear to be unfounded, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Tuesday. Dmitry Peskov told journalists that whenever any charges are made, they must be based on some evidence. “As long as there is no evidence, it is difficult to consider the accusations, which appear rather unfounded,” Peskov said.
In Russian newspapers, many followed the government’s lead in playing down the accusations from the World Anti-Doping Agency commission. The scandal was typically confined to a small item in the sports pages, with only two business papers and the sports dailies giving it front-page space. “Are they taking Rio away from us?!” read the headline on the front page of Sport Express, referring to calls to ban Russia’s track and field team from next year’s Olympics.