WADA to mull rule changes that could bar Donald Trump, US officials from LA Olympics and possibly FIFA World Cup over unpaid dues
This comes after the US has reportedly refused to pay its annual dues to WADA in protest of the anti-doping watchdog’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues
President Donald Trump speaks at a women's history month event in the East Room at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo)
WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) is contemplating rewriting its rules so that it can block US President Donald Trump and other officials of the US Government from attending the Los Angeles Olympics in two years’ time.
The Associated Press reported that when WADA, an independent international organization to prevent doping in elite sport, holds its executive committee meeting on Tuesday, a rewrite of its rule book is on the agenda.
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This comes after the US has reportedly refused to pay its annual dues to WADA in protest of the anti-doping watchdog’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues. Since refusing to pay its annual fees, the USA has since lost its seat on the executive committee of WADA.
The report added that while a spokesperson for WADA, James Fitzgerald, actually said that there was “nothing new here” and pointed out that discussions related to what WADA can do about governments withholding funding have been ongoing since 2020, the proposal was first conceived in 2024.
After the AP’s initial report came out, WADA said that the AP story was “entirely misleading”. It must be noted that even if the rule was passed at the executive committee meeting of WADA next week, it would largely be a symbolic move since an international sports body like WADA would have limited control over the president of a country attending an event hosted by his own country.
The American side, meanwhile, remained firm on its demand.
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“In spite of WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), told AP.
“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who was on the WADA executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ludicrous. It’s clear they have not thought this through.”
President Donald Trump speaks at a women's history month event in the East Room at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo) 
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