Melbourne - A group of 65 sportsmen already challenged it
before Belgian courts, but the new World Anti-Doping Code received a
severe blow Wednesday from one of the biggest names in sport, tennis
world number one Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard is outraged about a rule that forces high-performance
sportsmen to say where they are going to be for an hour each day, 365
days a year.
'I think it shows a lack of respect for privacy,' Nadal said after
qualifying for the semifinals of the Australian Open. 'I think it's a
disgrace, particularly knowing what our sport is like.'
The new code from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) went into
force on January 1, and forces sportsmen identified by their
international federations to inform the organization of their daily
whereabouts every three months.
If a sportsperson cannot be found where they said they would be
three times in an 18-month period, he or she is considered to have
violated anti-doping regulations and is liable for sanctions.
'Even my mother or my uncle do not know where I am sometimes, so
having to send a message or to be scared all day in case there is a
last-minute change seems to me to be a complete exaggeration,' Nadal
warned.
He opted to designate the hotel where he stays during each
tournament and 7 am as his contact details.
'That is the only time when I am sure I will be there,' the player
said.
He has already had a visit from anti-doping agents at his home on
the Spanish island of Mallorca, at 8am on a Saturday. He had just had
a night out with his friends.
'So you can imagine...'
'Those are things that completely have to change, and there is a
unanimous voice on that in the locker room,' said the Spaniard, who
is also the vice president of the ATP players' council. 'It is an
intolerable hunt. We have proved that we are a clean sport. You can
count (doping) cases with one hand.'
The French Open and Wimbledon champion said he is ready to join
'immediately' the group of 65 footballers, cyclists and volleyball
players who are looking to fight the code at the courts. They appeal
to the right to privacy that is upheld in the Belgian constitution
and in the Council of Europe's European Convention on Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms.
In case they win, their move could become a precedent that gets
WADA into trouble.
'In the end we are humans and we do not have to feel like
criminals just because we do sport,' Nadal said.
WADA claims that recent changes in rules - which used to demand
that sportsmen be available for tests in this way only out of season
- were intended to make things easier for sportsmen. Now they are
only required to report their location one hour per day, and not for
the whole day.
Stuart Miller, the head of the anti-doping programme of the
International Tennis Federation (ITF), said this should not be a
problem.
'Except for the notion that if you provide information about your
whereabouts on a quarterly basis, it's possible your plans might
change,' was quoted as saying in the daily USA Today.
In that case, he stressed, players can notify the relevant
authorities by e-mail, text message or even fax.
Some tennis players, however, cannot quite get organized and say
the last thing on their minds is telling anti-doping authorities
about their whereabouts.
US doubles expert Mike Bryan has said he has already missed two
dates and admitted that the possibility of a third is 'a little
scary.'
Perhaps he should follow the advice of Kelly Wolf, an agent for
the firm Octagon.
'You almost have to think of WADA as your mother, father,
girlfriend and boyfriend,' said Wolf.
However, Nadal, for one, has no intention of getting that close to
the agency.
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