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McCaffrey-Coates rift continues Start of drug conference in Australia overshadowed
Posted: Monday November 15, 1999 12:36 PM
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Anti-doping experts from around the world began a series of meetings today on how governments can help in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs in sport. The start of the three-day Drugs in Sport summit was overshadowed by a row between White House drug czar Barry R. McCaffrey and Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates after Coates tried to have McCaffrey banned from Sydney's 2000 Olympics complex. Coates was incensed by McCaffrey's criticism of the International Olympic Committee's recently established World Anti-Doping Agency, which McCaffrey believes is too close to the IOC to be effectively independent. Coates said the former general was "no friend of the Olympic movement," and urged Sydney Olympic authorities not to allow him to tour venues for the 2000 games. But the Australian government and Sydney authorities were quick to distance themselves from Coates' comments and allowed McCaffrey's tour to go ahead. At a press conference Sunday, McCaffrey repeated criticism of the WADA, but stressed that the United States wants to work with the IOC to make it work. "This is not just a problem of world class weightlifting," McCaffrey said. "This is a problem of high school football and high school diving competitions and we think it is something we have to face up to." McCaffrey said there was a "fundamental conflict on interest" in the IOC running the WADA and organizing the Olympic games. He said the conference would tackle the question: "How do we move forward with a worldwide anti-doping agency that satisfies everyone?" McCaffrey also was criticized by Prince Alexandre de Merode, chairman of the IOC medical committee. "Instead of insulting people, it is better to sit around the table and discuss," de Merode said in Brussels, Belgium. "The reaction is hysterical and not constructive." McCaffrey is pushing a six-point U.S. plan that he believes will help establish an effective anti-doping agency. The principles, outlined in a document sent by McCaffrey to IOC
president Juan Antonio Samaranch are:
Delegates from 26 governments are discussing the role they can
play in the fight against doping, covering topics including
international collaboration, developing effective testing regimes,
combating the illegal trafficking in performance-enhancing drugs
and educating young athletes about the danger of doping.
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