Serving the rules
ITF president seeks one-year ban for Korda doping incident
Posted: Thursday January 07, 1999 11:43 PM
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Korda says he has no idea how the drug got into his system AP |
LONDON, England (AP) -- The International Tennis Federation says its own
appeals committee was wrong in not suspending Australian Open
champion Petr Korda after he failed a drug test.
Under pressure from some top players, the ITF said Thursday it
would seek to overturn the ruling and impose a one-year ban for
Korda, who tested positive for the steroid Nandrolone at Wimbledon
in July.
ITF president Brian Tobin, speaking at the Hopman Cup in Perth,
Australia, said the federation was unhappy with the Dec. 22
decision of the appeals committee and would seek to overturn it at
the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Tennis has been widely criticized for a lenient policy toward
drugs and Korda's case was seen as the latest example, coming just
weeks before the Feb. 2-4 IOC-sponsored world anti-doping summit.
The ITF appeals committee acknowledged Korda had tested positive
for a steroid on July 1 at Wimbledon, but cited "exceptional
circumstances" in deciding against any suspension. Korda was only
stripped of his Wimbledon prize money and ranking points.
The committee accepted Korda's contention that he had no idea
how the drug got in his system.
But Tobin said the appeals committee's decision did not reflect
the ITF's wishes. He said he agreed with players who believe the
excuse was insufficient reason for Korda to escape a ban.
"I question if that is a legitimate reason for reducing the
penalty," Tobin said Thursday. "We did prove that he was
positive, and if it happened to me I'd say the same thing."
The ITF, at Korda's urging, Thursday released the full findings
of the appeals committee.
The committee, which received a character reference in Korda's
defense from three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, concluded
that Korda acted "innocently and reasonably" and described him as
an "honest, open and reliable witness."
The committee also:
- acknowledged there were minor flaws in the testing and custody
procedures of Korda's urine sample, but said it was satisfied with
the positive results "beyond a reasonable doubt."
- dismissed arguments by Korda's lawyer that the steroid may
have entered his system by eating meat from animals that had
ingested the steroid.
- dismissed the defense argument that a mix-up may have occurred
with the sample of a female player who was taking oral
contraceptives containing norethisterone.
- noted that Korda's was the only positive test at Wimbledon.
ITF spokesman Alun James said the federation expected to lodge
its initial appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports on
Friday or Monday. He said a ruling could take up to four months.
In the meantime, Korda is free to defend his title in this
month's Australian Open and to play in any tennis event, James
said.
"The appeals committee made their decision, we looked at it and
took legal advice and believe the have misapplied the rule," James
said. "To clarify and send out the right the signals, we need to
change the decision."
"We obviously are not deaf to what the players are saying," he
added. "The ruling leaves them wondering what qualifies as
mitigating circumstances."
Top-ranked women's player Lindsay Davenport criticized tennis
officials, saying, "It seems that in tennis there's always
exceptions made for players for whatever it is."
And Swedish player Jonas Bjorkman claimed that tennis officials
"cover up" positive tests and accused authorities of being
"scared" to act.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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