Former ONDCP Director says athletic fairness is about more than medals as US Olympic Games and World Cup approach
Former Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul Gupta says in opening testimony at a Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy hearing about lacking international response to Chinese doping in Olympic swimming that in next few years the world's eyes will turn to United States for 2026 FIFA World Cup, 2028 LA Olympics, and 2034 Salt Lake City Winter Games, and if WADA's dysfunction goes unaddressed they risk hosting events under cloud of doubt and distrust, emphasizing this is not about vengeance but vigilance to restore fairness not just for American athletes but every athlete from every country who dares play by rules, with Congress having once-in-generation opportunity to act by passing legislation tying US funding to reform, insisting WADA includes athletes' voices and national accountability, making clear integrity is not negotiable as price of support, telling every clean athlete from swimmer in Nebraska to gymnast in Georgia to fencer in France that they have their back.