Wednesday, May 02, 2012
No Holds Barred: David Howman, Director General of WADA, Teleconference

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the May 1 media teleconference with David Howman, the Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The main reason for this teleconference was to discuss with the international media the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to reject the appeal of the British Olympic Association (BOA) after WADA had found it in non-compliance to the World Anti-Doping Code. The BOA, which is the host Olympic committee for the 2012 Summer Olympics, wanted to add a lifetime ban from the Olympics for any athlete who had ever failed a doping test, even after their suspensions had been served.
The CAS agreed with WADA that this was an extra sanction which was, according to its press release, "therefore not in compliance with the WADA Code." The CAS did, however, leave the door open "that the BOA and the IOC were free, as are others, to persuade other stakeholders that an additional sanction of inability to participate in the Olympic Games may be a proportionate, appropriate sanction of an anti-doping offence and may therefore form part of a revised World Anti-doping Code. At the moment, the system in place does not permit what the BOA has done."
The backdrop of this is a growing movement among athletes and others in world sport to increase the penalties for a major doping violation from a two-year ban to a four-year ban for the first offense, as well as a lifetime Olympics ban.
At the same time, the athletic commissions in North America, which regulate combat sports like boxing, mixed martial arts, and kickboxing, are still not following the World Anti-Doping Code, with some having no drug testing at all.
WADA Director General David Howman thus discussed these issues on this teleconference and answered questions from the media.
We also discuss the voluntary drug testing being done by boxers Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.
Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
The main reason for this teleconference was to discuss with the international media the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to reject the appeal of the British Olympic Association (BOA) after WADA had found it in non-compliance to the World Anti-Doping Code. The BOA, which is the host Olympic committee for the 2012 Summer Olympics, wanted to add a lifetime ban from the Olympics for any athlete who had ever failed a doping test, even after their suspensions had been served.
The CAS agreed with WADA that this was an extra sanction which was, according to its press release, "therefore not in compliance with the WADA Code." The CAS did, however, leave the door open "that the BOA and the IOC were free, as are others, to persuade other stakeholders that an additional sanction of inability to participate in the Olympic Games may be a proportionate, appropriate sanction of an anti-doping offence and may therefore form part of a revised World Anti-doping Code. At the moment, the system in place does not permit what the BOA has done."
The backdrop of this is a growing movement among athletes and others in world sport to increase the penalties for a major doping violation from a two-year ban to a four-year ban for the first offense, as well as a lifetime Olympics ban.
At the same time, the athletic commissions in North America, which regulate combat sports like boxing, mixed martial arts, and kickboxing, are still not following the World Anti-Doping Code, with some having no drug testing at all.
WADA Director General David Howman thus discussed these issues on this teleconference and answered questions from the media.
We also discuss the voluntary drug testing being done by boxers Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.
Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
Labels: BOA, boxing, CAS, David Howman, Eddie Goldman, MMA, No Holds Barred, Olympics, VADA, WADA, World Anti-Doping Agency
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
No Holds Barred: Olympic Doping Ban Dispute, David Howman Teleconference, Combat Sports and Doping

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the teleconference recorded Monday, November 21, of David Howman, the director general of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), discusses the current dispute over doping bans between WADA and the British Olympic Association (BOA), and comments on the weak anti-doping measures in the combat sports.
WADA held the teleconference to discuss with the international media their Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings, which were held in Montreal on November 19 and 20. At these, WADA decided that they would impose a budget freeze for 2012 because of the continuing bad economic conditions. They also ruled that the BOA was "non-compliant" with the WADA code because the BOA is trying to impose a lifetime ban on any athlete who was suspended for six months or more for drug offenses. There is no doubt this dispute will end up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
On the teleconference, David Howman also explained that discussions between organizations running mixed martial arts and boxing in the U.S., and USADA, the American arm of WADA, have "not been very successful to date", although he hopes that public pressure will play a role on the issue of anti-doping policy.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com.
WADA held the teleconference to discuss with the international media their Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings, which were held in Montreal on November 19 and 20. At these, WADA decided that they would impose a budget freeze for 2012 because of the continuing bad economic conditions. They also ruled that the BOA was "non-compliant" with the WADA code because the BOA is trying to impose a lifetime ban on any athlete who was suspended for six months or more for drug offenses. There is no doubt this dispute will end up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
On the teleconference, David Howman also explained that discussions between organizations running mixed martial arts and boxing in the U.S., and USADA, the American arm of WADA, have "not been very successful to date", although he hopes that public pressure will play a role on the issue of anti-doping policy.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
The American Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go to ussambo.com.
Labels: boxing, Colin Moynihan, David Howman, doping, Eddie Goldman, MMA, No Holds Barred, WADA