Monday, December 20, 2021
"Richard McLaren, Umar Kremlev, and the IOC on the Crisis in Olympic Boxing" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
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The article is at https://www.patreon.com/posts/richard-mclaren-60147403.
Labels: AIBA, boxing, corruption, Eddie Goldman, Gazprom, IBA, International Boxing Association, International Olympic Committee, IOC, No Holds Barred, Olympic, Richard McLaren, Thomas Bach, Umar Kremlev
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
No Holds Barred: Probellum Problems, Olympic Boxing Reform, Katie Taylor's Close Win, on The WAAR Room with Chris Baldwin and Malissa Smith
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleagues Chris Baldwin of the WAAR Room and Malissa Smith of Girlboxing on the WAAR Room. A video of this discussion has also been posted on the WAAR Sports YouTube page.
We spoke with them Sunday, December 12.
This past week saw major developments in the attempt by the Olympic boxing federation -- formerly AIBA and now renamed as the International Boxing Association (IBA) -- to regain its place on the Olympic program.
On December 9, IOC president Thomas Bach said in a press conference that AIBA, along with the International Weightlifting Federation, were the IOC's "problem children". AIBA would remain suspended from the IOC until at least 2023, and needs to correct ongoing problems in governance, financial transparency and sustainability, and the integrity of their refereeing and judging processes. Boxing also was not included on the list of sports set for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, although it was not ruled out that it could be added back if AIBA demonstrated that it had corrected these problems to the IOC's satisfaction.
On December 10, another report was released about corruption in AIBA by the team led by Professor Richard McLaren. This report, issued at AIBA's behest, concluded that the corruption in the officiating at AIBA events did not end with the 2016 Rio Olympics, but has continued through this year. The report noted that "the people are the problem, even when the rules and regulations are of the highest quality. The sport will need to ensure that it cultivates individuals with integrity to run the organisation." It did also praise the efforts of current AIBA president Umar Kremlev and his associates to end this corruption, stating, "a genuine attempt at reform and progress has been made under Kremlev's leadership." McLaren then discussed this report on an international online press conference.
On December 12, before we were able to discuss it, AIBA held its "Extraordinary Congress" and adopted all the extensive reforms which had been proposed by the Governance Reform Group, which was led by Professor Ulrich Haas. These reforms included the establishment of an independent Boxing Integrity Unit. AIBA also officially changed its name to IBA at this congress. And on December 13, IBA president Umar Kremlev also held an international online press conference. We will discuss these developments on our upcoming shows.
Besides the crisis in Olympic boxing, we discussed the debut show of the new Probellum promotion, which took place December 11 in Dubai in the UAE. This show was plagued by numerous major governance problems, and we discussed the significance of these and the lack of proper regulation.
Also on December 11, there were several major boxing cards around the world. We mainly focused on the Matchroom/DAZN card in Liverpool in the U.K., and in particular on the successful defense of her lightweight belts by Katie Taylor against Firuza Sharipova. Taylor clearly won a decision, but this fight was closer than many had anticipated. We discussed what this means, what is next for Taylor, and the latest news in women's boxing.
All this is part of our in-depth coverage of the corrupt world of boxing and sports governance in general.
(Photo of Prof. McLaren from screenshot of press conference. Probellum logo. Photo of Katie Taylor vs. Firuza Sharipova from WBC.)
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Labels: AIBA, boxing, Chris Baldwin, Eddie Goldman, Girlboxing, IBA, IOC, Katie Taylor, Malissa Smith, No Holds Barred, Olympic boxing, Probellum, Richard McLaren, Thomas Bach, Umar Kremlev, WAAR Room, WAAR Sports
Saturday, December 10, 2016
No Holds Barred: McLaren Report on Russian State-Sponsored Doping in Sport Part II
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio from the teleconference of the December 9 London press conference with Professor Richard H. McLaren, law professor at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) enlisted Prof. McLaren to lead the investigation and to issue a report about media reports of state-sponsored doping in Russia in sport. This is the second and final part of that report, and was made public Friday. The first part was issued on July 18, 2016.
Key Highlights of 2nd Report
Institutionalised Doping Conspiracy and Cover Up
1. An institutional conspiracy existed across summer and winter sports athletes who participated with Russian officials within the Ministry of Sport and its infrastructure, such as the RUSADA, CSP and the Moscow Laboratory, along with the FSB for the purposes of manipulating doping controls. The summer and winter sports athletes were not acting individually but within an organised infrastructure as reported on in the 1st Report.
2. This systematic and centralised cover up and manipulation of the doping control process evolved and was refined over the course of its use at London 2012 Summer Games, Universiade Games 2013, Moscow IAAF World Championships 2013, and the Winter Games in Sochi in 2014. The evolution of the infrastructure was also spawned in response to WADA regulatory changes and surprise interventions.
3. The swapping of Russian athletes’ urine samples further confirmed in this 2nd Report as occurring at Sochi, did not stop at the close of the Winter Olympics. The sample swapping technique used at Sochi became a regular monthly practice of the Moscow Laboratory in dealing with elite summer and winter athletes. Further DNA and salt testing confirms the technique, while others relied on DPM.
4. The key findings of the 1st Report remain unchanged. The forensic testing, which is based on immutable facts, is conclusive. The evidence does not depend on verbal testimony to draw a conclusion. Rather, it tests the physical evidence and a conclusion is drawn from those results. The results of the forensic and laboratory analysis initiated by the IP establish that the conspiracy was perpetrated between 2011 and 2015.
The Athlete Part of Conspiracy and Cover Up
5. Over 1000 Russian athletes competing in summer, winter and Paralympic sport, can be identified as being involved in or benefiting from manipulations to conceal positive doping tests. Based on the information reported to International Federations through the IP to WADA there are 600 (84%) summer athletes and 95 (16%) winter athletes.
London Summer Olympic Games
6. Fifteen Russian athlete medal winners were identified out of the 78 on the London Washout Lists. Ten of these athletes have now had their medals stripped.
IAAF Moscow World Championships
7. Following the 2013 IAAF Moscow World Championships, 4 athletics athletes’ samples were swapped. Additional target testing is in progress.
Sochi Winter Olympic Games
8. Sample swapping is established by 2 female ice hockey players’ samples with male DNA.
9. Tampering with original sample established by 2 [sport] athletes, winners of four Sochi Olympic Gold medals, and a female Silver medal winner in [sport] with physiologically impossible salt readings.
10. Twelve medal winning athletes (including the above 3) from 44 examined samples had scratches and marks on the inside of the caps of their B sample bottles, indicating tampering.
11. Six winners of 21 Paralympic medals are found to have had their urine samples tampered with at Sochi.
The complete McLaren Independent Investigations Report into Sochi Allegations - Part II can be read and downloaded here.
Plus, we open with a commentary on how once again this is evidence of the corrupt nature of the Olympics and the Olympic movement, and how those interested in developing sport for its positive values should have nothing to do with this movement and its organizations and stay out of it.
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No Holds Barred is sponsored by:
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Labels: Eddie Goldman, IOC, No Holds Barred, Olympics, report, Richard McLaren, Russia, sport, state-sponsored doping, WADA
Monday, July 18, 2016
No Holds Barred: McLaren Report on Russian State-Sponsored Doping in Sport
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the audio from Monday's teleconference of the Toronto press conference with Professor Richard H. McLaren, law professor at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) enlisted Prof. McLaren to lead the investigation and to issue a report about media reports of state-sponsored doping in Russia in sport. The 103-page Independent McLaren Investigation Report was also made public Monday.
The three key findings of this report are:
1. The Moscow Laboratory operated, for the protection of doped Russian athletes, within a State-dictated failsafe system, described in the report as the Disappearing Positive Methodology.
2. The Sochi Laboratory operated a unique sample swapping methodology to enable doped Russian athletes to compete at the Games.
3. The Ministry of Sport directed, controlled and oversaw the manipulation of athlete’s analytical results or sample swapping, with the active participation and assistance of the FSB, CSP, and both Moscow and Sochi Laboratories.
Unlike the many well-known situations where athletes decide to dope on their own, this was a state-sponsored doping program where failure to participate could harm an athlete's career.
While Prof. McLaren indicated that it was not part of the mandate for this report to investigate whether or not Russian athletes had been forced into the doping programs, he did say that they found evidence that "athletes who didn't participate in the program didn't get access to the best coaches, did not have the opportunity to compete at the highest levels of the national competition structure, etc. And in that sense they might feel forced into the system because if they didn't participate in the doping programs then they wouldn't have access to those different things I just described."
The complete McLaren Independent Investigations Report into Sochi Allegations can be read here.
Following the issuance of this report, the WADA Executive Committee made the following recommendations to the International Olympic Committee regarding Russian participation in the Rio Olympics, which start August 5:
"Given that the Russian Ministry of Sport orchestrated systematic cheating of Russian athletes to subvert the doping control process; and that, the evidence shows such subversion in 30 sports, including 20 Olympic summer sports and Paralympic sports, the presumption of innocence of athletes in these sports, and in all Russian sports, is seriously called into question.
"Accordingly, WADA recommends to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to consider, under their respective Charters, to decline entries, for Rio 2016, of all athletes submitted by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the Russian Paralympic Committee. Furthermore, any exceptional entry of a Russian athlete should be considered by the IOC and IPC for participation under a neutral flag and in accordance with very strict criteria."
The crisis in the Olympic movement continues to worsen, and there will surely be many more developments to come.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.
The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
The Boxing Tribune, boxing's independent media. Unlike every other major boxing website, The Boxing Tribune is not funded or owned by promoters, managers, or networks, and is fully independent and free to write the truth. For independent boxing news and views, go to http://boxingtribune-news.com.
The North American Catch Wrestling Association, a grassroots organization designed to help rebuild the sport of catch-as-catch-can-wrestling. For more information, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/NorthAmericanCatchWrestlingAssociation.
The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.
Labels: Eddie Goldman, IOC, No Holds Barred, Olympics, report, Richard McLaren, Russia, sport, state-sponsored doping, WADA
