The International Law Review Association Student Forum
Abstract
Today, professional athletes across the globe are subjected to rigorous drug testing in an attempt to eradicate the use of performance enhancing substances in sports. Many professional sports tours, including tennis, work closely with the International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency to monitor and address doping violations. Although anti-doping rules are important to the safety of professional athletes, the current enforcement of anti-doping rules creates due process concerns for athletes that test positive for banned substances. This article specifically argues that the strict scrutiny sanction which bans athletes from professional play for even an unknowing or accidental doping violation is a disproportionate punishment, with an especially adverse impact on professional athletes that are minors. The fairest outcome for a doping violation would be a departure from the strict scrutiny standard for a more educational and rehabilitative approach for first offenses. Moreover, this article advocates for anti-doping hearings and appeals to adopt the clear, “preponderance of the evidence” standard of review used in United States Federal Administrative Agency adjudication proceedings. These changes, amongst others described in this comment, would strike a fairer balance between the International Olympic Committee’s interest in regulating drug use in sports and an individual athlete’s interest in their career and livelihood.
Recommended Citation
Katherine Jakeway,
Comment,
Due Process in Anti-Doping Proceedings Within the International Olympic Committee and Professional Tennis Associations,
ILRA Student Forum
(2024)
https://doi.org/10.25172/ilrasf.2.1.11
