Experts Urge Doping Policy Reform for Athletes

Elite athletes have been urgently warned by anti-doping officials to avoid one-night stands and casual sexual encounters due to the risk of inadvertently ingesting banned substances from partners, which can lead to failed drug tests and career-damaging sanctions. High-profile cases, such as those of French tennis player Richard Gasquet and American boxer Virginia Fuchs, have demonstrated that accidental contamination through kissing or sexual contact can occur. Experts, including sports lawyer Mark Hovell and US Anti-Doping Agency head Travis Tygart, highlight the increasing difficulty for athletes to prove their innocence in the era of social media and fleeting hookups. Tygart and others have criticized current anti-doping rules for placing an unreasonable burden on athletes and called on the World Anti-Doping Agency to ease thresholds for trace substances transmitted this way. They argue that resources are being diverted from catching intentional cheaters toward investigating accidental contamination. The consensus among experts is that reforms are needed to protect athletes from disproportionate penalties for exposures outside their control.