OPINION

The wrong way to deal with doping

News, Adam Minter, Published on 04/02/2019

» At odds over trade, technology and geopolitics, the US and China do share one thing: They both "hate" doping, in the words of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China reportedly plans to make the practice a crime. And last week in Washington, DC, a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers also introduced legislation to criminalise the use of performance-enhancing drugs at international sporting competitions such as the Olympics. Athletes caught doping could be subject to five years in prison, a US$250,000 (7.8 million baht) fine and a civil lawsuit from competitors bested in the final standings. They wouldn't have to be US citizens, either. The legislation is specifically designed to hold accountable foreign cheats who beat American athletes in international competition.