2021: End of the Year Message from FairSport and Global Athlete
Dear Athletes and Supporters of Fair and Ethical Sport,
As 2021 comes to an end, our small, dedicated team at FairSport and Global Athlete thank you for your continued support.
FairSport is as committed as ever to eradicating cheating in sport. We continue to support whistleblowers and promote clean sport around the world. Additionally, we are fully committed to helping athletes through our ongoing support of Global Athlete.
Dr.Grigory Rodchenkov
FairSport continues to dedicate resources to Dr. Rodchenkov’s testimony at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), IWF, FIFA and others. The evidence that Dr. Rodchenkov provides helps bring those who undermined the anti-doping system to justice. We will continue to support this endeavour to ensure clean athletes’ rights are respected and justice is served.
World Anti-Doping Agency
We are also working to bring about meaningful reform at the World Anti-Doping Agency. The international anti-doping regulator must be free from conflicts of interest, and they must place athletes at the centre of the decision-making process.
Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act
To further protect clean athletes, FairSport championed the successful passing of The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act; a new U.S. law that protects whistleblowers and criminalizes doping conspiracies, whether perpetrated by sport administrators or a national government. We believe the Rodchenkov Act will be a game changer for clean athletes.
Athlete Advocacy
We are also proud of the work done by Global Athlete in 2021. Sport continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The uncertainty caused by the pandemic is difficult for athletes and has starkly shown the need to rebalance the power between athletes and sporting leaders. We have seen a sharp uptick in athletes speaking out about sport governance issues. Global Athlete is committed to working with athletes who seek to make sport a safer and more inclusive space while enhancing athlete rights.
Independent Athlete Representation
Global Athlete has helped athletes in the sports of athletics and swimming establish independent representative bodies. The Athletics Association is led by a 23-member board with athlete representatives from every geographic region. The International Swimmers Alliance is led by four Olympic champions and aims to elevate swimming into the era of modern sports.
International Cooperation
Elite athletes have few places to seek assistance when their rights are violated by government officials or sport administrators. Global Athlete seeks to fill this gap by providing athlete led support to Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Global Athlete has worked directly with athletes and athlete groups from Austria, Australia, Belarus, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They have worked across sports, helping athletes who compete in athletics, cycling, canoeing, gymnastics, karate, sailing, swimming, triathlon, weightlifting, and wheelchair basketball, just to mention a few. While they do not purport to be a representative body of the world’s athletes, they are committed to representing athletes whose voices have been caste aside or outright ignored.
Future Challenges
As we look ahead to 2022, many challenges face athletes. The anti-doping system continues to hold individual athletes to a higher standard than governments and institutions, the Court of Arbitration for Sport lacks the independence and transparency to effectively carry out its mission, and the Beijing Olympics make athletes ‘political pawns’ with no power to effect change. Both FairSport and Global Athlete are committed to addressing these challenges and more. We are focused on our core missions of protecting whistleblowers and bolstering athletes’ rights.
Your Contribution Matters - Make A Donation
We hope you will join us on this journey with a donation during the holiday giving season. We rely on private contributions to fund our operations. Our independence is critical to our mission, and there is no feasible alternative funding model for our work. Thank you for your support.
On behalf of the entire team at FairSport and Global Athlete, allow me to also wish you a happy and prosperous New Year.
Sincerely,
Jim Swartz
Founder, FairSport
Rob Koehler
Director General, Global Athlete
FairSport is an independent foundation dedicated to eradicating cheating in sport. We support confidential sources who speak up to unmask doping, and we educate the global public on the value of honesty and integrity in sport.
Global Athlete is an international athlete-led movement that will inspire and lead positive change in world sport and collectively address the balance of power between athletes and administrators. We aim to help athletes gain a more representative voice in world sport, recognising that the neglection and suppression of the athlete voice has gone on for too long.