In response to the backlash against cyclist Lance Armstrong and the UCI, the Australian Olympic Committee is proposing unprecedented measures to ensure its athletes will never consider doping.
Simply put: the committee with ask team members to sign a declaration stating they have no “doping history.” If someone gets caught lying, they go to jail for up to seven years. If they don’t sign, well…
“If they don’t sign, they don’t go to the games, they won’t be selected,” AOC President John Coates explained to the AP. “What I don’t want is for the AOC to have egg on its face like cycling has.
”We’re trying to make athletes realize the real risks of doping are not just being caught at the time of testing, but being caught with other evidence. We want to make sure there’s no hidden treasures back there.”
Coates will propose the idea at a Nov. 16 AOC executive board meeting. If passed, the proposition would take effect for all athletes, coaches, officials, and other team members starting at the 2014 Sochi Games.
