The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try to ban President Donald Trump and all US government officials from attending the 2028 LA Olympics, a move that could also impact the World Cup hosted by the US this summer.
The proposal, which is on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the global drug control watchdog’s executive committee, is the latest maneuver to emerge from a years-long refusal by the US government to pay his annual membership fee to WADA.
The denial is part of the US government unanimous, bipartisan protest of the handling of a case by the agency involving Chinese swimmers And other problems.
The Associated Press learned of the agenda item through correspondence it obtained between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making. Two others with knowledge of the agenda confirmed the existence of the rule proposal to AP; they were not authorized to speak publicly about the agenda, which has not been publicly released.
WADA spokesman James Fitzgerald said: “There is nothing new here,” noting that discussions regarding the issue of what to do about governments withholding funding have been ongoing since 2020 and are not directly related to the US.
In fact, the proposal was first mooted in 2024, when US authorities successfully lobbied for its rejection. The US has since lost its seat on the executive committee.
“Despite WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand by our demand for WADA accountability and transparency to ensure fair competition in sport,” said Sara Carter, director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
If adopted, the rule would be largely symbolic given the restrictions an international sports federation can place on the president of a country attending an event within its own borders.
“I have never heard of a Swiss foundation with a $50 million budget being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the American president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at the ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who served on WADA’s executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce this? Are they going to put a red notice from Interpol? It’s ridiculous. It’s clear they haven’t thought about this.”
In a press release after this story was published, WADA said the AP story was “completely misleading,” highlighting Fitzgerald’s statement to the AP that if proposals under discussion were “introduced, given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be covered.”
Fitzgerald’s only response to three emails from AP seeking clarification on his initial response — specifically on how a rule that had not yet been adopted could or could not be applied retroactively to events scheduled in the future — was: “I’m trying to say that it wouldn’t apply retroactively so those events wouldn’t be covered. Given that and the next board meeting scheduled for November, I don’t see how it could come into play for this year’s World Cup.”
WADA suggests this could happen soon, but the impact on the upcoming World Cup is hazy
The next meeting of the Foundation Board, at which the final decision would be made, is not scheduled until November. But a response from WADA last month to a question about the possible timing of the rule’s introduction by European authorities said: “The proposal could be implemented without undue delay. If necessary, the Foundation Board could consider the proposal by circular or in the context of an extraordinary meeting.”
According to a draft proposal, the rule would apply to governments that have not paid their contributions by January 31 of the year after they were invoiced. The US has not paid its WADA dues since 2023. There was no mention of “retroactivity” or lack thereof in the document executives are considering.
The proposal calls for a three-tiered set of sanctions for countries that fail to pay dues. In the case of the US, that amounts to about $3.7 million compared to last year, plus $3.6 million that the country has not paid by 2024. The most extreme sanctions include “excluding government representatives from participation in major events such as World Championships and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
This includes Trump, Vice President JD Vance and members of Congress, who recently approved hundreds of millions in funding for security and other logistics for the World Cup and Games in LA.
Representatives of the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee did not respond to emails from AP seeking comment on how a ban on Trump and other U.S. officials might be enforced.
The US has asked WADA to undergo independent audits
WADA’s budget was set at $57.5 million for 2025. It receives half of its funding from the IOC and the other half from governments around the world. Contributions from governments are loosely based on the size of their athletic teams, and the US has always footed one of the largest bills.
This bickering has raged since the first Trump administration and is rooted in American distrust of the global anti-doping system, which first came under international scrutiny for its handling of a Russian doping scandal that predated the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia.
Then, in 2024, news broke of 23 Chinese swimmers – some of whom were part of the team that went to the Paris Olympics – being allowed to compete despite testing positive. WADA accepted the Chinese doping regulator’s theory that the athletes were infected by traces of banned heart medication in a hotel kitchen.
The ONDCP and Congress under both the Trump and Biden administrations have withheld payments to WADA.
In the most recent flare-up, the government limited payments until WADA subjected itself to an independent audit. WADA defended its auditing practices and again called on the US to pay its fees last month during the Cortina Games in Milan.
Now the agency is looking for more leverage in its efforts to collect money.
“This initiative aims to better protect WADA’s funding so it can deliver on its mission to protect clean sport,” said WADA spokesperson Fitzgerald. “If WADA funding is cut, it will ultimately be the athletes who will suffer. Athletes (including those on the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board) have consistently expressed their support for this initiative.”
Associated Press reporter Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.
