On Dec. 4, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act. The act, named for Russian whistle-blower Grigory Rodchenkov who exposed the Russian doping scandal, will allow the federal government to impose criminal sanctions on people involved in doping at major international sporting events with American athletes, sponsors, and broadcasters. Penalties include up to 10 years in prison and fines of $250,000 for individuals and $1 million for organizations, and can be imposed upon the athletes, coaches, doctors, agents, and officials.
The USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency) welcomed the new law. But the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) questioned why American college and professional leagues were removed from the act and voiced concerns of conflicting rules: “No nation has ever before asserted criminal jurisdiction over doping offenses that occurred outside its national borders — and for good reason. It is likely to lead to overlapping laws in different jurisdictions that will compromise having a single set of anti-doping rules for all sports and all anti-doping organizations under the World Anti-Doping Code.”