‘Watch who you kiss': Elite athletes warned casual sex could lead to doping bans

Elite athletes have been issued an unusual but urgent warning: steer clear of one-night stands or risk failing a drug test. At a high-profile anti-doping summit, leading sports lawyers and experts unpacked a growing trend of athletes being caught in doping scandals due to intimate encounters, particularly in the Tinder era where fleeting hookups are harder to trace back.
Mark Hovell, a top sports lawyer and the independent chair in tennis star Jannik Sinner's anti-doping case, cited a notorious example: French tennis player Richard Gasquet, who tested positive for cocaine in 2009. Gasquet was later cleared after successfully arguing that the substance entered his system when he kissed a woman in a nightclub.
'Gasquet managed to get her to come and give evidence to say: 'Yes, I'm a cocaine addict. I use cocaine,'' said Hovell. ''I kissed him in this nightclub.' But with a one-night stand, how are you going to be able to find that person again? That's the problem.'
When moderator Jacqui Oatley asked if athletes needed to at least get a phone number to protect themselves, Hovell didn't flinch: 'They might not have the evidence they need.'
US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) chief Travis Tygart backed Hovell's view, referencing the case of American boxer Virginia Fuchs in 2020. Fuchs tested positive for banned substances but was exonerated after proving the metabolites came from sexual transmission via her male partner.
'I think based on the cases we've seen, watch who you kiss and watch out who you have an intimate relationship with,' Tygart told delegates at the Sports Resolutions conference.
He urged the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to act fast by raising the threshold for trace substances like clostabal and ostarine, compounds that can be passed through sexual contact. Without such reforms, athletes risk bans for minuscule amounts they may not have knowingly ingested.
'I think it's a pretty ridiculous world we're expecting our athletes to live in,' Tygart said. 'Which is why we're pushing to try to change these rules to make it more reasonable and fair.'
He added, 'The onus is always on the athletes. We as anti-doping organisations need to take some of that responsibility back. And I worry how many of the intentional cheats are actually getting away because we're spending so much time and resources on the cases that end up being someone kissing someone at a bar.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Mint

16 minutes ago

• Mint

Israel-Iran conflict: Tehran hangs Majid Mosayebi, alleged Mossad agent, third execution since April

Iranian authorities executed on Sunday a man convicted of being an agent for Israel's Mossad spy service, the judiciary said, as fighting raged between the two foes for the tenth day. According to an AFP report, judiciary's Mizan Online website said, 'Majid Mosayebi... was hanged this morning after going through the full process of criminal procedure and after his sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court,' adding that Mosayebi sought to provide 'sensitive information ... to Mossad'. Iranian authorities have carried out multiple arrests of people suspected of spying for Israel since its attack on June 13, the report added. Mizan did not mention when Moseybi was arrested. According to the report, Iran had executed a man convicted of spying for Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, the judiciary said on May 28. "After identification, arrest, and judicial proceedings against Pedram Madani, who was spying in favour of the Zionist regime, and following the complete process of criminal procedure and the final confirmation and upholding of the verdict by the Supreme Court, he was brought to justice and executed," Mizan Online reported. According to the report, Madani was accused of transmitting classified information and holding meetings with Mossad officers abroad, including in Brussels. The judiciary said he had travelled to "the occupied territories" – the term used by Iranian officials to describe Israel – prior to his arrest in 2020-2021. He was also convicted of acquiring "illicit wealth" by receiving euros and bitcoin from Israel, the report added. Mizan added that Madani was ultimately found guilty of "espionage on behalf of the Zionist regime's intelligence service (Mossad)" under charges of waging war against God and "corruption on earth", and sentenced to death. The report did not detail Madani's age, profession or how he obtained the classified information. His case follows a string of similar executions in Iran targeting individuals accused of collaborating with Israel. In April, Iran executed Mohsen Langarneshin for allegedly aiding Mossad in the 2022 assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei in Tehran. Authorities said Langarneshin provided technical support to Mossad and met with Israeli agents overseas. According to an AP report, the US military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel's effort to decapitating Iran's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities, an AP report said. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound (13,600-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground, the report added. President Donald Trump announced the strikes. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that attacks targeted the country's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. The agency did not elaborate. Iran's foreign minister said Iran reserves the right to retaliate.

India Gazette

19 minutes ago

• India Gazette

"RPL might change landscape of Sevens," says Mumbai Dreamers' Aaron Cummings

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 22 (ANI): It's been exactly a week since the Rugby Premier League (RPL) kicked off its inaugural season, held at the Shahaji Raje Krida Sankul (Andheri Sports Complex). One of the Olympians, who is a part of the RPL, Aaron Cummings of Mumbai Dreamers, believes that the league has the potential to change the landscape of the sport. Further elaborating on how the format of the league sets it apart, the 27-year-old said, as quoted by the RPL press release, 'This is something new, something exciting, and I think the RPL might change the landscape of Sevens, with the way they are approaching it.' 'It's just different. It's more high-intensity. You see more high-impact collisions on the field. Usually, after four minutes or so, everyone gets tired, and the game gets a little bit slower. But with it just being four minutes a quarter here, you can keep that high intensity and high impact scoring. So, I think this is special', he added. Cummings also shared that the proactive format of the RPL would capture the imagination of the fans back in his home country. 'The RPL, with the model that it has, I think this would be attractive to the American public just because it is kind of similar to (American) football with the quarters. I feel the crowd in the USA would get behind that', he reckoned. Speaking about how his experience at the RPL has been so far, Cummings said, 'My experience has been great. The league has taken great care of us. The Dreamers franchise and Dream 11 have been over the top. It's been great.' Talking about how he's relishing the experience of playing in India, he added, 'I'm trying to inspire and teach, but I'm also trying to learn the things maybe I don't know. I've been saying how the RPL has sparked a fire back under me, as far as the excitement and reminding me of the reason why I play the game. It's been huge since I've been here.' RPL is the first-ever franchise tournament in rugby sevens, offering a unique opportunity for the sport to grow in India. Opening up about how this league will have an impact, especially in India, Cummings is convinced that the game will grow exponentially. 'I think it's huge, especially for India. I'm sure you can find 13-14 players who can be elite at the sport, if not more. I think this league will grow the game exponentially because of the format it is played in, with the four quarters,' he asserted. He also elaborated on how having the division of Marquee, Bridge, and Indian players is benefiting the game. Cummings said, 'Having the number of Marquee players the league has, teaching the Indians and the Bridge players from the lower-ranked nations is great learning. To be honest, I think this league will only grow. Rahul Bose has done a fantastic job with how they've structured this entire format.' (ANI)

Mint

an hour ago

• Mint

‘Rafael down again' - Pakistan hockey captain Ammad Butt ridicules India after FIH Nations Cup semifinal win over France

Pakistan men's hockey team captain Ammad Butt embroiled himself into a controversy after he ridiculed India with a cryptic Instagram post following their victory over France in the FIH Nations Cup semifinal. Ranked 15th in the world, Pakistan edged past France in a thrilling 3-2 penalty shootout win to book a place in the final. However, the Men in Green were humiliated by New Zealand in the final with the Black Sticks winning 6-2 at the National Hockey Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. But what truly set the internet abuzz was the Instagram story of Butt. In the story, which had a black screen, Butt wrote 'Rafael down again' which many linked as a mockery towards India after in connection to the recent India-Pakistan military conflict. The 'Rafael' connection came from the French-made Rafael fighter jets which were used in the military response named as Operation Sindoor, in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attacks on April 22 that claimed 26 innocent lives in the picturesque southern Kashmir. Although the Instagram story was deleted shortly afterwards sensing backlash, it was too late by then as screenshots of the same went viral on social media.