One of sports’ key enforcement agencies handed out a penalty this week that was so late that it is hard to quantify what deterrent effect it could possibly have on anyone else, sending a message no regulator wants to send: Punitive action may only come after the guilty party has already reaped the rewards.
On Dec. 9, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)—the body responsible for ensuring sports are played cleanly without performance-enhancing drugs—banned Russia from fielding athletes and teams in international competitions for four years after the country’s own anti-doping regulator manipulated lab data it was forced to hand over to investigators.
