25-05-2025
Report: German doping body not publishing names of doping offenders
The National Anti Doping Agency of Germany (NADA) hasn't published the name of convicted doping offenders for a few years, according to a report by broadcasters ARD published on Sunday.
The report said that some 90% of cases in the past five years haven't been made public. According to ARD calculations, the number of athletes who committed a doping-related offence is between 70 and 130.
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The NADA cited legal risks and data protection as a reason.
"In its anti-doping work, the NADA is committed to transparency, accountability and valid decisions. However, this goes against the current data protection legislation," NADA CEO Lars Mortstiefer was quoted in the report.
According to the report, cases haven't been published in the recent past, but only acknowledged when there were concrete media inquiries about cases that had become known by name.
ARD said that athletes from at least 18 Olympic sports are affected, but didn't provide any information on how well-known and successful the convicted athletes from these sports are.
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In its research, ARD interviewed several athletes who don't agree with the procedure and the confidentiality of the names.
"If you're positive (in the doping test), you're positive and in the end your sporting career has nothing to do with the extent to which this should be disclosed. The name should be mentioned, the substances should be mentioned," modern pentathlete Patrick Dogue said.
