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First Post
03-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Explained: Why athletes are being warned about one-night stands or casual sex
Learn how athletes can face unexpected doping risks from casual sexual encounters. Experts have warned that even kissing could lead to failed drug tests and may impact their careers in the long run. read more Athletes around the world recently got a surprising new warning about avoiding casual relationships or they may risk failing drug tests. It might sound unusual, but experts say it's a real concern. In recent times, a new trend has popped up where elite athletes are testing positive for banned drugs, not because they intentionally cheated, but because they had intimate contact with someone who used these substances. This has become especially tricky with social media, where casual hookups mean the athlete might never meet the person again and may not get the chance the prove their innocence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What happened? At a recent anti-doping summit, top sports lawyer Mark Hovell explained this problem using a famous example. Back in 2009, French tennis player Richard Gasquet was tested positive for cocaine. Gasquet strongly denied ever taking drugs. Eventually, he proved that he got cocaine in his body just by kissing a woman in a nightclub who used cocaine herself. 'Gasquet managed to get her to come and give evidence to say: 'Yes, I'm a cocaine addict. I use cocaine. 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,' Hovell said. Another similar example was American boxer Virginia Fuchs in 2020. She tested positive for banned substances. After investigating, it turned out that the banned drugs got into her body from her partner through sexual contact. Because she could prove this, she avoided punishment. A more recent example is the Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner. Last year, Sinner tested positive for clostebol, a banned substance. The International Tennis Integrity Agency eventually investigated and found Sinner had accidentally ingested the banned substance through a body massage. He was later banned by WADA for three months. Why is this happening? The main reason this is happening is that some banned substances can transfer from one person to another through kissing or sexual activity. Even tiny traces of substances like clostebol and ostarine can show up in drug tests. When athletes unknowingly get exposed this way, their careers could be unfairly damaged. Even very small amounts found during tests can lead to severe bans. What is being done to protect athletes? Travis Tygart, head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), has expressed serious concerns. He believes the current rules aren't realistic or fair. Tygart said the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) must urgently update their rules, especially by increasing the threshold for these substances. 'I think based on the cases we've seen, watch who you kiss and watch out who you have an intimate relationship with,' Tygart said. Meanwhile, athletes must be cautious about who they become intimate with because even a simple kiss could potentially end a promising career.
Irish Examiner
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Elite athletes warned to avoid one-night stands over risk of failing drug tests
Elite athletes have been warned against having one-night stands because of the risk they could be contaminated with banned drugs from engaging in casual sex. The warning came as top lawyers and anti-doping experts debated contamination cases in sport before highlighting the hidden dangers for the Tinder generation. Mark Hovell, a sports lawyer and the independent chair in the Jannik Sinner anti-doping case, raised the issue of the French tennis player Richard Gasquet, who was cleared after testing positive for cocaine after showing it came from kissing 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,' Hovell added. ''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.' Asked whether an elite athlete was opening themselves up if they didn't get a phone number of the person they slept with, Hovell nodded before saying: 'They might not have the evidence they need.' Another panellist, Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, cited the case of the American boxer Virginia Fuchs in 2020. Fuchs tested positive for prohibited substances, but was cleared after proving that the metabolites detected in her sample were consistent with recent exposure via sexual transmission with 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 the Sports Resolutions conference. Tygart also called on the World Anti-Doping Agency to raise the minimum reporting level of substances that could be sexually transmitted, such as clostabal and ostarine – so that if anti-doping laboratories found a trace amount in an athletes' sample they would not risk a sanction. 'I think it's a pretty ridiculous world we're expecting our athletes to live in, which is why we're pushing to try to change these rules to make it more reasonable and fair,' said Tygart. The Guardian
Irish Independent
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Athletes warned one-night stands could lead to failed drugs tests
Tennis player Richard Gasquet was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in 2009 after testing positive for cocaine, with the Frenchman able to prove that it entered his system after kissing a woman at a nightclub. 'Gasquet managed to get her to come and give evidence to say: 'Yes, I'm a cocaine addict. I use cocaine,' leading sports lawyer Mark Hovell explained at the Sports Resolutions conference in London. ''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.' Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), also cited the example of American boxer Virginia Fuchs, who tested positive for prohibited substances in 2020 but was cleared after proving that the metabolites detected were consistent with recent exposure via sexual transmission with her partner. Tygart, who has criticised the World Anti-Doping Agency regularly over the last 12 months, called on the body to relax the minimum reporting level of substances that could be sexually transmitted so that athletes were not at risk of suspension. 'I think based on the cases we've seen, watch who you kiss and watch out who you have an intimate relationship with,' Tygart said. 'I think it's a pretty ridiculous world we're expecting our athletes to live in, which is why we're pushing to try to change these rules to make it more reasonable and fair. '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.'
Indian Express
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘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.'
The Independent
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Athletes warned one-night stands could lead to failed drugs tests
Doping officials have warned elite athletes that they should avoid one-night stands to avoid a risk of contamination with banned substances. Tennis player Richard Gasquet was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in 2009 after testing positive for cocaine, with the Frenchman able to prove that it entered his system after kissing a woman at a nightclub. 'Gasquet managed to get her to come and give evidence to say: 'Yes, I'm a cocaine addict. I use cocaine,' leading sports lawyer Mark Hovell explained at the Sports Resolutions conference in London. ''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.' Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), also cited the example of American boxer Virginia Fuchs, who tested positive for prohibited substances in 2020 but was cleared after proving that the metabolites detected were consistent with recent exposure via sexual transmission with her partner. Tygart, who has criticised the World Anti-Doping Agency regularly over the last 12 months, called on the body to relax the minimum reporting level of substances that could be sexually transmitted so that athletes were not at risk of suspension. 'I think based on the cases we've seen, watch who you kiss and watch out who you have an intimate relationship with,' Tygart said. 'I think it's a pretty ridiculous world we're expecting our athletes to live in, which is why we're pushing to try to change these rules to make it more reasonable and fair. '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.'
