Draft Letter to the International Olympic Committee: Do Not Let Russia Go to Rio

Prominent sports figures in the United States and Canada have prepared a draft letter for the International Olympic Committee, requesting to prevent Russia from participating in the Rio Olympics due to a widespread doping scandal. The Associated Press, which has seen a copy of this letter, reports that its authors have prepared it for the time when Richard McLaren's special report on state-sponsored doping investigations in Russia is published. The findings of the investigation are set to be released on Monday, and the letter from prominent sports figures may be sent to the International Olympic Committee afterward. The Rio Olympics will begin next month in Brazil. Doping tests for professional athletes in Russia have turned into 'the biggest crisis' in the history of sports in that country. So far, many Russian sports stars have been banned from participating in competitions. Pat Hickey, president of the European Olympic Committee, has stated that the draft letter 'undermines the independence and credibility of this important report.' Professor Richard McLaren, a Canadian lawyer, has been selected by the World Anti-Doping Agency to conduct investigations into claims that Russian athletes have doped with the conscious involvement of their government. Vitaly Mutko, Russia's Minister of Sports, has emphasized that his country will fight against doping, while his critics provide evidence that his ministry is complicit in the concealment of some drug violations. Previously, Gregory Rodchenkov, head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, told the New York Times that he had given steroids to athletes and helped replace laboratory samples with clean ones through a hole in the wall. Rodchenkov is now residing in the United States and claims that the order for this came from the Ministry of Sports of his country. Travis Tygart, director of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, says the draft letter has the support of at least six countries and sports groups worldwide. However, it will not be made public until Professor McLaren's report is published. The authors of the letter have stated that they will send it if it becomes clear that most Russian athletes have doped.