There’s another development in the doping case involving sprinter Shayna Jack, as Sport Integrity Australia has taken on the 22-year-old’s case.
In March of this year, Australian swimmer Shayna Jack was handed a 4-year ban by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA). Then on November 16th, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced Jack’s original four-year suspension down to two years after the organization agreed she did not intentionally take the banned substance.
As a refresher on the case, Jack returned home to Australia in the middle of the country’s final preparation camp for the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, at the time saying that her withdrawal was for “personal reasons.” It was later revealed that Jack had tested positive for the banned substance Ligandrol.
Jack has maintained her innocence since her positive test results were brought to light, stating, “I’m not going to stop until I prove my innocence. I’ll fight to get myself back into the pool because that’s my dream.”
Flash forward to today, December 7th, and Sport Integrity Australia lodged a statement of appeal in the CAS, asking for reinstatement of the original 4-year ban. The organization’s CEO David Sharpe says the decision to appeal is based on the need for clarity in the application of key anti-doping legal principles.
“Sport Integrity Australia will always act to ensure a level playing field for athletes,” said Sharpe in a press release. “In order to protect athletes and sporting competitions, we must have clarity and consistency in the application of the World Anti-Doping Code.
“Swimming Australia, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) and the Athlete also have appeal rights. The appeal periods for FINA and WADA are still running.
As the proceedings are confidential, Sport Integrity Australia will not be in a position to comment further on the substance of those proceedings.”
Sport Integrity Australia is a reorganization, replacing the singular Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and combines the existing functions of the National Integrity of Sport Unit and the nationally focused integrity functions of Sport Australia.
Per its website, among SIA’s various responsibilities is its role in providing advice and assistance to counter the use of prohibited substances and methods in sport, as well as the failure to protect members of sporting organizations and other persons in a sporting environment from bullying, intimidation, discrimination or harassment.
I thought they could only appeal a CAS decision to a Swiss Tribunal and that was only procedural stuff.
Some Australian fart wrote a whole article about that re Sun appealing to a Swiss Court.
Never believe stuff until it happens .
I would’ve expected this kind of appeal from WADA rather than SIA but it’s good that SIA is taking the initiaive. I’d imagine most of the anti-doping agencies from other countries would not do this.
So WADA is appealing too: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-07/wada-sport-integrity-australia-to-appeal-shayna-jack-ban/12958496
Pretty sure the Sport Integrity Australia president, David Sharpe and the Canadian Olympian, David Sharpe are not the same person, but David Sharpe here links to the swimmer…
hypocrisy…at its worst
Which part?
I think the confusion is that the article states that Sport Integrity Australia is lodging an appeal but it doesn’t make it clear that they are actually appealing the 2 year reduction and want the 4 year ban re-instated.
Ok I see. That’s a fair point, I’ll try to make it more clear above.
misunderstood the article and stand corrected
I misunderstood and stand corrected