US Olympic officials back Bush's push for anti-doping accord

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush and US Olympic officials urged lawmakers to pass an international anti-doping agreement seen as a key step before consideration of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics.

Bush said that basics of the International Convention Against Doping in Sport, drafted by the United Nations and agreed upon by more than 70 nations, are covered by US law.

But Bush added that ratification by the Senate would show the United States "as a leader in the worldwide effort to rid athletics of cheating through chemistry" and called upon US pro leagues to use it as a guideline.

US sports leagues in basketball, baseball, American football and ice hockey do not have to comply with World Anti-Doping Agency rules and athletes must condone to...