The cold war between tennis players and the sports integrity body intensified several notches this week as the leading but fledgling organizing body for tennis players directly questioned the methods by which tennis controls doping and corruption.
In a letter addressed to Karen Moorehouse, chief executive of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), received: AthleteAhmad Nassar, executive director of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), alleged that ITIA investigators sometimes confiscated players' personal cell phones, harassed their families, and threatened players with sanctions and suspensions if they did not immediately do what was demanded of them from them.
„“The reports we have received show that the ITIA investigative process is broken and ITIA investigators are abusing their roles,” Nassar wrote.
“While we hope these incidents violate ITIA's investigation protocols, given the widespread nature of the complaints, we believe there are flaws at the heart of ITIA's investigation,” he added.
– said Nassar, who heads the PTPA together with Djokovic Athlete that in recent months, over 10 players have contacted the PTPA, accusing them of aggressive treatment by ITIA investigators.
One player alleged that investigators demanded he hand over his phone and threatened him with a temporary suspension if he contacted a lawyer first. Other players alleged that they were threatened with public disclosure of their interim suspensions without clear, established grounds for sanctions. These players cannot be identified as this would reveal that they are under ITIA investigation.
The PTPA did not disclose whether these charges were for anti-doping or anti-corruption crimes, and a footnote in Nassar's letter characterized the investigator as “all persons acting under the control of ITIA.”
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In a statement to Athlete issued through Adrian Bassett, ITIA's chief spokesman, the agency described the allegations as “serious but general” and said it would investigate any specific allegations of inappropriate behavior.
“We currently believe that ITIA investigators work within the rules, with respect and reflecting our values,” it said.
The Agency added that the procedures for issuing a provisional suspension are clearly described in the Anti-Doping and Anti-Corruption Rulebook and stated that:He doesn't take the decision to take away a player's cell phone lightly. “It must be necessary, proportionate and lawful. We will not request a device without full consideration of both the intelligence we receive and the impact it will have on the individual.”
According to people involved in the preparation of the letter to ITIA, who presented the process on condition of anonymity, the letter meant a change in the PTPA's strategy in terms of cooperation with the most powerful tennis organizations.
In his letter, Nassar copied the law firm Weil, Gotshal and Manges, which acted on behalf of the NFL Players Association and the National Basketball Players Association. The PTPA has now retained the firm to represent the organization and to investigate potential litigation and other challenges facing the governing bodies that have controlled tennis for the past half-century – the ATP and WTA tournaments and the four Grand Slam tournaments, all of which were copied into the letter. It also hired James Quinn, Weil's former partner and sports antitrust lawyer.
Ahmad Nassar is PTPA's executive director as of summer 2022. (Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for PTPA)
According to Quinn and those involved in drafting the ITIA letter, challenges to the power structure in sports can take many forms. These include possible antitrust lawsuits and requests to the U.S. Congress and other government bodies.
“When you look at tennis and the way it treats players, it's basically pre-Neanderthal,” Quinn said in an interview Thursday. “This is an antitrust danger zone.”
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Nassar's letter to ITIA, which requested an initial response by Oct. 15, raises questions about the qualifications and salaries of investigators and doping control officers tasked with collecting urine from athletes for drug testing.
It also asks how the ITIA balances the legal principle of presumption of innocence with its suspension system, under which an athlete who does not successfully appeal a provisional suspension resulting from a positive doping test is substituted and banned from the sport pending a full ITIA investigation. is their test.
Nassar also asked for clarity on the nature of evidence required by the ITIA to launch a doping or anti-corruption investigation, which could include match-fixing and betting by players or referees.
“Players sign up to participate in events hosted by our sponsors (ATP, WTA, Grand Slams and ITF),” ITIA said.
“Interim suspensions cannot be issued without just cause and there is a rigorous process and an independent player appeal process in place.”
The letter comes after two significant events for ITIA.
Last Saturday, October 5, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced that it would appeal the ITIA's decision not to suspend men's team No. 1 Jannik Sinner for two anti-doping violations.
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In March, Sinner tested positive for clostebol twice, but aAn independent hearing convened by ITIA found that Sinner had “no fault or negligence” in connection with the positive test results. The tribunal accepted his explanation that he had been contaminated with a medicated spray purchased by his trainer, Umberto Ferrara. Sinner's physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, used spray on a cut on his hand, then gave Sinner a back massage and foot treatment, which left Sinner infected.
WADA, which oversees ITIA, is seeking an “ineligibility period of one to two years” during which the two-time Grand Slam champion would be banned from playing tennis. WADA's appeal is currently being heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
On Thursday, October 10, CAS published written reasons for its decision to reduce the ban issued by the ITIA for former women's world No. 1 Simona Halep from four years to nine months. The wide discrepancy between the CAS and ITIA conclusions, as well as the perception of Sinner's positive treatment, further damaged players' impressions of the body that governs fairness in their sport.
Simona Halep played in Hong Kong earlier this month after her return to tennis was cut short by injury. (Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Images via Getty Images)
“It's quite obvious that we have a system that is not working well,” Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, said at a news conference in Shanghai. “There are too many inconsistencies, too many governing bodies involved and, you know, this whole thing is not helping our sport at all.”
Djokovic is a founding member of the PTPA, an organization he and others created four years ago to give players a unified voice across the two tournaments, the ATP and WTA. He is one of many players, not all of them affiliated with the PTPA, who are frustrated with the tennis status quo despite the existence of ATP and WTA player councils whose task is to involve players in the sporting machinations to which they show off. world.
“We acknowledge that having players under investigation for alleged wrongdoing is not pleasant; however, it is our responsibility to thoroughly investigate this matter – to protect everyone involved in the sport, including PTPA members,” ITIA said.
Nassar's letter confirms this thesis – to some extent.
„Players want a game based on the principles of fair play and honesty, but they do not deserve to be subjected to arbitrary and overbearing mistreatment in an investigation,” he wrote.
(Top photo: Hector Ratamal/AFP via Getty Images)
