Beyond VCB's exoneration

The news of the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) exoneration of Veronica Campbell-Brown on technical issues has put back on the agenda the reform of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) and the need for it to provide updates on how far it has reached in the process.

We appreciate that in Mrs Campbell-Brown's case, JADCO operated merely as an agent for the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), under whose auspices she performed last year when she returned a positive drug test. It is also noted that JADCO was not the agency responsible for the adjudication of Mrs Campbell-Brown's case.

It was said that Mrs Campbell-Brown used a topical substance to treat her injury, which she reported before her test. She never attempted to use a performance-enhancing substance.

On that basis, Mrs Campbell-Brown received a reprimand from the Jamaican tribunal that heard her case. That ruling was apparently overturned by the IAAF - but not reported by either the international or Jamaican federations. A two-year suspension was instead imposed. In an accelerated hearing and decision, the IAAF sanction was overturned by the CAS.

The court's decision was seemingly based on the integrity of the methods of which Mrs Campbell-Brown's urine sample was acquired and its handling prior to testing. Whether a banned substance was in her system and how it got there were not the fundamental issues to be considered.

The failure of JADCO's effort, then, is what is at issue. It is important, therefore, that it accelerates its reform so that all have confidence in the integrity of its systems.

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