American athlete therapist jailed after is convicted for providing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. They include a Nigerian sprinter Okagbare currently under suspension. The United States has sentenced athletic therapist Erica Lira to three months in jail and fined her $16,410 (Ksh 2,352,590) for supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. Majorly, the suspended Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare.
Lira received her sentence this week after admitting guilt in supplying drugs to Olympic athletes. Okagbare currently serving a 10-year ban. Lira confessed to providing Okagbare with performance-enhancing substances leading up to the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Just before the start of the Games, officials withdrew the Nigerian sprinter from the women’s 100m semi-finals. She tested positive for human growth hormone in an out-of-competition test conducted in Slovakia.
First American athlete therapist Convicted by US Criminal Law
Lira is the first individual to face criminal conviction under the newly enacted U.S. law. Former President Donald Trump signed the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act into law in December 2020.
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message: Violating the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act carries serious consequences, including prison time. This message is especially important this year with the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris. In addition to the prison term, Lira, 44, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $16,410,” reiterated US Attorney Damian Williams.
US Attorney Damian Williams
The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act
With the first American athlete therapist jailed, the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act remains officially enacted into U.S. law. This legislation grants American officials the authority to prosecute individuals engaged in doping and related activities during international sports competitions featuring American athletes.
In November, the Senate passed it, and President Donald Trump signed it into law on Friday, December 4, named after the Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, currently residing in the U.S. Under government protection, the Act addresses his involvement in enabling doping, concealing positive tests, and overseeing the Sochi Winter Olympic and Moscow Laboratories.
The Oscar-winning documentary Icarus portrayed the act.
Under the Rodchenkov Act, prosecutors can pursue fines of up to $1 million. Additionally, the legislation permits the U.S. to seek prison sentences of up to 10 years for doping cases involving U.S. athletes.
The implementation of the law remains a delay of justice to many. Had it been in place earlier, people like Victor Conte, the alleged mastermind behind the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (Balco), could be in prison. Conte faces accusations of supplying various performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. They include cyclist Lance Armstrong, baseball player Barry Bonds, and sprinter Marion Jones.