At Olympics, anti-doping watchdog WADA rejects audit demand and calls on US to pay its overdue fees

MILAN — The World Anti-Doping Agency called on the United States to pay its overdue membership fees Thursday and rejected Washington's bipartisan demand to submit to an independent audit.

The U.S. has long sought more transparency from WADA, which has been criticized for its handling of politically sensitive doping cases. A government funding bill signed into law this week restricts payment of the $3.7 million in dues until there's an independent audit.

WADA President Witold Banka, speaking at a news conference at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, named a list of audits that his watchdog organization is already subject to and said that's good enough.

“I don’t know any other international organization with such strong auditing mechanisms, so I think there are no obstacles for our friends from U.S. to fulfill their duties and pay the contributions,” he said.

He added: “I think it fulfills the expectations or the wishes from the U.S. side, and the most important thing in principle, the contribution is not conditional. That is the thing which is extremely important for us.”

Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, sent a statement to The Associated Press reiterating U.S. President Donald Trump's strong belief in “supporting U.S. athletes and ensuring fair competition in sports," along with the drug office's insistence on the external audit.

“The United States will not be bullied or manipulated into paying dues to WADA until such is achieved,” Carter said.

The U.S. has already withheld dues under Biden in 2024, then again under Trump in 2025 — a rare point of virtually unanimous bipartisan agreement between the U.S. major political parties. The funding spat accelerated after questions emerged about transparency regarding WADA's clearing of 23 Chinese swimmers after they tested positive for performance enhancers before the Olympics in 2021.

“They should be really careful to go up against the United States Congress,” Rahul Gupta, Carter's predecessor as drug czar, told AP. “It's never a good idea to go up against a bipartisan Congress where both sides of the aisle definitely want this to happen.”

The U.S. law restricts the release of the $3.7 million until there's an audit “by external anti-doping experts and experienced independent auditors” showing that WADA's Executive Committee and Foundation "are operating consistent with their duties.”

WADA statutes say representatives of countries that don’t pay are not eligible to sit on the agency’s top decision-making panels. Gupta was removed from WADA's executive committee when the U.S. first refused to pay.

“I hope very soon they’re going to pay the contribution and come back to the executive committee as a member,” Banka said.

Banka said WADA's budget has grown from $36 million when he started in 2020 to approximately $57 million.

“I wish we could have this money, (these) contributions,” he said of the U.S. fees, “but WADA is financially very stable, so this is not the biggest problem.”

The growing impasse comes at a critical juncture as the United States is set to host major international events, including the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

“All of us around the Olympic Movement are trying to work together to come to a resolution of the dispute between WADA and USADA, and we’ve made good progress on that,” said Gene Sykes, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee president and IOC member.

Sykes had a breakfast meeting with WADA leaders this week but declined to give details.

“We understand the disagreements and the issues," Sykes said.

___

AP Sports Writers Graham Dunbar and Eddie Pells contributed to this report.