Schumer: Russia Should Be Banned From Olympics Amid Doping Scandal
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A report issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency detailing systematic drug use by Russian athletes has caused a flurry of debate, as Russia's participation in the 2016 Olympics hangs in the balance.
The report said Russian athletes and officials were involved in "extensive" use of performance-enhancing drugs, obstructed doping tests and helped to cover up drug use. The report said Vadim Zelichenok, the acting president of the Russian track federation, "refused to cooperate" with investigators.
The governing body of track and field is expected to rule Friday on whether to suspend Russia from competition because of the doping scandal. If Russia is banned, the country's track and field team could be excluded from next year's Olympics.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the findings of the international doping group is damaging and believes the country should be banned from participating in the 2016 games, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported.
"Because the doping was not individual athletes and not even individual coaches. It was the whole Russian Olympic team with the government complicit," Schumer said.
"We admit some things, we argue with some things, some are already fixed, it's a variety," Zelichenok said. "It's not for the press."
With an Olympic boycott ruled out, Russia is planning to at least partially admit it has a doping problem.
"Russia is against a boycott. Russia is against political interference in sport," Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said. "Understand that Russia is a dependable partner of the international Olympic movement."
Mutko also appealed for Russia's track team to be allowed to compete, arguing that a blanket ban would unfairly punish clean athletes.
"It will be painful for those athletes with clean consciences who could compete, that's the first thing. And the second thing is that it goes against the spirit of the WADA code," Mutko said. "The commission itself writes about it in its report. It's about protecting the athletes with clean consciences."
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted clean athletes should be allowed to compete and asked Russian sports officials to carry out an internal investigation into the allegations made in the doping report. Mutko said Russia would provide constant updates about its investigation.
"Practically every day, at the end of the day, we release some kind of information message about the steps we're taking and we will continue to do that," Mutko said. "We're prepared to inform international society about the steps we're taking, the investigation, the decisions."
In one move, the Russian Olympic Committee asked former Russian track federation president Valentin Balakhnichev to resign from its executive board. The WADA commission's report said Balakhnichev was "ultimately responsible" for doping and cover-ups at the federation during his tenure and linked him to instances in which money was allegedly extorted from athletes.
The Russian government has consistently slammed the report for what it says is a lack of evidence. Mutko said there was an overreliance on confidential sources and condemned the inclusion of material from undercover recordings made by whistleblowers, which he said violated the rights of those accused of doping.
In southern Black Sea resort of Sochi, the host city of last year's Winter Olympics, some Russian track and field athletes trained in the sun on Thursday. Many remained upbeat about their chances of competing in the Olympics while questioning why other countries were not being investigated alongside Russia.
"It happens all around the world. Why are these measures taken only for the Russian team? I don't understand this," said Maxim Sidorov, a shot putter who competed at the 2012 Olympics. "Not only we, if it's proved, are using doping. Other countries do it as well. Why aren't they disqualified?"
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