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“I use this opportunity, as legal representative for one of the cyclists on the Trinidad and Tobago team, to state that the assertion of and ensuing consequences of an anti-doping rule violation has been legally contested and is currently under judicial consideration before an arbitral body…”
The following press statement was issued by J Tyrone Marcus, who is attorney for an unnamed Trinidad and Tobago cyclist reportedly stripped of his silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games due to a doping violation:
(Ace cyclist Njisane Phillip got silver respectively at the 2019 Pan Am Games and helped his country to gold in the Men’s Team Sprint event.)
(Copyright AP Photo/Fernando Llano/Wired868)
Within the past twenty-four hours, various media reports have been circulating with respect to the purported disqualification of the Trinidad and Tobago men’s sprint gold-medal winning cycling team that competed at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. Reports have also suggested that one of Trinidad and Tobago’s cyclists has been stripped of an individual medal won at the same event.
The source of the media reports appears to be a media release issued on December 26, 2019 by Pan Am Sports (formerly known as the ‘Pan American Sports Organization (PASO)).
I use this opportunity, as legal representative for one of the cyclists on the Trinidad and Tobago team, to state that the assertion of and ensuing consequences of an anti-doping rule violation has been legally contested and is currently under judicial consideration before an arbitral body. A key ingredient of this arbitral process is the inherent confidentiality provision that has been crafted to protect against premature disclosure of any information that may form part of the judicial proceedings.
It is unfortunate that Pan Am Sports, a reputed umbrella sporting body, has failed to respect such a fundamental feature of dispute resolution, which has been entrenched in many global rules and regulations to promote fairness, equity and sporting justice.
(Copyright AP Photo/Fernando Llano/Wired868)
In light of the conduct of Pan Am Sports, the appropriate intervention will be made to salvage a process that has now been severely compromised.
In view of the foregoing, my future comments will be understandably limited in order to respect and comply with the rules governing the assertion made against the local athlete and/or team.
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