IOC’s large role in anti-doping creates conflict of interest

EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer KATOWICE, Poland (AP) — The idea made sense. Given the rampant amount of drug abuse in Olympic sports, the sports world needed a global watchdog. But who would pay for that sort of operation? The International Olympic Committee decided it would split the bill with governments. That's how the World Anti-Doping Agency was created two decades ago. Formed with good intentions, WADA finds itself at a crossroads as it celebrates its 20th anniversary at a conference this week in Poland. It's an agency riven with conflicts of interest that have hindered its fight against drugs and exacerbated its 4-year-old struggle to hold Russia accountable for a massive doping scandal. "One thing you can't have is built-in interference," said Edwin Moses, the Olympic cham