TV and corporate sponsors could help catch drug cheats, anti-doping official says

With scandals unfolding on various fronts across the globe, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency said Monday that big-money television networks and corporate sponsors could help finance the battle against cheating.

Craig Reedie spoke about the need for more funding at a WADA conference in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“Our backs are against the wall,” the agency’s president said.

The International Olympic Committee and others have called for WADA to establish a global testing program to replace the current piecemeal system that relies on national anti-doping agencies who might have reason to overlook positive tests by their own top athletes.

WADA would need more money to institute such a regimen. Broadcasters and corporations already pour billions into sport and could divert some of that money to testing, Reedie said.

“Sport has had its wake-up call,” he said.