The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has accused the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) of allowing athletes who reportedly violated anti-doping rules to continue competing.

In a statement on Thursday, WADA claimed that USADA breached the World Anti-Doping Code by allowing these athletes, who were found to be in violation of anti-doping rules, to act as “undercover agents” without notifying WADA. According to WADA, it is aware of three cases — occurring between 2011 and 2014 — in which athletes who “committed serious anti-doping rule violations” continued to compete for years without their violations being published or sanctioned.

However, defending USADA, its chief executive officer, Travis Tygart, stated that WADA was aware of the athletes’ cooperation and their return to competition. According to an article published by The New York Times, Tygart argued that at least one athlete’s return was necessary to facilitate an investigation.

“When USADA and other anti-doping organizations obtain information about misconduct and potential violations, it’s critical that we pursue the truth with all the resources at our disposal, and there are protections for both whistleblowers and those who provide substantial assistance,” Tygart said.

WADA refuted Tygart’s claims, stating that while the Code does provide a provision allowing athletes caught cheating to appeal for a reduction in their ban if they provide “substantial assistance,” it does not permit athletes to compete after being found guilty of anti-doping violations in order to gather evidence against others.

“This USADA scheme threatened the integrity of sporting competition, which the Code seeks to protect. By operating it, USADA was in clear breach of the rules. Contrary to the claims made by USADA, WADA did not sign off on this practice of permitting drug cheats to compete for years on the promise that they would try to obtain incriminating evidence against others,” WADA’s statement read in part.

Commenting on the situation, sports analyst and former sprinter Dwayne Extol expressed surprise that the astonishing news hadn’t made global headlines. In an interview with Dionne Jackson-Miller, Extol noted that if the news had involved another country, the reaction would have been different.

“A story like this, had it been a different country, you would have seen it plastered across headlines, and I think this is why it’s unfair and why people are up in arms about it,” Extol said. “To think that someone was allowed to compete under these suspicions makes me wonder what else is being hidden… there is no doubt in my mind that there are a lot of other athletes still competing under the same protection.”

According to The New York Times, WADA’s condemnation of USADA’s undercover policy comes amid controversy surrounding the global agency’s handling of a doping case involving 23 Chinese swimmers. The swimmers tested positive for a banned substance seven months before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but avoided punishment. Some of these athletes went on to medal in Tokyo after WADA accepted China’s findings that suggested the swimmers unknowingly ingested the substance from food eaten at a hotel.