The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Thursday that the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, issued a decision affirming the dismissal of the federal lawsuit brought by Regina Jacobs against USADA and USA Track & Field (USATF).
As previously announced by the United States Olympic Committee, Jacobs is a track athlete who tested positive for the anabolic steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) at the 2003 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships. In defense, Jacobs filed a lawsuit asking the court to intervene and excuse her from the USADA adjudication process that was designed with the assistance of athletes and other sports organizations and which has been in place since 2001. That lawsuit was dismissed by Southern District of New York Judge, Barbara S. Jones. In today’s decision written by Circuit Judge Jose A. Cabranes, the Second Circuit affirmed Judge Jones’ dismissal of Jacobs lawsuit. The Second Circuit held that USADA had not refused to arbitrate, as alleged by Jacobs, but had properly followed the decision of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), which had determined that the case should proceed under the AAA/USADA adjudication process.
“We are extremely pleased with the Second Circuit decision, which confirms that Ms. Jacobs’ lawsuit was baseless,” said Travis T. Tygart, USADA’s Director of Legal Affairs. “We maintained from the beginning that this lawsuit was absolutely without merit and now both the Southern District of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit have agreed. We hope in the future that athletes will not resort to these frivolous attacks on the established process, which is fundamentally fair to all athletes. ”
USADA is the independent anti-doping agency for Olympic sports in the United States, and is responsible for managing the testing and adjudication process for U.S. Olympic, Pan Am and Paralympic athletes. USADA is equally dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport through research initiatives and educational programs.
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