New U.S. athletics chief vows to drive out doping cheats

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States' new athletics chief Doug Logan pledged on Friday to drive doping cheats out of sport.

Logan was named CEO of USA Track & Field (USATF) on Thursday to replace former distance runner Craig Masback, who quit in January to become a marketing executive with Nike.

Logan, the former commissioner and president of Major League Soccer (MLS), said relying just on testing and disciplining offenders would not solve the problem of doping.

"There needs to be a cultural reversal to how people look and feel about the whole issue of cheating in this sport, in cycling, in team sports," Logan said in a teleconference call.

"Hopefully, I'll be able to mobilize others and I plan to be a far more passionate messenger in the sport about all the ways of cheating.

"If you're cheating, get out. If you're suggesting as a coach or agent or personal manager to a young person to use some of these substances, get out. We will find ways to get them out.

"What we have to do is change this horrible climate of suspicion over performance. If we don't address it in an aggressive way it's going to choke the life out of the sport."

Logan, who led MLS from its 1995 inception through 1999 and has run a sports consulting firm since 2001, said athletics needed a regular domestic series building to a climax in non-Olympic years to spur its popularity in the U.S.

"Track and field needs to be put into a regular slot," he said about encouraging TV coverage and raising fan interest.

"I think we have a sport that everybody can relate to. It is seen as a red-blooded American sport," said Logan, adding that he was dedicated to keeping the U.S. position at the top of medals tables in the Olympics and world championships.

(Editing by Clare Fallon)