Anti-Doping chief criticizes Mitchell "amnesty"

By Simon Evans

MIAMI (Reuters) - The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency on Thursday criticized the Mitchell Report on drugs in baseball for offering what he called "an amnesty" to players who used steroids.

Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, whose report names top players such as Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, advised against disciplining players for past use unless Major League Baseball's commissioner believes "the conduct is so serious that discipline is necessary to maintain the integrity of the game."

"I was not impressed by the recommendation of an amnesty -- very few players came forward, they had to be dragged screaming, that is not an appropriate situation for an amnesty," WADA chief Dick Pound told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"These were not accidents, they were deliberate purchases of products known to be banned, there have to be consequences," he said.

Pound also criticized the scope of the report, saying: "I found it incomprehensible that the known and widespread problem of stimulants such as amphetamines wasn't addressed at all."

He called the behavior of the players' association, which gave limited assistance to Mitchell, mostly "a disgrace and an outrage."

"There was total noncooperation in a matter of serious importance to baseball and to the association's members," Pound said.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart said he was dismayed by the contents of the report.

"It is a sad, sad day for the national pass-time and all who love America. All involved should be ashamed of themselves," he told Reuters.

"Hopefully there will be immediate action taken to deal with the culture of drugs," he said, adding that baseball needs an independent body to deal with the matter.

""We firmly believe that a sport is unable to both promote and police itself -- third-party testing is the truly effective way to deal with the problem," said Tygart.

Asked about the report's recommendation on not sanctioning players for their past behavior, Tygart said: "There is no amnesty program in the Olympic movement."

The players named included some of the sport's biggest stars: Clemens, Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Eric Gagne, Miguel Tejada, David Justice, Chuck Knoblauch and Andy Pettitte.