Group for European athletes upset with WADA's new code

ATHENS, Greece — A group representing European athletes is upset with the whereabouts requirement in the World Anti-Doping Agency's new code, which goes into effect Jan. 1. The European Elite Athletes Association said in a statement Thursday that the rule "effectively places elite players under house arrest for one hour each day, 365 days a year."Under the WADA code, athletes will be required to provide authorities with a daily one-hour window during which they must be available for testing or risk being penalized for missing a test."Like everyone else, professional sportsmen are protected by European employment legislation and human rights laws," EU Athletes president Yves Kummer said. "There is no doubt that the certain aspects of the WADA Code interferes with players rights and we have asked the EC to decide whether this is lawful."The group said it is also concerned with WADA's handling of personal data."We are totally committed to drug free sport and we reiterate our call to WADA to negotiate with player associations to create a fair and effective anti-doping policy," Kummer said. The Council of Europe, which represents 47 member states, also took issue with WADA's new code. "I think we have to make it clear that when it comes to safeguarding the human rights model Europe has been building over the past 60 years, we cannot and will not accept that our arguments are not given a proper hearing," deputy secretary general of the Council of Europe Maud de Boer-Buquicchio said at ministerial conference in Athens. "Data protection is serious business in Europe."