On Sunday’s broadcast of “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, host John Oliver sounded off on doping in the Olympics after some Russian track and field athletes were been banned from competing in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro for doping.
Oliver noted a leaked survey that found around 29 percent of track and field athletes in the 2011 World Championships had doped within the past year, and then likened doping to Russian President Vladimir Putin because he said both adversely affect the entire world.
“Today, the cheating goes far deeper,” Oliver said. “As for the modern era, while no one knows exactly how many athletes dope, there are some shocking hints. One leaked survey found that an estimated 29 percent of track and field athletes at the 2011 World Championships said that they had doped within the past year.”
He later added, “Think of doping as Vladimir Putin. It’s far from just a Russian problem, it’s something that adversely affects the entire world. If we truly want to clean up sports, we should empower [World Anti-Doping Agency] by making it truly independent, and put pressure on the broader sports system to aggressively combat doping.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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