Could President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials be barred from major international sporting events, even in their own country, because of unpaid dues to the World Anti-Doping Agency?
That’s what The Associated Press has been reporting since last week, although the Canadian-based agency created by the International Olympic Committee has pushed back on the idea such a rule change would affect already scheduled events in the United States.
In a statement posted to the WADA website, the agency stated it has been clear that “given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games would not be covered.”
The agency said “discussions related to the issue of governments unilaterally withholding funding from WADA have been ongoing since early 2020 and have nothing specifically to do with the U.S.” and that any decision would be made by a board not scheduled to meet until November.
The three events cited by WADA — this year’s international soccer matches, the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Games in Utah — would typically include appearances by the current American president as well as other government leaders.
But the U.S. government has declined to pay annual dues to WADA, withholding a total of $7.3 million over 2024 and 2025, according to the AP, decisions made under both the Biden and Trump administrations.
The dues were held back amid an ongoing dispute between the international agency and the U.S. Anti Doping Agency over a number of issues, including WADA’s decision to allow Chinese swimmers to compete in 2021 despite testing positive for a banned substance.
WADA and Utah’s 2034 Winter Games
That case sparked an investigation by U.S. authorities that nearly kept Utah from being awarded another Winter Games by the IOC in 2024 as sports officials around the world protested the federal government subpoenaing an international swimming official.
Nearly a week of intense, behind-the-scenes negotiations ahead of the IOC’s scheduled vote in Paris resulted in the last-minute addition of a new termination clause in Utah’s host contract that was signed by Gov. Spencer Cox.
The clause allows the IOC to take back Utah’s Games if “the supreme authority of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the World Anti-Doping Code is hindered or undermined” by the United States.
Cox said at the time that agreeing to the new language “was the only way that we could guarantee that we could get the Games.” In December 2024, The New York Times warned the feud “still might” cost Utah the Games.
But U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee officials and Utah 2034 organizers have repeatedly expressed confidence the clause will not be invoked, noting the host contract already required adherence to international anti-doping rules.
The debate over the latest action by WADA is not seen as having an impact on the contract issue.
What U.S. officials say about WADA’s proposed ban
Last year, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., the chairwoman of a U.S. Senate subcommittee that held a hearing on WADA, accused the agency of having “tried to strong arm the United States and threaten our hosting of the Salt Lake City Games.”
Now a candidate for Tennessee governor, she recently posted on X that WADA wants to bar U.S. leaders “simply because the agency is mad it got caught helping Chinese athletes cheat. Further proof we’re doing the right thing by demanding accountability and defunding WADA.”
Trump’s drug czar, Sara Carter, called the WADA proposal “ludicrous,” the AP said, and pledged the U.S. government “will continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport.”
The proposal has not been made public, but the AP reported it learned of the item on an agency agenda through correspondence between unnamed WADA and European officials “involved in the agency’s decision-making.”
A similar proposal surfaced in 2024, but was rejected.
Fraser Bullock, president and executive chair of the Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, had no comment on the WADA proposal.
“Our focus is preparing for 2034,” Bullock said. “We have lots to do and we’re excited about that.”