Williams waits - Crowne urges ‘operative decision’ after early end to sprinter’s anti-doping hearing

Although the anti-doping hearing between national sprinter Briana Williams and the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) ended a day early, yesterday, Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (IADP) chairman Kent Gammon says that a ruling will be handed down soon, but did not commit to a timeline for such a decision. However, Williams’ representative, Dr Emir Crowne, has taken issue with this as it prevents his athlete from knowing where she stands regarding her participation in the 100m heats at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, and the 4x100m relays which start on October 4.

Williams, provisionally named in Jamaica’s team for the championships, is in the island after giving testimony on Monday in the hearing to determine whether she is guilty after a drug test revealed traces of the banned substance hydrochlorothiazide in her system in June. Crowne, who said on her behalf that she may voluntarily withdraw from the team after the hearing yesterday, said that while he understands that the panel needs time to provide a reason for whatever decision it takes, he was hoping for what is considered an ‘operative decision’.

‘TELL US THE SANCTION’

“Just tell us the sanction, if any, that’s all,” Crowne told reporters who gathered after yesterday’s session. “Then the reasoned decision? Take 30 days, take 20 days, do the reasons after the fact, but let’s not kid ourselves. We all know why, from day one, I wanted an expedited hearing. It affects Doha. The panel is independent of JADCO, yes, but it’s not independent of Jamaica. It has to know the environment it’s operating in.”

While admitting that Williams faces a tight timeline to get to Doha and get settled to compete, Crowne believes that it is still achievable.

“This would punish the athlete twice if she has to voluntarily withdraw, not knowing the sanction,” he said. “I don’t think any athlete would want to be in that spot, where they’re forced to voluntarily withdraw, but that is where we are in the process, unfortunately.”

Crowne, who attempted to get a no-sanction ruling for his client, however, declined comment on how confident he was of a favourable result.

Gammon said that he was pleased with the two-day process and that all testimonies from both sides were presented smoothly. However, he said that neither he nor the other two members of the panel would be pressured into rushing to a decision by Williams’ urgent need to travel.

“We have taken into account that factor, but it’s not going to predicate how we decide,” Gammon said. “We are aware of it, because this thing has international implications because the IAAF is also interested in the outcome, but it’s not going to cause me and the panel members, Ms Denise Forrest and Dr [Marjorie] Vassell, to rush because of some other event external to Jamaica. But we are moving to decide the matter fairly, and we will do so in a good period of time.”

JADCO representative, Ian Wilkinson, complimented the IADP on how it carried out its duty.

“I thought the chairman and the panel handled the matter as equitably and judiciously as possible,” he said.

“JADCO has done its duty and has been very fair to the process. It has been very transparent. It has assisted the tribunal as best as possible, and in doing so, it has been fair to the athlete in question. The rest is up to the panel.”

Should Williams be found guilty, she faces a maximum four-year ban from athletics, based on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s disciplinary code.