The Controversial Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019 Passed into Law by the United States Congress

By Professor Robert J. Romano, JD, LLM, St. John’s University In November 2020, the United States Congress passed the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019 (Rodchenkov Act). Although the Act does not target athletes who engage in doping activities directly, it does criminalize doping conspiracies that knowingly influence (or attempt or conspire to influence) major international sports competition “through the use of a prohibited substance or prohibited method.”[1] Anyone who violates this n