The Global Athlete Podcast
Our athlete-led podcast seeks to broaden the conversation about power, accountability, and athlete rights in international sport.
Hosted by 2x Olympian and Global Athlete board member Noah Hoffman, the 9-episode season serves to educate athletes and the public through in-depth conversations about international sport governance, athlete rights, and the future of the Olympic and Paralympic games.
Note: Episodes were recorded in 2021
-
The Olympics are no doubt an iconic sports staple and whether watching gymnasts tumble across an arena or skiers flying down the slopes, chances are you’ve watched—and probably cheered for—an Olympic event. Professor Jules Boykoff joins Noah Hoffman to break down the history of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and share the impact of some remarkable highs and lows of the modern Olympic games.
In this episode, we talk about…
Pierre Coubertin’s vision and who he wanted to participate in the Olympics
How athletes fit into the Olympic story throughout history
Peter O’Connor’s activism at the 1906 Olympics
Alice Milliat’s alternative Olympics for women
The lasting influence of John Carlos, Tommie Smith and the Olympic Project for Human Rights in 1968
How the IOC leverages sanctions against athletes in present day
IOC’s governance structure and accountability
4 Trends of Olympic host cities: high spending, militarization, displacement and eviction, greenwashing
How the United Nations addresses the democracy deficit of the IOC
The state of exception the IOC thrives on vs. state of emergency in Japan for upcoming summer games
Memorable Quotes:
“All to often, those stories of fighting back on the part of principled athletes who weren’t happy with the way the Olympics were being organized, get shuffled under the historical rug….Athletes have been standing up to those in power...and standing up for their freedoms and their political beliefs.”
“Athletes have a tremendous amount of leverage if they act in unison, if they act in concert, and if they have a good plan going in.”
Guest Bio:
Jules Boykoff writes on a range of subjects, including political activism, the Olympic Games, and climate change. Boykoff holds a Ph.D. in political science from American University. He currently teaches political science at Pacific University in Oregon.
He is the author of four books on the Olympics—NOlympians: Inside the Fight Against Capitalist Mega-Sports in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Beyond (Fernwood, 2020), Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics (Verso, 2016), Activism and the Olympics: Dissent at the Games in Vancouver and London (Rutgers University Press, 2014), and Celebration Capitalism and the Olympic Games (Routledge, 2013).
Links to resources:
“A Bid for a Better Olympics” New York Times (13 August 2014)
-
Without athletes, the Olympic games would not be possible. Noah talks with Rob Koehler about why it’s imperative to understand athletes’ rights and why more accountability is needed in both the IOC and Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In this episode, we talk about…
The emotional story of Navid Afkari
Athlete activism in Belarus
Relationship between IOC Athletes’ Commission and the IOC
Rule 50 and it’s current implications for Olympic athletes
Double standard of how athletes are treated vs. IOC members
IOC financial priorities and why Global Athlete is pushing to abolish Rule 40
Issues with Court of Arbitration for Sport
What happened to British hammer thrower Mark Dry
Impending problems of the Tokyo games and what it means for athletes’ safety
Memorable Quotes:
“Athletes that want to see better communities, want to stand up for social, racial justice—are being told that they can’t do it, and if they are going to do it—we’ll tell you when you can do it. And that is not freedom of expression. You cannot tell someone when they can’t speak up and when they can speak up.”
“If we’re going to look at the entire anti-doping system, we can’t look at things in silo, we need to look at it as a complete picture, and one of those pieces of the pie is the Court of Arbitration of Sport.”
Guest Bio:
Rob Koehler is the Director General of Global Athlete and formerly the Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency and is a strong independent voice for athlete rights.
Links to resources:
Olympic Commercialization and Player Compensations: A Review of Olympic Financial Reports
WADA: World Anti-Doping Agency
Court of Arbitration for Sport
Follow Rob on Twitter @RobKoehler2 and follow Global Athlete @GlobalAthleteHQ
-
Just because you’re elected to a position of power doesn’t mean you can make the changes you want. Beckie Scott joins Noah to discuss her experiences with both the WADA Athlete Committee and IOC Athletes’ Commission and the ups and downs of athlete representation and power in international sport governance.
In this episode, we talk about…
What drove Beckie to get involved in the WADA Athlete Committee and IOC Athletes’ Commission
Details about Beckie’s experience within WADA AC
What professional support Beckie received while working with WADA AC
Why Beckie chose to become a part of the IOC AC
An insider’s perspective about the power, loyalty and perks given to IOC AC’s members
The influence of the IOC AC over WADA
Making athletes feel important vs. listening to and acting on athlete’s concerns
What Beckie believes is the only way athletes can shape the future of sport
Memorable Quotes:
“It was really important that athletes know that we weren’t aligned with the leadership and the decision-making body at that time, that we felt very strongly on behalf of athletes that this was not representative of their rights and was not representative of clean sport and the right direction to go at all.”
“I think the future does lie with independent organizations...either the NOC Athlete Commissions becoming independent or the international federations...are really good starts and are probably gonna shape the way forward.”
Guest Bio:
Beckie Scott is an Olympic gold and silver medalist in cross-country skiing. She was a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Athlete Committee from 2005-2018, during which time she also served as chair of the committee, and she served on WADA’s Foundation Board and on the WADA Executive Committee.
In 2006, she was also elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission. She served a full 8-year term ending in 2014. She’s also worked for the Canadian Olympic Committee and was on the board of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee. In 2019, she was officially appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Links to resources:
World Anti-Doping Agency’s Athlete Committee
International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission
Follow Global Athlete @GlobalAthleteHQ.
-
Athletes must have a voice when it comes to athlete rights and players associations provide the opportunity for their voices to be heard and supported. Noah welcomes Matt Graham and Paulina Tomczyk to discuss what players associations are and why they’re so necessary in today’s world of sport.
In this episode, we talk about…
What a player association is and examples of players associations
The main mission of player associations when it comes to athlete representation and accountability
Why new player associations and unions receive backlash and often struggle
Common issues for athletes with amateur status
How just cause and culture can influence the formation of player organizations
How large players organizations operate and support athletes
Revenue models for both large and small players associations
Why EU Athletes and other umbrella organizations exist
World Players Association and how unions benefit from this group
The relationship between World Players Association and the IOC
Why it’s possible for smaller sports to have strong players associations
Memorable Quotes:
“When the players realize as a group they enjoy considerably more power than they have as individuals, they’re actually in a strong position to negotiate the terms and conditions of their work and they’re broader livelihoods.”
Guest Bios:
Australian freestyle skier Matt Graham is the Director of Legal and Player Relations for the World Players Association.
Paulina Tomczyk is the General Secretary of EU Athletes, the European federation of player unions and athlete associations, and is also an Executive Committee Member of World Players Association.
Links to resources:
-
Independent athlete organizations have been around for years but not all of them last long enough to make significant changes. Noah discusses two new groups with world class athletes Christian Taylor, Emma Coburn, and Matt Biondi and their experiences of forming independent athlete groups in hopes of providing solutions and positive change for athletes worldwide.
In this episode, we talk about…
What led Christian to follow the footsteps of other athlete rights organizations and start Athletics Association
How Christian got buy in from other athletes and the response received when AA launched
Christian’s goal to reach solutions by finding commonalities vs. focusing on adversity
The leadership model of Athletics Association and how athletes make their voices heard
What Christian’s experienced since forming an independent organization
Why Christian believes Athletics Association might be the group to last and advice for anyone starting their own independent organization
Why Emma believes a collection of experts is necessary for athlete representation
The value of patience and endurance to keep working on the changes you want
Ideal revenue model for Athletics Association and providing membership benefits that help make athlete lives better on and off the field
What spurred the creation of the International Swimmers Alliance
Why Matt is returning to support swimmers after 25 years of leaving the sport
How ISL came to be and its relationship with the International Swimmers Alliance
What athletes can expect from joining the International Swimmers Alliance
The biggest issue swimmers want addressed
Whether or not athletes need to be more aggressive in seeking better representation
How Matt decides next steps for the ISA and challenges for building a diverse membership
Where Matt believes the ISA fits in the broader picture of Olympic sport and with other independent athlete groups
Memorable Quotes:
“Not all changes have to result from being hurt.”
“It’s death by a thousand cuts against these systems; you have to be continually pushing and pushing if you want to slowly create change. You’re definitely going to get pushback more than you make forward progress.”
Guest Bio:
Christian Taylor is the President of the Athletics Association and is a four time world champion and two time Olympic champion in the triple jump.
Emma Coburn is the Vice President of the Athletics Association and is a world champion and an Olympic bronze medalist in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Matt Biondi is Leader of the International Swimmers Alliance and is an eleven time Olympic medal swimmer.
Links to resources:
-
The Tokyo Games start in just a few days after being delayed for one year. Hosts Noah and Bree welcome Caradh O’Donovan to address different stories surrounding this year’s controversial Olympics and why systems surrounding athlete representation must change.
In this episode, we talk about…
Caradh’s personal sport journey and her decision to not compete in the Tokyo Olympics
How Caradh got involved in Global Athlete Start-Up Group
What Caradh personally hopes changes to improve the careers of individual athletes
Why Caradh believes the Court of Arbitration of Sport is not the remedy to help athletes
Issues with WADA’s testing system and why it needs to change
Noah’s upcoming witness testimony for the Helsinki Commission in the Rodchenkov Act
Why law enforcement and legislation is needed to stop institutional doping
The impact of Rule 50 and whether athletes will protest during the Tokyo games
Memorable Quotes:
“The promise I made to myself was when I switched sports I was going to try and stand up for any wrongdoing because it’s rampant in my sport...because there’s a lack of athlete voice.”
“I think a good place to start is to have proper, adequate, independent athlete representation and I do hope that will make a better place for athletes and better change for everybody.”
“There’s a number of human rights we’ve all been afforded and I absolutely believe in them, and that is freedom of expression, and that should be a given there should be no sport or organization on this planet that can just decide they’re going to change the rules because they’re that powerful.”
Guest Bio:
Caradh O’Donovan is a Global Athlete Board Member, Irish karate athlete, and is a former world kickboxing champion.
Links to resources:
Follow Caradh O’Donovan on Twitter @CaradhODonovan
WADA: World Anti-Doping Agency
-
Just like the National Hockey League has the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA), some Olympic sports have unions that represent players within a specific league. However, there's no independent professional body representing athletes’ interest to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Don Fehr of the NHLPA shares the challenges athletes without organized representation face.
In this episode, we talk about…
Biggest differences between sport administrators like the NHL and the MLB vs. the IOC
Potential legal hurdles athletes face if they try to organize and stay home from games
Lessons from the MLB PA and other major players associations that have experienced success for athletes
Whether a sport must be a certain size before athletes can pursue collective bargaining
How Olympic sport athletes can take advantage of group identity
The disparity of anti-doping policies across athlete organizations
What role the US government might play in forcing the IOC to be less monopolistic
NHL PA’s position on athlete agreements and its negotiations with the IOC
How WADA’s anti-doping policy impacts NHL players
Memorable Quotes:
“The International Olympic Committee is in the entertainment business. It gets its revenue because fans, people want to watch the athletes do what they do. That's the only source of revenue.”
“Collective bargaining is not about reason, or justice or fairness or equity or what's appropriate. It's about leverage.”
Guest Bio:
Don Fehr is the Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players Association. Before joining the NHL PA, Fehr served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, from 1983 to 2009. He began work at the MLB EPA in 1977 as General Counsel, working under Executive Director Marvin Miller, who was credited with completely changing baseball, by making the MLB pa one of the most powerful unions in the United States. In his first several decades leading players associations, he has been involved in numerous work stoppages, both strikes, and lockouts, that have resulted in canceled seasons, including in 1994 when baseball became the first sport in history to lose its postseason to a labor dispute.
Links to resources:
-
Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov took the world by surprise when he went public and revealed Russia’s doping practices in 2016. Dr. Rodchenkov shares his experience in the Russian doping system, what policy changes athletes worldwide still need and what the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act means for the world of international sport.
In this episode, we talk about…
Whether the doping system that Rodchenkov oversaw in Russia is similar to other doping systems in other countries
The distinction of clean vs. honest athletes
Rodchenkov’s opinion if top international athletes in Russia have an option not to dope
How the anti-doping community can pursue institutional doping while not continuing to unjustly punish individual athletes
The discrepancy of how athletes are punished vs. institutions and organizations
Why the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act will change world sport and the role of the new International Testing Authority (ITA)
Why athletic success is so important to the Russian state and whether it’s possible for a system to stop a state as strong as Putin's from continuing to corrupt international sport
Russia’s sanction and how it impacts athletes still competing for Russia
Why Rodchenkov believes the international sports system may not improve anytime soon
Memorable Quotes:
“Again, the problem is that athletes have no tools to defend themselves.”
“I am happy that at least that there are some project like Rodchenkov Anti-doping Act, somehow it might bring light to dark corners, but again, Anti-doping organizations and WADA, honestly they don’t fit the purpose. Should be reconstructed and structurally built. Overhauled.”
“...the problem lies with how these cases are treated. It doesn't lie with the way that we test, or the way that we do investigations. The problem is that we don't punish the organizations and the institutions the same way that we punish athletes.”
Guest Bio:
Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov was the head of Russia's national anti doping laboratory and facilitated the doping of hundreds of Russian athletes at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. He worked for more than a decade to ensure that dope Russian athletes were not caught by the international anti-doping system. Despite his lab ostensibly being in charge of anti-doping efforts in Russia, in 2016, Dr. Rodchenko fled to the United States and exposed Russian state sponsored doping programs to The New York Times. He was the subject of the academy award winning documentary film “Icarus”. His recent book, titled The Rodchenkov Chenkov Affair: How I Brought Down Russia's Secret Doping Empire, gives a detailed account of both Dr. Rodchenkov’s professional life and doping in Russia.
Links to resources:
-
Dr. Antoine Duval sheds light on the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and how much restructuring is needed for athletes to have better representation in the world of international sport.
In this episode, we talk about…
An overview of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and its general mission
How athletes competing at the international level provide a strongly influenced consent to arbitration
The issues of transparency and independence at CAS and why it needs to be fundamentally reshaped
How the appeals process works in CAS and examples of high profile cases
Case disputes between an Olympic host city and the International Olympic Committee
The burden of proof athletes have to get a favorable decision from CAS and reverse anti-doping bans
What a better structure for CAS might look like in the future
Memorable Quotes:
“...it became quite clear to sports governing bodies at the international level, that trying to insulate themselves as much as possible from national courts, and European courts, was a necessity to protect their regulatory monopoly…”
"We have no idea how much money is coming in, how much money is coming out, where it’s going, we don't even know how many people are employed. We don't even know, on a yearly basis, how many cases are decided...we know very little about the institution.”
“I'm just saying that we should be sure that the people that are taking those decisions are dependent and have accountability towards those that are affected by the system...the process...needs to be transparent, needs to be visible to all it needs to lead to a global discussion about this issue.”
Guest Bio:
Antoine Duval coordinates the research strand on advancing public interests in international and European law. He is a Senior Researcher at the Asser Instituut since February 2014 and defended his PhD at the European University Institute in Florence in September 2015. His thesis dealt with the legal interaction between the Lex Sportiva (the private regulations governing international sports) and EU Law. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the ASSER International Sports Law Blog, founder and editor of the Yearbook of International Sports Arbitration, and a member of the editorial board of the International Sports Law Journal and International Sports Law book Series of Asser Press. His research focuses on the role of private actors in transnational law, using the lex sportiva as his main case study.
Links to Resources:
-
Peter Dahlin discusses his Open Letter to the International Olympic Committee “IOC” about the disappearance of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. The IOC has helped the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) kill the story rather than helping ensure Peng’s safety and freedom.
In this episode, we talk about…
The use of Disappearance in China as a tool of the State
Why Peng’s media appearances fit a pattern of staged public appearances for Disappeared people
Peng’s sexual assault allegations that led to her disappearance and the lack of a #MeToo movement in China
How the IOC is doing the bidding of the CCP
Why Peng is better off with consistent international attention
The contrast between the IOC’s response to Peng’s disappearance and that of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)
The IOC’s failure to be politically neutral
What the IOC could have done instead
What athletes and others concerned about Peng’s safety can do going forward
Memorable Quotes:
“We know for sure that she is not free and that leaves only two options. One is that she is placed under house arrest where she has minders from the police controlling her at home and guiding every aspect of her life. Or if that is not enough or is not suitable for them, instead placing her into the RSDL system.”
“The #MeToo movement has largely ignored China. In China they have successfully – through censorship – managed to keep this movement and these discussions at bay. It’s very important for them to do that because every society is plagued with these issues, but China is particularly prone to sexual misconduct and the use of power relations from older men against younger women. It’s almost built into the governance system. So, the fact that she could spark a greater movement related to Me Too – that’s what really is the big concern within the party.”
“The reason I was angry enough to write this letter is that we know with certainty that attention helps – when they’re inside, the treatment gets better. Whether it’s media attention, diplomatic pressure – it doesn’t really matter. It helps every single time. So, the fact that [the IOC] is assisting the Chinese Communist Party in killing the story is troublesome because they are intentionally hurting an athlete rather than helping said athlete.”
“We don’t know whether or not this man is guilty for sure but it does fit a very common behavior in China, and what we need to push for here is a proper investigation. The IOC has an important role to play here because this person is the director of the committee handling preparations for the Games. It’s incredibly important the IOC at the very least act impartially.”
“I don’t think anyone is looking at expanding a boycott of the Games because I don’t think anyone really wants that, especially at this late stage. And I don’t think anyone is expecting athletes to speak out at the Games because that could bring them in jeopardy as well. Right now, it’s more important on pushing the IOC to actually adhere to their neutrality and continue to raise her case in media, in social media, etc.”
Guest Bio:
Peter Dahlin is a human rights activist and the director of Safeguard Defenders, a human rights NGO that undertakes and supports local field activities that contribute to the protection of basic rights, promote the rule of law, and enhance the ability of local civil society and human rights defenders in some of the most hostile environments in Asia. In 2016, Dahlin was secretly detained (disappeared) in China for 23 days for running a Beijing-based rights organization called China Action – the predecessor to Safeguard Defenders. While detained Dahlin was blindfolded, denied access to his embassy, exhaustively interrogated, and kept from sleeping. After his detention, he was deported from China under the espionage act.