Last week, the International Olympic Committee made a stunning request that the state of Utah agreed to at the last minute: Respect the “supreme authority” of the World Anti-Doping Agency—or Salt Lake City could lose the Games.

On Tuesday, U.S. lawmakers struck back.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the “Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act,” which would allow the U.S. to withhold its roughly $3.7 million annual payments to WADA—the largest of any one country—until reforms are made.

After reports emerged this spring that WADA permitted dozens of Chinese swimmers to compete despite positive drug tests, Olympic gold medal swimmers Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt testified before Congress last month about what Phelps said were “deeply rooted, systemic problems.”

The New York Times also reported Tuesday that another two athletes tested positive in 2022 but were allowed to continue swimming. Many of the Chinese athletes who tested positive are medal contenders at the Paris Olympics.

The DOJ and FBI launched an investigation into the scandal, a power given to them by the Rodchenkov Act that allows U.S. officials to criminally prosecute international doping cases, which is the likely culprit of the Utah clause. The International Olympic Committee is allowed to rescind Utah’s bid if “the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the World Anti-Doping Code is hindered or undermined.”

Who’s Involved?

Rep. John Moolenaar (R., Mich.), a co-sponsor of the bill, said, “This brazen attempt by the IOC and WADA to force Utah to interfere in an investigation would win the gold medal in blackmail.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, has sponsored a bill against WADA before. She introduced one with nearly an identical name to the Senate in February 2022 that was more targeted at Russian instances of doping. “Our message is simple, we will not be silenced for trying to promote fair play,” she said Tuesday. 

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D., Ill.) are also co-sponsoring the bill.

The future of the ACC is up in the air as Florida State and Clemson have filed lawsuits against the conference, opening up the potential for them to find new homes. But amid the dysfunction, Georgia Tech has managed to bring some positivity to the conference.

The Atlanta-based school announced Monday that the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, its athletics fundraising arm, brought in nearly $78.2 million in the fiscal year ending on June 30, a school record that is 43% higher than its previous record set in 2019–2020. The latest fund is 161% higher than what the school raised last year.

Tech’s announcement also stated that almost 90% of the donations were “non-seat-related gifts,” meaning they did not come with an exchange for tickets to football or basketball games. The school also said that 20 of the donations it received this year were of at least $1 million.

The record-setting donations come at an opportune time for Tech as the college environment continues to shift since the creation of the transfer portal and the changes in the name, image, and likeness rules.

“As the landscape of college athletics shifts and the financial resources needed to compete for championships at the highest level increase, we are so grateful for our donors stepping up to the plate and making a record-breaking impact on Tech athletics,” Georgia Tech director of athletics J Batt said.

The donations could be a stepping stone in revitalizing a school with four football national championships—though its last one was in 1990, while its last conference championship was in 2009. 

Tech could also use the funds to develop its other athletic programs. While the Yellow Jackets have seen success in men’s basketball, baseball, softball, and golf in this century, the school’s only other national championship outside of football was won by its women’s tennis team in 2007.