American journalist Michael Schmidt is making a fool of himself as he cries foul with a conspiracy theory aimed at defaming Chinese athletes but goes against the rules of authoritative international organizations, said China Global Television Network (CGTN) anchor Liu Xin in a commentary aired on Friday.
"In the latest of a series of articles in the New York Times, a much acclaimed and two-times Pulitzer Prize winner journalist doesn't pull his punches when writing about Team China. And he's been at it since at least last April. This investigative journalist extraordinaire by the name of Michael Schmidt is upping the ante in his efforts to defame Chinese swimmers," said Liu.
China ended the American run of dominance in the 4x100 medley relay that stretched back to the introduction of the event at the 1960 Rome Games. And it was days after Chinese Pan Zhanle won gold in men's 100-meter freestyle, breaking the world record and finishing over a second ahead of the second place, the anchor said.
The international mainstream media smelled a rat, especially U.S. media and politicians. But Pan's feat is 100 percent legit. And Team China has been the most tested before and during the Paris Games. Yet, their victory has been overshadowed by a dark cloud of "scandal", said Liu.
The storm has been brewing for months, and Michael Schmidt has been the most virulent, said the anchor.
"On April 20, he co-authored an article which supposedly broke the story about 23 Chinese swimmers testing positive before the Tokyo Games but were allowed to compete and ultimately won medals. Since then, he has authored 15 articles focusing on Chinese swimmers. Dedication or obsession?" said Liu.
"His main point is more like a conspiracy theory. Chinese swimmers take performance-enhancing drugs or PEDs while WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency and World Aquatics, formerly FINA, are in cahoots to hush it up. What exactly is the story? In his latest article, Schmidt continues to mislead the reader about food contamination. The thing is, some countries use growth promoters to feed beef cattle. It is pervasive, using WADA's words, for athletes to unknowingly ingest certain banned substances. And these substances have been identified in trace amount, resulting in Chinese swimmers testing positive. After rigorous investigation and independent review, WADA accepted the conclusion that these were food contamination cases which do not warrant any penalty unless new evidence emerges," said Liu.
"The matter has been discussed openly and repeatedly among the anti-doping communities, and thousands of food contamination cases have been confirmed across the world over the years. It's not black and white, as Schmidt suggests. Schmidt threw the proverbial stone in a glasshouse because food contamination can happen to everyone," said Liu.
"WADA points out in a quote, 'Apart from China in particular, there have been several of these cases in the United States in the past few months alone where highly intricate contamination scenarios were accepted.' Mind the words 'highly intricate.' That's our tumbleweed moment here. Looks like people are not totally convinced," said Liu.
"In fact, the most recent known U.S. case involves track and field athlete Erriyon Knighton. He tested positive in March for Trenbolone, a PED. But USADA said it was food contamination. Knighton qualified at the Paris Games before the decision was reviewed by WADA. If Schmidt is right, shouldn't Knighton be suspended before his name is cleared? And if WADA is not to be trusted, who holds USADA accountable? Righteous Schmidt should get on his high horse and demand that WADA steps in here as well," said the anchor.
"Schmidt and his co-author also rant about transparency. They argue that China has not disclosed that Chinese swimmers were tested positive. He and other doubters criticize China for not publishing the positive results, 'as rules require.' Neither WADA nor World Aquatics have any issue with China's conduct on this case. There are specific rules about information sharing and disclosure in WADA's anti-doping code. Obviously, WADA is the most authoritative agency in the interpretation of these rules," said Liu.
"So, when talking about rules, whose rules is Schmidt referring to? His own? The legacy media is just part of the crumbling empire that's clutching at straws to survive," said Liu.
"As we speak, the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI have opened a criminal investigation involving the Chinese case based on a domestic anti-doping law. Another blatant example of long-arm jurisdiction. And a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has threatened to cut U.S. funding for WADA. Are we not seeing the classic pattern of foul play made in the USA? Whoever doesn't agree with it is partial at best and corrupt at worst. The World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, the UNESCO, the International Court of Justice, and the list goes on," said Liu.
"Nobody complained about WADA when Chinese or Russian players were punished," said the anchor.
"Face it, Michael Schmidt. You cry foul, but you are making a fool of yourself. You can write as much tosh as you want about China and WADA. Chinese athletes will forge ahead. What doesn't break us makes us stronger," said Liu.
U.S. journalist makes fool of self as he cries foul to defame Chinese athletes: commentary
