For those who haven’t seen this:
The push to increase WADA’s standard ban from 2 years to 4 years came after many people got upset that LaShawn Merritt was able to compete in the 2011 world championships and 2012 Olympics after being suspended in 2009. The International Olympic Committee tried to bar Merritt from competing in the 2012 Olympics based on their Rule 45 that was established to keep suspended athletes from competing in the next Olympics, but their decision was overturned by CAS because it was deemed to be a second punishment. Hence the push to strengthen the standard punishment.
An early draft of WADA’s rule change shared in June 2012 had a provision that was similar to IOC rule 45. As reported at the time by BBC: “Article 10.15 of the latest draft of the new Wada code now makes clear the provision for banning athletes from the next Olympic Games.
It states: "Where an athlete or other person has been sanctioned for an anti-doping rule violation other than under Articles 10.3.3 (Filing Failures and Missed Tests), 10.3.4 (Prohibited Association), 10.4 (Specified Substances), or 10.5.2 (No Significant Fault or Negligence), and Article 10.5.3 (Substantial Assistance) is not applicable, then, as an additional sanction, the athlete or other person shall be ineligible to participate in the next Summer Olympic Games and the next Winter Olympic Games taking place after the end of the period of ineligibility otherwise imposed."
A later version of the draft for the rule change shared in November 2012 removed the Olympic clause and instead stipulated a 4-year ban, due to concerns about legal challenges. As reported by Inside the Games:
“The move to double the length of bans for dopers was made in the latest draft World Anti-Doping Code while the controversial "Osaka Rule", which bans athletes convicted of serious doping offences from competing in the next Olympic Games, has been dropped.
Rule 45 - or the Osaka Rule - was removed amid fears that such a rule could be challenged legally after the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) successfully argued on behalf of Beijing 2008 400 metres champion LaShawn Merritt at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that it was unfair because it was a second punishment for the same offence.”
As reported by Sports Illustrated: WADA President John Fahey said Monday there is "an overwhelming amount of support for the sanction to be strengthened" for use of steroids, human growth hormone and other serious doping substances and methods.“
"Four years will invariably take out someone competing in the next Olympics," Fahey said.
The 4-year ban was seen by the IOC as a satisfactory way of meeting their goal to keep suspended athletes out of the next Olympics, and doing it in a way that would withstand legal challenges. As reported by Al Jazeera:
“IOC President Jacques Rogge supports proposals to double the length of doping bans to four years as a way of keeping drug cheats out of the Olympics.
He said the change would be in line with the International Olympic Committee’s previous failed attempt to bar any athlete slapped with a ban of more than six months from competing in the subsequent Olympics.
The so-called “Osaka Rule” was thrown out last year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on grounds that the sanction represented a second penalty for the same offence and did not comply with the WADA code.
WADA’s proposed four-year bans should serve the same purpose as the IOC rule.
“This is something that is completely in line with the Osaka Rule, because the Osaka Rule was to stop the athletes to participate in the next games if their penalty was higher than six months,” Rogge said.
“Now with this high penalty of four years, automatically you don’t participate in the next games.”