Why wouldn't testing positive for EPO be an automatic disqualifier for US citizenship? Ridouane Harroufi win US 15k title

You can cheat, lie, etc and be president of the country. At least this guys served his time.

I'm okay if he's a citizen. I think USATF should have a clause that if you have a previous positive test for another country and you're trying to gain US citizenship you can but you can't compete for our country or at any US and/or qualifying Championships.

Great spot.

Scammers and dopers.

https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5599760&page=2#5610175

I'm sure if he was white Rojo would be saying how he deserves a 2nd chance and everyone makes mistakes.

cause nobody cares wrote:

You can cheat, lie, etc and be president of the country. At least this guys served his time.

'He served his time'.... He is probably still using. His bust came in 2013. In 2017 his brother Abdelmounaim Harroufi got busted while living with Ridouane. Very likely they have both been using EPO the entire time, and still using it.

These people should be given lifetime bans and not allowed to participate in the sport. They are stealing prize money and potential sponsors from athletes that are doing good old fashioned hard work without cheating.

Actually, he's almost certainly not "served his time," as that includes "forfeiture of all points, prizes, and medals" per the standard usada or wada sanction language. Forfeiture = paying prize money back. This never happens, yet people are allowed to race again. I get small time races but the onus should be on usatf to ensure that these kind of people show proof before they're allowed to race (and impact results), let alone receive prize money from us championships.

Robert, as far as the morals clause, dude, c'mon. You know as well as I do that an epo positive would be so beyond subjective that the gov't lawyer wouldn't even waste his/her time bringing it up. Not sure why you bothered mentioning it, not worth the breath. If you want to actually do something about it, PLEASE reach out to usatf and ask them if they have proof that Harroufi has completed the mandates of his sanction, including "forfeiture of prizes (i.e., prize money)"

Love to see you do this and post on this thread if/when you receive a response. As far as I know, there's only been a couple people who have paid back money, yet all these dopers are allowed to return and race (see Akor, Mary), which is complete bullshnikes.

All Kenyans dope

All Moroccans dope.

All Ethiopians dope.

It's crazy to let anyone from those doping hotbeds represent the USA.

Half our marathon is already East Africa born, it bett it will be even worse in the 5K and 10K.

We are becoming the next Qatar!

Come on, for x sake. How old is the guy? Any testing?

On what ground would being "a drug cheat" disqualify someone from becoming a US citizen? If you're going to argue "good moral character," something that amounts to "cheating in running" is a reeeeeeaaaaal stretch (not against the law, btw) considering how they define the requirement and compared to what US Immigration defines as "disqualifying activities."

Fact is, he broke no laws and his "crime" is nowhere comparably egregious enough to disqualify him.

Nonsense Rojo.

His victory is more proof that Africans have better genetics and anyone who disagrees is stoopid (and racist).

not my real name wrote:

Robert, as far as the morals clause, dude, c'mon. You know as well as I do that an epo positive would be so beyond subjective that the gov't lawyer wouldn't even waste his/her time bringing it up.

Subjective? There is nothing subjective about an EPO positive. It can't accidentally get in your system. He objectively tested positive for it and you only take the drug to steal thousands of dollars meant for others.

It should be a crime.

How in the world do you think that's subjective? Since making my OP, I've done some research. There is a morals clause. Applicants are required to prove they have "good moral character." THings like adultery can get you barred.

The article I found on reasondotcom even says this, "violating any federal, state, or local law against controlled substances or drug paraphernalia (with the exception of one single offense of marijuana possession of 30 grams or less)."

Well, if he was on EPO in the US, he must have violated a state law. EPO is by prescription only. He didn't have one. You don't have to be convicted of the crime to be barred from US citizenship. Being accused of it can be a DQ.

You can get deported on a green card for crimes of moral turpitude, which includes drug use / abuse.

"Can a Drug Crime Be a Crime of Moral Turpitude?

Regardless of what your crime was named, if it is viewed as reprehensible, and was committed with some degree of intent, deliberateness, willfulness or recklessness, it may be considered a crime of moral turpitude, or CIMT. You can be deportable for either:

one crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years of admission to the U.S. if you could have received a prison sentence of one year or more. (I.N.A. § 237(a)(2)(A)(i)) or

two or more crimes involving moral turpitude that did not arise out of “a single scheme of criminal misconduct.” (I.N.A. § 237(a)(2)(A)(i).)

Convictions for drug distribution or trafficking have been found to be CIMTs. Other drug crimes, such as possession or use, are typically not considered crimes involving moral turpitude – but they don’t need to in this context, because drug crimes are separately listed in the statute as grounds of deportability, as described below. Also, if separate charges were added onto a drug crime, these might constitute CIMTs."

I suspect doping is unlikely to result in criminal prosecution or a prison sentence so there were no issues. When we applied for our green card, our lawyer heavily emphasised avoiding any drugs whatsoever because he had seen a bunch of his clients get deported over it. This was a white collar middle class lawyer too.

rojo wrote:

I just came across the results for the 2020 US 15k Champs from the weekend at Gate River and was disturbed to see that the winner of the $12,000 was ex-Moroccan Ridouane Harroufi, who was banned from the sport for two years for EPO in 2013. Apparently, as of late February, he's now eligible to run for the US.

Where are you getting the $12,000 amount? The race website says "Cash to the top ten men and women as follows: 1st $10,000, 2nd $5,000, 3rd $3,000, 4th $2,000, 5th $1,000, 6th $900, 7th $800, 8th $700, 9th $600,10th $500." I ask because the Roots Running twitter account also said that Lara missed out on $7,000.

Robert, the reason I say that (I agree with you that it should be a disqualifying offense, btw), is that any attorney worth their salt is going to have it dismissed as inapplicable to their clients case. Unfortunately, that's the world we live in. Yes, by the absolute letter of the law, the case can be made to bar him from the privilege of citizenship. However, until the law is applied this way, and applied consistently, I'll be rational and know that the powers that be will not enforce that sort of standard, so it's silly to expect it when it basically never happens.

More importantly would be journalists and fellow competitors reaching out to usatf and inquiring as to exactly what parts of his sanction requirements were confirmed to be met by the athlete (harroufi) before usatf allowed him to race a usatf sanctioned race. If you can get them to admit that he has NOT satisfied ALL of the requirements of his sanction, then you might be able to get some traction on his eligibility being revoked for us championship races. That would be a good thing, IMO. Look forward to checking this thread in a few days and learning what you hear back from usatf. thanks.

US citizenship can be blocked if you have committed a crime. Doping is not a crime in the court of law. You are conflating running rules with legal law. There's no law in any state or the federal level that says you cannot take EPO. You should be writing to the USATF to ban a doping cheat from competing for the US team and at US Championships.

I'm fine with him being a citizen and maybe even competing and winning prize money but he should not be allowed to make money at USATF races or even compete on behalf of the US internationally. They should key in on him and test him like crazy now. I don't think he's legit. Hehir called him out in the comments on a very recent Instagram post.

How are you in charge of a website?

cause nobody cares wrote:

You can cheat, lie, etc and be president of the country. At least this guys served his time.

Wow, how could we allow a politician to lie and still have their job! Should have elected Hillary 'Honest Abe' Clinton.

sbeefyk2 wrote:

US citizenship can be blocked if you have committed a crime. Doping is not a crime in the court of law. You are conflating running rules with legal law. There's no law in any state or the federal level that says you cannot take EPO. You should be writing to the USATF to ban a doping cheat from competing for the US team and at US Championships.

18 U.S. Code § 1343

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.