KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Last month, the International Olympic Committee announced it had launched disciplinary proceedings against 28 Russian athletes who competed in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
The action evidently was spurred by a World Anti-Doping Association report that detailed systematic, wide-spread doping by Russia for years.
Which advanced a report last summer revealing massive state-sponsored cheating by the Russians.
All of that has led to repeated calls for Russia to be banned from all international competition _ calls that for the most part have come from national anti-doping agencies including that of the U.S.
But on Thursday at the Sprint Center, U.S. Figure Skating president Sam Auxier joined that chorus, becoming the first leader of a major U.S. sport to make such a blunt public proclamation.
Suddenly, Auxier and the USFSA are on the front lines in the ongoing battle of perception and wills.
Asked if Russia should be allowed to continue to participate, or host, international competitions, Auxier initially paused for a few seconds.
Then he said this:
"I don't think they should be able to. I mean, it's state-sponsored. It was ... a huge program, well-coordinated to cheat. And they should pay a pretty stiff penalty.
"And the only way that the IOC and the (International Skating Union) maintain any level of integrity is to take a strong stand."
The IOC's disciplinary stance could have implications for U.S. Figure Skating _ particularly two-time U.S. champion Gracie Gold, who learned to skate in Springfield, Mo., and is a graduate of the University of Missouri High School online program.
Gold finished fourth in Sochi as Russia's Adelina Sotnikova won gold. The Italian newspaper La Gazetta dello Sport reported that Sotnikova is among those being investigated.
If Sotnikova is stripped of her gold medal, South Korea's Yuna Kim would ascend to the gold medal, Italy's Carolina Kostner would be elevated to the silver ... and Gold would be awarded the bronze.
During a conference call last week, Gold declined to speculate on any such scenario, instead stressing that she has known Sotnikova for years, even performed in shows with her, and still considers her "a sweetheart."
Asked about the possibility, Auxier said, "It's really kind of out of our control. It's up to WADA and the people doing the analysis, and then the ISU will have to decide what type of penalty they will weigh against that given the evidence."
He later added, "It's important to us that the ISU take a strong stand against doping and making sure that our athletes, who are all clean, competed against athletes who are clean.
"So we are very focused on what the decision is and what steps the ISU will take, and (we) will exert whatever influence we're able to."
