World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Witold Bańka has defended his use of the word “bastards” to describe suppliers of illegal performance-enhancing drugs, insisting that those involved in doping are destroying athletes’ lives, careers and dreams.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsBańka made the remarks during a press conference in Kenya on Tuesday, 6 October, where he called for a multi-agency task force to intensify the fight against the smuggling and distribution of illegal steroids.“We want Kenya to establish a team composed of the police, prosecutors, customs and immigration officials, the NIS and the DCI to wage a battle against the bastards who are smuggling illegal steroids. They use the drugs to destroy the lives of innocent athletes and their careers,” Bańka said.From fighting organised crime to championing clean sport: Günter Younger’s unlikely path to WADAThe WADA chief stood by his choice of words when asked whether the description was appropriate, citing cases in which athletes have died after using illegal steroids and other performance-enhancing substances.“Those who are producing illegal steroids and drugs are killing people. We have much evidence that athletes, after taking illegal steroids and illegal performance-enhancing drugs, have died, and it was not one or two examples,” he said.Bańka warned that the networks supplying the banned substances operate across multiple countries, with athletes potentially accessing the drugs through people they trust, including coaches and medical practitioners.##NAJAVA_MECA_10017180##“So those criminals are everywhere in many countries, but here they are as well. They are producing illegal steroids. They are giving them through the coaches, through the doctors, to the athletes, and they are destroying their lives; they are destroying their careers; they are destroying the image of your fantastic country,” he added.Asked again whether “bastards” was the right word to describe the suppliers, Bańka maintained that the term was justified by the damage he attributed to their activities.Kosgei, Lokedi headline loaded Chicago Marathon women's field“I think that is a perfect word to describe those who are killing the lives of athletes, their careers, their dreams, and the image of the country,” he said.His remarks underline WADA’s concern over the networks behind doping, shifting attention beyond athletes who test positive to the people who manufacture, distribute and facilitate access to prohibited substances.The proposed multi-agency team would bring together law enforcement, prosecution, intelligence, customs and immigration authorities in a coordinated effort to identify and dismantle the supply chains.##NAJAVA_MECA_10017136##Such an approach would also target those suspected of exploiting athletes by providing them with illegal substances.