The Enhanced Games, a controversial new athletic competition that allows the use of performance-enhancing drugs, has filed an $800 million lawsuit against World Aquatics, USA Swimming, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), alleging that the organizations are attempting to sabotage the event by coercing athletes and officials into boycotting it.
The lawsuit challenges a by-law introduced by World Aquatics in June 2025, which prohibits swimmers and officials from participating in or supporting the Enhanced Games. Violators face potential lifetime bans from sanctioned events, including the Olympics.
“Those who enable doped sport are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events,” World Aquatics President Husain al-Musallam said when the by-law was announced.
The by-law, known as By-Law 10, states that its purpose is to uphold the values of the Olympic Movement and maintain the integrity, image, and safety of aquatic sports. It asserts that those involved in unauthorized competitions that permit doping could be seen as damaging the sport’s reputation.
However, Dr. Aron D’Souza, founder of the Enhanced Games, argues that the move is an attempt to suppress competition and control athletes through fear and coercion.
“World Aquatics’ By-Law 10 is a thinly veiled attempt to strong-arm the swimming community into boycotting the Enhanced Games,” D’Souza said in a statement. “They’re holding elite swimmers and support staff hostage, threatening lifetime bans from Olympic events – all without a single anti-doping violation.”
D’Souza also accused World Aquatics and WADA of hypocrisy, citing their alleged tolerance of doping scandals, including the 2021 Chinese swim team doping case, which is currently under investigation by both the U.S. Congress and the Department of Justice.
“To claim this is about protecting the ‘integrity’ or ‘health and safety’ of athletes is utter hypocrisy,” D’Souza said. “The widespread, unchecked use of performance-enhancing substances in their own events is an open secret… This isn’t about fair play; it’s about a decades-old monopoly desperately trying to crush competition.”
D’Souza has previously criticized the Olympic movement, calling it inconsistent in its values, particularly when it comes to athlete health. In a 2024 interview, he pointed out the irony of the Olympics being sponsored for decades by Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.
“The two longest-serving sponsors of the Olympics are Coca-Cola and McDonald’s — the two organizations that have done the most damage to health in human history,” he said. “When the IOC wants to lecture me about safety, I point to their own history.”
The Enhanced Games, still in development, aims to create an alternative to the Olympics by allowing athletes to compete without drug testing, promoting what it calls “science-enhanced performance.”
The case could have major implications for athlete rights, anti-doping regulations, and the global sports monopoly traditionally held by Olympic governing bodies.
