Au revoir to anti-doping stalwart Darren Mullaly

Interview with Darren Mullaly

Tim Gavel: Hello, and welcome to One Side, I'm Tim Gavel.

This month, the team at Sport Integrity Australia bids farewell to Darren Mullaly as he packs up a rich history in Australian sport, taking on the role of Government Relations Director at the World Anti-Doping Agency in Montreal. A well-known figure in sporting circles, Darren departs following an 18-year-career protecting the integrity of sport in Australia.

Darren joined the former Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) in 2006, taking on a role in Legal Services. In 2020, with the creation of Sport Integrity Australia, Darren became Deputy CEO of Strategy and International Engagement.

He has an impressive biography, including representing the Australian Minister for Sport and the Australian Government at key international sport integrity meetings, and being the Minister for Sport’s registered deputy at the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings. The new role that WADA offers down the opportunity to spread his wings further, however, he leaves a proud legacy at Sport Integrity Australia.

So, Darren, congratulations.

Darren Mullaly: Thanks, Tim.

Tim Gavel: Huge job, isn't it? Director, Director of Government Relations with WADA, geopolitical issues aside, it is just a massive job.

Darren Mullaly: Yeah, it is going to be a big job. I think there's over 190 governments that are involved in the anti-doping system and are partners with WADA, so, I'm sure there’ll be lots of different time zones and lots of different stakeholders and governments to talk to. 

Then you've got the intergovernmental organisations as well, that the role looks after, so organisations like the Council of Europe and UNESCO are probably the two biggest ones.

Tim Gavel: People probably don't realise the role that governments play in WADA, they think that it's just a world anti-doping agency receiving funding from governments, but governments actually play a significant role, don't they?

Darren Mullaly: They play a huge role. They’re a 50% funder along with the International Olympic Committee, in terms of WADA’s operations, but also you look at most governments will also fund the National Anti-Doping Organisation and are instrumental in terms of setting up a large part of the anti-doping ecosystem in terms of legislation and the implementation of anti-doping policy.

You've got the linkages outside of anti-doping organisations with customs, border force, law enforcement that are, you know, normally government agencies as well. So, governments play a huge role in terms of how anti-doping works.

Tim Gavel: I mentioned there's geopolitical issues, you’re going to have to walk a tightrope aren’t you? It’s a very delicate operation that you're going to be conducting…

Darren Mullaly: Oh, it certainly can be and I think we've seen that quite recently, but one of the one of the good things I think in terms of this area is that generally most of the stakeholders believe in the fundamental goal in terms of clean sport and making sure that athletes aren't, you know, hurting their health and other things by taking substances that they shouldn't be taking. 

So, there's a lot of commonality there, which is surprising, sometimes there's certainly some disagreements, but I think that goes with a lot of areas of sport where sport can be quite political.

Tim Gavel: In terms of anti-doping in Australia, how big is this role? This is significant, isn't it?

Darren Mullaly: Um it, it is. It's something that I have to pinch myself sometimes in terms of, you know, spending so much time in an Australian environment and then being able to take skills and to work on sort of the global stage is something that I didn't always sort of think about, or aspire to, but it's a fantastic opportunity. Australia, I think over quite a period of time has been a leader in the anti-doping space.

One of the things that I'm really proud of in terms of my work here in Australia is just how much influence Australians have been able to have in terms of the operations of WADA and the global anti-doping community. There's a variety of different working groups or standing committees that WADA has, and since the creation of SIA, I think there's about 9 new Australians who have gone on to standing committees to do important work on the global stage. And one of the really impressive things I think is that, um, the appointments that we've managed to get onto, those have also been 9 females, which is a, which is a great outcome and a great result.

Tim Gavel: So do you see your appointment as a reflection on the status that Australia has in the world anti-doping community?

Darren Mullaly: I think so. I think we've been a leader, and it's not just work I've done, it's all of those people that contribute to the system and are willing to work hard and make the system better incrementally over a number of years, that holds Australians in a good stead in terms of being able to contribute to, to the global anti-doping movement.

Tim Gavel: So how is Australia viewed on the world stage, given that you're now dancing in that area?

Darren Mullaly: Look, I think, I think quite positively. I think not just Australia, I think our region as a whole, we have been a regular contributor in terms of the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board for a number of years along with New Zealand and in more recent years, Samoa.

And I think as a region we’re quite small in terms of numbers, but in terms of our involvement and our willingness to have a crack and get involved, and try and find solutions to things, holds us in good stead with a lot of people in the system.

Tim Gavel: From a WADA point of view, you’re going to be obviously working in Montreal. Do you still keep a close eye on what’s happening in Australia, or is it far more global your role?

Darren Mullaly: Ah, it's far more, it's far more global in terms of my role, but you know I'll always be an Aussie so I'm sure that I'll keep an eye on some things that are happening, but just the enormity of the job and the position means that, you know, I'm going to be focusing on many other things, so time might be a challenge in terms of paying real close attention to things happening down under, but you know, I'll do my best in that respect.

But in terms of the job itself, obviously working for, you know the independent or the equivalent of the independent regulator, you know, while I joke about it, um, there's you know, you've got to be independent in how you approach things. Recognising, like you said at the start, that there's so many different stakeholders with different views, politically, culturally and I think you have to be sensitive to that.

Tim Gavel: Yes, so effectively cutting the umbilical cord, because you’ve been involved with ASADA before, Sport Integrity Australia. How long have you been involved in anti-doping in Australia?

Darren Mullaly: Oh, I started in anti-doping, I'd actually been teaching a sports law subject back in 2005 and then came to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority in 2006. So, what's that, 18 years in terms of anti-doping involvement, and the last 4 years with Sport Integrity Australia, where our involvement has grown from just a focus on anti-doping into the other areas of sport integrity.

Tim Gavel: Been a lot of changes haven’t there, in the anti-doping world…

Darren Mullaly: There sure has. Um, I think one of the biggest changes that I've seen in my time, in terms of anti-doping would have to just be the system itself and the level of complexity. You know, it was much simpler times back in, in 2006. I’m not saying they were better times, but over the years you've seen the development of the Code, the development of the system. 

You know, I think there was only a handful of documents that you had to pay attention to in the early days and that's just grown and increased over time as, as doping has got more sophisticated, the response has also ended up being more sophisticated, which has created a, you know, a new level of complexity and it's difficult, I think, for all stakeholders to grasp.

But you know, education in particular, in terms of athletes, and that's one area that has really grown significantly, particularly in the last sort of 10 years to, to cope with the changes in the rules and the level of complexity in the system.

Tim Gavel: How have you dealt with the scrutiny on the agency, because over the years there have been some major cases. How have you dealt with it? You say, listen let's stick to the Code and carry out the requirements of the Code, is that the way that you've dealt with it?

Darren Mullaly: Yeah, it's really tough. Particularly with, I don't think a lot of people understand the secrecy provisions in, in the legislation and that's something that's been difficult. You know, you go to a barbeque and most Australians like their sport, so if there's something in the media, you know, friends and family and other people want to try and pin you down in terms of what's happening or what your views are on something and it, and it's not something that you can, you can respond to easily and share.

But at the end of the day my philosophy has always been, in Australian terms, to just play a straight bat. Nothing's personal. The rules are the rules, and you've got to look at it and, and do your job. And that's what I've always tried to do back from when I was a lawyer running anti-doping cases in Australia, to the work that I do now. Um, you know there's scope to have difficult conversations. Not everyone's going to agree on the outcome and over time there's opportunities to seize on those disagreements and look for ways to improve the system. And I think that's a good thing.

Tim Gavel: Yes, because the athlete voice has become quite prominent and certainly, we get advice here at Sport Integrity Australia from an Athlete Advisory Group, it's become quite prominent, hasn't it, the athlete voice in, in guiding world anti-doping and, and the system itself.

Darren Mullaly: Yeah. Which is, which is, um, Australia played a critical role in, in the sense that it was Australia sitting on the working group in terms of looking at changes to the Athlete Council and increasing the size of the Athlete Council, which has, which has been a really positive outcome. I mean, we shouldn't ever lose sight of the fact that this whole entire system is primarily for one group of stakeholders and, and that's the athletes.

Tim Gavel: What have been some of the highlights for you? If you look back and the memories you have working in the anti-doping system in Australia for 18 years, but most importantly at ASADA and Sport Integrity Australia.

Darren Mullaly: I think, if I, if I was to pick, it's hard, but if I was to pick one particular highlight it would be the home Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in, in 2018. Being a Gold Coast Boy originally, the opportunity to work on the anti-doping program and deliver that program for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Game was a lot of hard work, but an incredibly rewarding experience.

And I think the way that the Gold Coast program was run in terms of the games where you had, you know, able bodied and para events competing with each other, I'll certainly never forget the athletics, uh, at the Gold Coast for gold medals and different races. It was a great experience.

A lot, a lot of hard work, but something that I look back on and I'm really glad that I was involved with. And I think for anyone who's still in the area in Australia or wants to get into the area in Australia, I think Brisbane 2032 will even top that in terms of just, to host, a home Olympic and Paralympic Games again, in Brisbane, will just be an incredible opportunity for anyone that gets to work on that.

Tim Gavel: And like the Commonwealth Games, certainly the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics, does provide a platform for Sport Integrity Australia to further explain exactly what it does, because there is still, to a certain degree some confusion about, for instance, you know, what is banned, what's not banned in-competition, out-of-competition; who does what, the independence of WADA when it comes to testing and analysis. So, it's a real opportunity, isn't it, for Australia to educate the population.

Darren Mullaly: Absolutely. And you've got other organisations like the International Testing Agency, who have primary responsibility for the conduct of the anti-doping program at the Games but regularly work with organisations like Sport Integrity Australia in terms of actually delivering the program and, um, the real opportunity, I think, for organisations involved with Brisbane 2032 is, is making it the regional games, and bringing in our Pacifica colleagues and, and doing something special not just across anti-doping but also the other sports integrity areas.

Tim Gavel: So, the legacy can be sport integrity for beyond the games itself?

Darren Mullaly: Yeah, absolutely. It's something you know, whether you look at safeguarding or competition manipulation, anti-doping, um, there's been a lot of growth in terms of organisations around the world who I think have looked at Sport Integrity Australia's model and have gone down the path to, to varying degrees to create broader sports integrity units. And even organisations like the International Olympic Committee who have got their different units within that organisation that look at all of those things, create a pretty unique opportunity for us down the track.

Tim Gavel: Alright, Darren. Thanks very much for joining On Side.

Darren Mullaly: Thanks Tim.

Tim Gavel: How's your French? Alright?

Darren Mullaly: Yeah, my French. I am going to have to take some French lessons, but I'm committed to that. So next time that we talk to each other, hopefully I'll have some impressive phrases for you, but at the moment, unfortunately, it's probably not that good.

Tim Gavel: Yes, because you are moving to Montreal and we wish you well and, and thank you for your contribution in Australia, Darren.

Darren Mullaly: Thank you. And if you know anyone that's got jackets that cope with -35° in the middle of winter, let me know.

Tim Gavel: Good on you, Darren.

Darren Mullaly: Thanks Tim.

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