USADA Expands Whistleblower Options Utilizing RealResponse State-Of-The-Art, Secure Technology

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Oct. 18, 2021 - PRLog -- The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and RealResponse announced today that USADA's Play Clean Tip Center will now provide athletes and support personnel with a real-time texting option to report potential abuse of performance-enhancing drugs and suspected doping behavior.

USADA serves Olympic, Paralympic, and UFC athletes and is the first anti-doping agency to employ the new technology. In 2020, its Play Clean Tip Line received 459 total tips which evolved into nearly 100 formal cases.

RealResponse (@RealResponseHQ) is the leading safe and secure feedback, monitoring, and anonymous reporting platform for athletic teams, organizations, and more than 50,000 athletes. The RealResponse anonymous, proprietary text messaging tool will allow individuals to send text messages to USADA via the Play Clean Tip Center with information or evidence regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

"An effective anti-doping system relies on far more than just testing to reveal doping fraud, and we've been fortunate to work with many courageous athletes, coaches, and support personnel over the years who were willing to step up and play their part in upholding clean sport," said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart. "We are constantly listening to athletes and other stakeholders to find the fastest, safest, and easiest ways to report potential issues, and the connection with RealResponse helps remove potential barriers for whistleblowers in communicating with our Investigation Team."

Athletes and support personnel can contact USADA's Play Clean Tip Center by sending anonymous text tips, including photos, to 87232 ("USADA") with information or evidence pertaining to potential anti-doping infractions or behavior. If reporting a tip from outside the United States, text +1 719-748-7232 (+1 719-74-USADA).

"We are thrilled to partner with the USADA and bring our RealResponse platform into the anti-doping world," said RealResponse founder David Chadwick, a former Division I basketball player at Rice University and Valparaiso University. "RealResponse shares USADA's commitment to athletes, and their right to clean sports. Our goal is to make reporting safe, secure, and easy, and the anonymous text messaging system certainly addresses many of the challenges in the reporting process. The Play Clean Tip Center addition of RealResponse technology further helps to safely and simply encourage those in sport to bring forth information critical to fair competition."

By leveraging RealResponse communication with the anonymous whistleblower, USADA's Investigation Team will be able to quickly assess and gather additional information, while continuing to provide athletes with a safe and anonymous space to communicate. The platform is now available on all mobile carriers.

The collaboration with USADA is the latest in a growing number of partnerships for RealResponse. Current clients include the NFLPA, USA Gymnastics, and more than 100 NCAA and NAIA schools on every level of intercollegiate athletics.

About USADA

USADA conducts the year-round, independent anti-doping programs for all Olympic, Paralympic and UFC athletes. USADA is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental agency whose sole mission is to preserve the integrity of competition, inspire true sport, and protect the rights of clean athletes.

Along with education and testing, robust anti-doping programs enable investigations stemming from tips and whistleblowers. USADA makes available several ways to report the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs in sport to protect clean athletes and promote clean competition. Any tip can be reported using the USADA Play Clean Tip Center, by email at playclean@USADA.org, by phone at 1-877-Play-Clean (1-877-752-9253), by mail, and now utilizing RealResponse, by text message using the short code 87232 (USADA).

About RealResponse

Originally founded in 2015 and then expanded in 2020, RealResponse is a partner with more than 100 colleges and universities as well as with the NFLPA and USA Gymnastics, giving more than 50,000 athletes with the ability to anonymously share feedback and concerns in a safe and secure manner. RealResponse is an online platform that allows for real-time reporting, surveys, and as a document repository. Organizations can also benchmark metrics to peer and national averages to identify areas of competitive advantage and vulnerability. Additional partnerships with international organizations, colleges and professional sports properties are expected in the coming weeks. In 2021, RealResponse was recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal as one of the "Fifty Most Innovative Companies in the Region." For more information about RealResponse, visit http://www.realresponse.com