MONTREAL (AP) The leader of the World Anti-Doping Agency called out the X Games for sending the ''wrong message'' by not conducting drug tests at this week's event in Norway.
WADA director general David Howman says that while the X Games is an independent, privately-run event, ''it is still surprising and regrettable to learn that there will be no anti-doping testing program in place.''
He says ''this sends the wrong message to athletes at a fragile time for clean sport worldwide.''
ESPN runs the X Games. A spokesman at the network said it has always allowed federations to set up within the X Games confines and conduct ''out-of-competition'' testing.
The five-day event in Oslo starts Wednesday.
Last weekend, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach also expressed concern about the lack of testing.
