Hershman said all sports had a duty to convince the public that their games were clean because of recent corruption, match-fixing and doping scandals.
"Sport is probably facing the greatest crisis it has ever faced, it's an issue of integrity and accountability," Hershman told reporters at a Doha press conference.
"The greatest threat to sport is losing its fan base."
Hershman, 70, has had a long and varied career.
As well as Transparency International, he previously served on a FIFA reform committee, which paved the way for the controversial Garcia report examining allegations of corruption.
The report has never been fully published.
Outside sport, Hershman was a special agent with US military intelligence and served an investigator for the Senate Watergate Committee.
Hershman said all sports had a duty to convince the public that their games were clean because of recent corruption, match-fixing and doping scandals.
Transparency International co-founder Michael Hershman was Thursday unveiled as CEO of the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security, and warned sport risked losing its fan base due to recent scandals.
