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USADA chief executive: Athletic commission drug testing is a joke

By Zach Arnold | January 25, 2010

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Just remember this when you recall what Keith Kizer said during the failed negotiations between the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps. If you don’t recall what he said, he essentially said that urine tests would be sufficient for the two camps in regards to effective drug testing. Heck of a job, commissioner:

Q: Shane Mosley obviously slipped through some cracks on urine testing alone in Nevada. …

A: “Let me correct that premise for you. The current state of drug testing done by these state commissions is a joke. They don’t test for EPO. They don’t test for designer steroids. They test for a basic, simple menu that anybody with a heartbeat will escape. I just hate to hear that Shane Mosley did something really sophisticated to get around their testing. No, he didn’t. He would’ve been caught dead to rights in our program. But it doesn’t take a whole lot to sidestep the simple kind of drug testing that these state commissions are doing.

“Again, I hope it’s familiarity, I hope it’s knowledge, because part of the growth is for entities, but also athletes, to become knowledgable about these issues. If you’re a clean athlete, or you’re a sport organizer, promoter, state commission, whatever, if you want to protect clean athletes’ rights, you’re going to put in a clean program.”

Q: What is the difference in cost — because obviously, with most state commissions, you’re dealing with tax-based, governmental agencies — what’s the difference in cost between a urine test and a blood test?

A: “There’s not much. Incremental cost. It’s certainly not cost-prohibitive and if you want to protect clean athletes, you’ll put it in place. Take half of one percent of what these two boxers were going to generate, or make for themselves, and you’ve paid for a couple years of your program. I always hear that is a defense to not wanting it to be done, but it’s really not. It’s frankly a weak excuse not to protect clean athletes’ rights.”

Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

7 Responses to “USADA chief executive: Athletic commission drug testing is a joke”

  1. Zak says:

    Considering that Mosley took the “clear” and the “cream” and the USADA didn’t know that THG (aka the “clear”) even existed until June of 2003 (Mosley fought in September) I think it is safe to say that Shane did take something “sophisticated”

  2. Mr. Roadblock says:

    Thanks, Zak, you beat me to it. You are 100% correct.

    “Remember this” track coach Trevor Graham sent a syringe containing the clear to investigators in 2003.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/10/24/2009-10-24_track_coach_trevor_graham.html

    Also “remember this” several US Olympians used PED’s and were undetected in the 2000 Olympics.

    Bear in mind the USADA head is trying to sell a product. Just listen to his corporate talk with “clean athletes” and “clean programs”. Obviously Olympic style drug programs aren’t the end all be all. Who would be surprised in a few years to find out that Ussain Bolt was on something in 2008.

    All this pseudo-science stuff being brought up in recent weeks to support Floyd Mayweather’s position is ridiculous. Maybe it would be a little more difficult to cheat if what the USADA wants to do was done. The point remains Floyd is still just using all of this to duck Manny.

  3. mattio says:

    Strict drug-testing should be par for the course for any championship fight. The most up to date testing procedures should be used at all times. The fighter should be tested at the beginning and middle of his training camp and then right before the fight. Cost should never be an issue and should be deducted directly from the fighters’ fight purses.

    Cash rewards should be in place for fighters who become aware of the newest cheating agents and report it to the commissions.

    Fighters competing in fights outside the US should still be tested by US athletic commissions if those fighters plan to fight in America ever again.

    Any state that hosts a championship fight must have an athletic commission in place and that athletic commission must test the fighters as stringently as the New York or Nevada commissions would. Any fighter that competes in a state that uses lax drug testing as a benefit would be blackballed from Nevada and New York.

    No fighter should ever have to ask for that his opponent be drug tested during fight negotiations, because both fighters being stringently tested for illegal agents would happen automatically.

  4. 45 Huddle says:

    The USADA should not throw stones…. They live in a huge glass house.

    Gegard Mousasi vs. King Mo is being heavily rumored for Strikeforce on CBS. I’m conflicted by this fight. Very good fight and it’s the best LHW Title fight Strikeforce can make. However, they completely rushed King Mo into a title fight before he was ready. He is going from Mike Whitehead to Gegard Mousasi. Their lack of challengers has forced them to potentially kill a prospect.

    It also is more proof that CBS doesn’t care about Strikeforce long term. They care about milking what they are worth ASAP. This could have easily been built up to a great PPV co-main event by the end of the year. Instead, they are giving it away for free.

    Every day that passes, Network TV looks more and more like a horrible option for any MMA organization… that includes the UFC. They care about content now and have no care about building up the sport for the future.

  5. Bob says:

    Zak,

    Pugmire reports that Mosley fought in Vegas twice since 2003 (article from 2007)

    http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/29/sports/sp-mosley29

    What gets me is the smugness of the USADA and other heads of the doping agencies trying to portrary that their methods, machines, analysis AND interpretation of data are infallible:

    http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/105/2/395

    http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/reprint/90529.2008v1.pdf

  6. […] USADA chief executive: Athletic authorisation take investigating is a jape … […]

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