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The IBF backs Lamont Peterson’s testosterone usage
By Zach Arnold | August 11, 2012
Where to begin?
A crash course on testosterone, hypogonadism, and doping
You remember Lamont Peterson, the boxer who was supposed to fight Amir Khan in Las Vegas but ended up failing a drug test administered by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, the agency that Peterson wanted to assist in drug testing both fighters? Peterson ended up failing his VADA drug testing due to his (micro-dosing) usage of testosterone. Keith Kizer, the Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director who hands out Therapeutic Use Exemptions for testosterone usage by fighters in Nevada, threw a misguided temper tantrum about Dr. Margaret Goodman after Peterson failed the VADA test because it cost Nevada money for canceling the fight. Kizer admitted that standard Nevada drug testing wouldn’t have caught Peterson’s testosterone usage because he skated under the 4:1 Testosterone/Epitestosterone ratio.
Peterson’s camp claims that the fighter needed the testosterone pellets (micro-dosing) and that it was for therapeutic use. And yet, he didn’t bother to get a hall pass from the testosterone-friendly Keith Kizer to use the magical T. In response to the criticism from various parties about Peterson’s failed drug test, VADA released a statement giving their side of the story. A week later, Andre Berto failed a VADA drug test.
Everyone knows that testosterone is a performance-enhancing drug. If it didn’t enhance your performance, you wouldn’t be using it. Testosterone is the base chemical for anabolic steroids. And if no one was interested in using testosterone, you wouldn’t be bombarded with radio & TV ad campaigns for Ageless Male & Androgel 1.62. It’s ridiculous that these ads air during the Olympics on the NBC family of networks and also on ESPN, the same network that goes after athletes like Ryan Braun for alleged synthetic testosterone usage.
So, given the circumstances surrounding Lamont Peterson’s testosterone usage… the IBF announced yesterday that he can keep his junior welterweight title and that he’ll be defending it against Zab Judah. Will Keith Kizer rubber stamp the fight for Las Vegas?
The fact that Peterson is proclaiming that the IBF has cleared his name over testosterone usage is absurd. However, it is a win for him in terms of public relations if you believe the BBC. Ridiculous.
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Sanctioning bodies doing their own thing and ignoring reality? I’m shocked!
Wasn’t this the guy who was getting supplements from your go-to source, Victor Conte?
Why are you writing articles that are 3-4x longer than this and well sourced about CSAC office drama, and doing puff pieces promoting VADA when it comes to testosterone?
Ed — Victor Conte as a ‘go-to source’ would mean I’ve actually talked with him. Never have.
It was Berto who was getting supplements from Conte and failed a VADA test due to an allegedly tainted supplement. Though not from Conte’s supplements, according to them. And why would they lie?
That said, despite my doubts of Conte’s sincerity in his quest to clean up sports, he doesn’t taint VADA. He isn’t part of VADA, he’s a consultant. Having a consultant who helped athletes dope while successfully avoiding detection is common sense for a company that wants to detect doping usage.
VADA did kind of drop the ball on the Peterson case though. They broke their own protocol by giving Peterson extra time to challenge the results.