Chael Sonnen PED Update #1: ‘Natural Steroids’, Dana White’s Response + More
A few notable points that have emerged since yesterday’s bombshell that Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance enhancing drugs following UFC 117…
– According to the L.A. Times’ Lance Pugmire, Sonnen tested positive for a “natural steroid” before his fight with Anderson Silva. Natural steroids, such as androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone, aren’t chemically altered like synthetic steroids, and can be sold over-the-counter as supplements at health food stores.
– Sonnen is facing a year-long suspension and a $2,500 fine, which he has 30 days to appeal. According to California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer George Dodd, Sonnen’s positive test emerged from a urine sample he gave before the fight that was processed through the UCLA Olympic drug-testing lab.
– When asked to comment on the situation by Yahoo!’s Kevin Iole, UFC president Dana White would only say that he’s leaving Sonnen’s punishment in the hands of the CSAC: “When [a UFC fighter] fails a test, the government is going to fine them and suspend them and tell them they can’t make a living for a year. So should I come in after they’ve already lost the ability to make a living for a year and been fined all this money and, in the worst economic disaster in the history of the world, fine them another huge amount and take away their ability to make a living even longer? These are guys with homes and families and personal lives and bills and debts and obligations, just like me and you. After they lost all this money already, money that, A, they’ve probably already spent and B, which they owe taxes, do I fine them another huge amount? What else do you do to a human being?”
– If you feel like giving Chael the benefit of the doubt, keep in mind that there’s a long list of over-the-counter cold and flu products that have triggered false positives in drug tests. Remember how Sonnen said he had a stomach bug in the week leading up to the fight?
So far, there’s been no official statement from Sonnen on the PED situation. We’ll let you know as soon as he makes one…
