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Attorney: Silva admits using banned substance, ducking testing

2K views 31 replies 19 participants last post by  King Daisuke 
#1 ·
After weeks of speculation and excuses, Wanderlei Silva finally appeared in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission to answer for a random drug test he skipped that caused him to be pulled from his scheduled bout against Chael Sonnen at UFC 175.

At the time, Silva released a video claiming that the commission's representative showed up at his gym asking him to sign something and because he didn't read English very well he asked for his lawyer to read over the documents first. At that point, Silva says he left the gym where the test was supposed to take place at because he had obligations that day for UFC 173 in Las Vegas.

On Tuesday during the commission's scheduled meeting, executive director Bob Bennett presented the case against Silva, although this served only as an information gathering meeting and no punishment was handed down.

Bennett allowed his sample collection agent, Jim Gernsey, to read from his very detailed notes kept on the day he was sent out to submit drug tests for both Silva and his opponent, Chael Sonnen. The fighters were required to do blood and urine samples on May 24, but Gernsey struggled to track Silva down during the day.

Finally, Gernsey found Silva at his gym in Las Vegas where he informed him who he was and why he was there. Silva agreed to take the drug test, and that's when everything went haywire.

"He asked me if he could speak to his manager or trainer. I asked him if this person was at the gym and he said yes. I told him that was fine and I gave him a little space," Gernsey said during the meeting. "I think he had just finished working out and he went up to the front steps and I followed a little way behind him, he went into an office in the middle of the gym and came out after just a few seconds. He went back to the front counter and back past the office towards the back of the gym and around the corner to the right.

"I casually followed behind him, when I turned around the corner I realized there was an exit there and a bathroom. I didn't see him anywhere. I went into the bathroom and looked around and didn'€™t see him there. I looked around a little bit more and couldn't find where he went. I came to the conclusion that he left."

When the news about Silva skipping the test first came out, Sonnen claimed that the former PRIDE champion literally ran from the gym as opposed to submitting the sample, and now with testimony given by the collection agent it appears that was a true statement.

Both Gernsey and Bennett attempted to track down Silva for some time after the initial test was supposed to be given, but they were unable to locate him. At that point, Bennett notified UFC executive vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner of what had just happened with Silva.

Following Bennett and Gernsey's statements, the commission then turned the floor over to Silva for his reply to the comments. His attorney spoke on his behalf before dropping the bombshell that everything the executive director and his collection agent said Silva did that day was true.

"He doesn't dispute anything the executive director said. But he's here to say in February of this year at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, he injured his wrist. He was prescribed by the UFC doctors anti-inflammatories. He was scheduled to fight on the May card. Early in May, I believe May 10, 2014, he had an x-ray and it confirmed that he had fractured his right wrist. The UFC then moved that fight on the May card approximately six weeks to the July 5 card," Silva's attorney Ross Goodman explained.

"Mr. Silva, regretfully at that time, began taking diuretics. He was taking diuretics for the sole purpose of minimizing the inflammation, to decrease the water retention. He now realizes that he should have submitted the drug test. He was surprised, this was the first time in his career where something like this out of competition showed up at his gym. That doesn't negate or minimize what Mr. Silva did. He wants to apologize to the commission. He was concerned the diuretics would show up on his sample."
Diuretics are banned by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) due to their use in the aid of shedding water weight while also acting as a masking agent for performance enhancing drugs. Diuretics by definition force water out of the body via urination, and in drug testing this can dilute the sample given by an athlete, masking certain markers used to identify performance enhancing drugs. Diuretics are typically used to lower blood pressure and heart problems, but can be used to reduce swelling in tissue.

Still, the drugs are illegal when used by an athlete in or out of competition and any exemption must be approved before being allowed. Obviously, Silva didn't file any kind of exemption with the commission, especially considering he admits to taking the diuretics after the May 10 diagnosis about his wrist.

The commission gathered all the information and concluded that it will hold a disciplinary hearing for Silva's infraction at a later date.

Also at the meeting on Tuesday, former UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen appeared via phone to answer for his positive drug test given the same day Silva skipped out on his drug test. The commission opted to hand down a temporary suspension of Sonnen's license, and will hold a full hearing at a later date to discuss the case in full.

Sonnen retired from active competition last week, but will still go through the hearing with the commission as it doles out any punishment based on the positive drug test.
http://msn.foxsports.com/ufc/story/...r-took-banned-substance-ducked-testing-061714
 
#6 ·
Wanderlei Silva Admits To Using Banned Substance, Dodging Random Drug Test



As it drew near, Tuesday’s Nevada Athletic Commission meeting was shaping up to something of a major event.

As he has done on numerous occasions with the Pride Fighting Championships and the UFC, Wanderlei Silva was the headliner. It was a far less comfortable environment for “The Axe Murderer” than the cage or ring.

Silva said very little during the hearing, which was streamed via UFC Fight Pass. Instead, it was attorney Ross Goodman who spoke on behalf of the fighter, revealing that the Brazilian intentionally eluded a random, out-of-competition drug test on May 24 out of fear that he would test positive for a diuretic being used to treat a wrist injury suffered in February.

“Back in back in February of this year, at ‘The Ultimate Fighter Brazil,’ [Silva] injured his wrist,” Goodman said. “He was prescribed by the UFC doctors anti-inflammatories. He was scheduled to fight on a May card; early in May he was x-rayed and confirmed that he had in fact fractured his right wrist. The UFC then moved that fight approximately six weeks to the July 5 card.

“Mr. Silva regretfully at that time began taking diuretics. He was taking diuretics for the sole purpose of minimizing the inflammation -- to decrease the water retention. He now realizes that he should have submitted to the drug test. He was surprised. It was the first time in his career where out of competition somebody showed up at his gym. That doesn’t negate or minimize what Mr. Silva did. He’s here to apologize to the commission, and he was concerned that the diuretics would show up on the sample.”

Prior to Goodman’s statement, the NAC had Jim Guernsey, an independent sample collector with approximately 34 years of experience, to detail the events of May 24, when he arrived at Silva’s gym to retrieve a blood and urine specimen from the fighter.

As it turned out, Chael Sonnen’s claim that Silva literally ran away from a drug test wasn’t that far from the truth. After unsuccessfully trying to track down Silva via telephone and at his home, Guernsey found the UFC veteran at his Las Vegas gym. However, Guernsey would not find the cooperation he was seeking.

“I explained that the Nevada Athletic Commission had asked me to get a blood and urine sample from him. He said OK and was finishing eating and visiting with the people around him... After they finished, he asked me if he could talk to his manager or trainer,” said Guernsey, who provided his account from detailed notes he took that day. “I asked him if this person was at the gym and he said yes. I told him that was fine and gave him a little space. I think he had just finished working out.

“He walked up to the front desk and I followed a little way behind him,” Guernsey continued. “He went into an office in the middle of the gym and came out after just a few seconds. He walked back to the front counter and then walked past the office toward the back of the gym and went around the corner to the right. I casually followed behind him, and when I turned around the corner I realized there was an exit there and a bathroom. I didn’t see him anywhere. I went into the bathroom and looked around and didn’t see him there ... I kept looking around for a few minutes, and I still couldn’t find him. I came to the conclusion that he left.”

Both Guernsey and NAC Executive Director Bob Bennett would eventually speak to Silva’s wife that day in hopes of alerting the fighter that he needed to provide a blood and urine sample. The message did not get through, however, and ultimately Silva was removed from the UFC 175 card completely. He was originally supposed to face rival “TUF: Brazil 3” coach Chael Sonnen on July 5.

“Between Mr. Guernsey and myself, we made every possible concerted effort to have Mr. Silva administer a blood and urine specimen to us, which he did not,” Bennett said.

Through Goodman, Silva didn’t dispute any of the claims offered by either Guernsey or Bennett. Instead, the goal appeared to be damage control regarding any further suspicion directed toward Silva.

“Wanderlei Silva has been fighting for 20 years, has over 50 professional fights and has never failed a drug test. He’s complied with all the rules and regulations of every licensing body,” Goodman said.

“The diuretics and the anti-inflammatories were taken for the sole purpose of trying to rehab his fractured wrist. There should be no inference or suggestion that Mr. Silva was trying to mask or hide any PEDs or TRTs.”

Tuesday’s hearing was strictly for information-gathering purposes. As a result, Silva did not face any immediate disciplinary action. However, it was suggested near the end of the hearing that a disciplinary complaint will likely be the NAC’s next course of action.

“The intent was to find out and gather information,” said NAC Chairman Francisco Aguilar. “The commission will move forward with this drug program, we will take the information we gathered today into consideration and make a determination as to what our next step will be.”

Earlier, Sonnen received a temporary suspension from the NAC, with a full hearing to be scheduled at a later date. Sonnen retired last week after testing positive for banned substances Anastrozole and Clomiphene. The Oregon native was to have faced Vitor Belfort in place of Silva at UFC 175 before the test results were revealed.

Belfort was also initially scheduled to appear before the commission in regards to a failed February drug test. However, the cancellation of the UFC 175 bout -- as well as a full NAC slate -- prompted Belfort’s removal from the agenda.
Source

Does anybody believe this diuretics horse shit? :sarcastic12:
 
#11 ·
Wanderlei should be subject to suspension, his non-test should be treated as a failed test on account of his admissions. Furthermore nsac and Ufc doctors need to have clear course of communication regarding a fighter proposed to be competing in their state and what treatments said fighter is undertaking as directed by doctors.
 
#17 ·
...There is no excuse for doping. It's really that simple. Wanderlei is still way better than a lot of good fighters out there. For him to dope is senseless. It's so rampant in all of sports because so much money and success can be made on doping. The drive to succeed goes far beyond. He'll clean up and fight again. Wandy knows soon it will be time to hang up the gloves and collect his HOF trophy...
 
#25 ·
Wanderlei Silva doesn't do cocaine. He only smells it.

He has hespect for the fans thank you my friends.
 
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