USADA is a drug-testing agency that tests athletes worldwide to see if they are clean enough to compete. Steroids have been used by a lot of athletes for years. This substance is so powerful that if ingested by an athlete, they would literally be like Superman.
Today we are focusing on MMA fighters/athletes who compete at a high level. The fighters in top Organizations like UFC; For instance, are tested a couple times per year to make sure they are clean enough to compete. USADA is doing a good job cracking down those who are actually cheating. The problem with the testing pool is that certain supplements that have steroids linked to them are banned. Why is this a problem? Most fighters take supplements for performance such as Creatine, Muscle milk/ protein powder, etc. These are all ok to use, but the factories where these products are made make them in mix canisters with trace amounts of steroids left behind from previous mixes. Some fighters that are getting caught by USADA are clean and not cheating, it's just the trace amounts that accidentally entered the batch. These trace amounts show up in the fighters' bloodstream, leading them to be either suspended or banned. Sean O' Malley (UFC Bantamweight fighter) was suspended for trace amounts of Ostarine in "caffeine pills." https://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Sean-OMalley-Suspended-6-Months-After-Subsequent-Test-Failures-for-Ostarine-168599
You would never think steroids would be found in caffeine pills. It's ridiculous. Overall, USADA has to come out with a more effective way to see who's cheating and who's not. It will take time to create the plan, but I believe in the future, better outcomes will arrive for both the agency and fighters.
Yikes! Didn't know this is an issue in MMA. I remember this was an issue years ago in professional wrestling. Maybe it still is. I shouldn't be surprise by athletes' need to gain a competitive edge.
ReplyDeleteThis is very informative, I did not know or believe they tested MMA fighters. I thought they got a pass when it came to drug testing. Drug testing rules should be modified, but are necessary to keep competition fair.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, I am an avid fan of MMA and this policy established by USADA and heavily enforced in the UFC. You write, "The fighters in top Organizations like UFC; For instance, are tested a couple times per year to make sure they are clean enough to compete" - do you know why some professional athletes within the UFC get tested WAY more than a couple times? I am a fan of TJ Dillashaw's fighting style/technique, so I am excited for him to return January 2021 after his two-year USADA suspension.
ReplyDeleteI did not realize there were trace of amounts of steroids in something as simple as caffeine pills! Although, anyone taking those must be crazy! It is a very unpleasant experience when the caffeine starts to wear off. It is much better to just get it from coffee or tea ^^
ReplyDeleteHmm that's really interesting. I would think that it should be the supplement companies not USADA who, in this instance, need to make changes. They should be held accountable for being negligent in not properly cleaning their equipment and not having a better strategy to combat cross contamination of products. They're also being grossly negligent in not telling their consumers what could be going into their systems. They are after all causing some consumers to lose their income because of it.
ReplyDeleteWow, I had no idea this was going on. I have asthma and there are steroids in my albuterol inhaler. I wonder if I would test positive for using that? Perhaps they need to take into account how much is found in a sample and whether it is actually an indicator of using actual steroids or perhaps just taking some caffeine pills.
ReplyDeleteThe crazy part is that most of the supplements athletes take are not FDA approved. If you actually read the labels there are a lot of unknown substances inside. I myself take supplements to help me improve my workouts but I'm very selective on which products I use.
ReplyDeleteThis is very educating, I did not know that manufacturing put steroids in food too.
ReplyDeleteI’m surprised the factories that produce these products aren’t checking thoroughly enough to eliminate traces of steroids before each batch, or even separate the canisters completely to remove any possibility of steroids being left behind.
ReplyDeleteI never knew there might be trace amounts of something like steroids in supplements. I thought there would be more to the process like using different factories or at least using separate canisters.
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