News broke Wednesday that boxer Ryan Garcia passed a drug test before his third knockdown of Devin Haney last month.
Haney is working with Victor Conte, the mastermind behind the barcosteroid scandal that tarnished the reputations and achievements of Barry Bonds, Marion Jones and dozens of other professional athletes two decades ago.
According to ESPN and Sports Illustrated, Conte, 73, helped found the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), the nonprofit organization that conducted the two drug tests Garcia failed before his fight with Haney. said. Conte is currently pointing to VADA as evidence of efforts to combat drug fraud.
VADA founder Margaret Goodman did not immediately respond to USA TODAY Sports' request for comment submitted via email Wednesday night. But on Thursday, Ryan Connolly, a lawyer representing VADA, disputed Conte's claims.
“Victor Conte was not involved in the founding of VADA,” Connolly said in an email. (Conte later told USA Today Sports that he consulted VADA and that he had drugged some of its early boxers.) “There is no relationship between me and VADA. There is no ownership or control.”
Connolly added: “VADA does not publicly comment on the analytical results of tested athletes. All results are reported in a timely manner directly to the relevant committee or organization, where they are managed.” He also said.
Citing a letter from VADA, ESPN reported that Garcia tested positive for ostarine, a performance-enhancing substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances.
Garcia denied taking steroids.
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“I heard that Devin Haney has a very close relationship with Victor Conte, who has ties to VADA,” Garcia said in a video posted to his social media accounts. “Victor Conte is known for being caught cheating.”
Conte has been in boxing since serving a four-month prison sentence for his role in the Barco incident. He said he has trained 28 champions so far.
The best one is Devin Haney.
Devin Haney endorses Victor Conte products
Haney endorses one of Conte's supplements in a video posted on the website of Conte's supplement company, SNAC.
“Victor Conte's fighter training has taken me to the next level,” Haney said. “I feel so much better. My energy levels were great. …Devin Haney. No regrets. I'm SNAC strong.”
Conte said he has worked with Haney for at least eight years and met him through Shawn Porter. Conte said he was not surprised that the Haynes called him after learning that Garcia had tested positive for drugs.
“I'm kind of the point man for Devin's team in this regard,” Conte told USA TODAY Sports.
Bill Haney, who trains his son Devin, did not respond to USA TODAY Sports' voicemail and text messages seeking comment.
Conte said he met twice Wednesday with Haney's attorney, John Hornewer, to explain Garcia's drug test results. He also said he is working with Hornewer on drug testing protocols that will be included in all of Haney's fight contracts, including the fight contract with Garcia.
“I decided on the testing frequency for the whole program,” Conte said.
Hornewer acknowledged Conte's involvement in the drug testing issue.
“I can't comment on what Victor does with Devin on a regular basis at SNAC because I'm not involved in it,” Hornewer told USA TODAY Sports. “For the drug testing part, we ask for Victor's opinion every time (at each match). Victor also fills out Devin's forms because he knows what supplements Devin takes and things like that. And that's his role.”
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Victor Conte faces skepticism
A 2023 Netflix documentary about Conte shows Haney training at Conte's facility in the San Francisco Bay Area and using an oxygen mask. Conte touted the benefits of high-gravity training and said he also provides boxers with blood tests, dietary recommendations and nutritional supplements like the ones he still sells.
“There's a lot of things that are legal and work,” he told USA TODAY Sports at the time of the documentary's release.
Conte said he is dedicated to eradicating doping from the sport and is committed to training athletes without the use of performance-enhancing substances.
Conte said he knows there will always be skeptics, including Jeff Nowitzki, the former IRS official who led the BALCO investigation.
“As long as his name is out there, he's going to respond to any publicity,” Nowitzki, now the UFC's senior vice president of athlete health and performance, says in the film. the man says. ”
Victor Conte hits back at Ryan Garcia
After news broke that Garcia had tested positive for drugs, the boxer questioned the timing of the results. The first drug test was conducted on April 19th, the day of the weigh-in, and the second on April 20th, the day of the match.
“If they had this information, they should have announced it before the match was decided, because why put a cheater in the ring?” Garcia said this in a comment recorded on “X.”, formerly Twitter. “All of a sudden I win and you let it go?” That seems a little fishy to me. ”
In a post on X, Conte told Garcia to stop “spouting” misinformation. Conte noted that the samples were taken the day before and on the day of the match, and said they would not have been available before the match as it takes at least 72 hours to get results.
Oliver Catlin, president of the Prohibited Substances Control Group, also told USA TODAY Sports that results were not available for at least several days after the tests were conducted.
“It seems like a weak argument to attack the timeline,” said Catlin, the son of prominent anti-doping scientist Don Catlin.
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart said the standard turnaround time is several weeks.
“Of course we can't rush it and we have to do it right,” he said.
Disputing claims that small amounts of banned substances could prove Garcia's innocence, Conte told X: “You're either pregnant or you're not. You're on your period. Small amounts used Insisting on amounts is like saying he's 'just a little bit pregnant.' ”
On Wednesday, Conte savored the moment as he detailed the results of a drug test, saying: “No one knows more about this than me.”
