FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AAA Panel Imposes 4-Year Sanctions on Alberto Salazar and Dr. Jeffrey Brown
for Multiple Anti-Doping Rule Violations
USADA announced today that two independent three-member panels of the
American Arbitration Association (AAA) rendered their decisions in the
cases of Alberto Salazar and Dr. Jeffrey Brown, determining that each
should receive a 4-year sanction for orchestrating and facilitating
prohibited doping conduct while acting, respectively, as head coach of the
Nike Oregon Project (NOP) and as a paid consultant for the NOP on
performance enhancement and as physician for numerous athletes in the NOP.
"The athletes in these cases found the courage to speak out and ultimately
exposed the truth," said USADA Chief Executive Officer Travis T. Tygart.
"While acting in connection with the Nike Oregon Project, Mr. Salazar and
Dr. Brown demonstrated that winning was more important than the health and
wellbeing of the athletes they were sworn to protect."
Following two evidentiary hearings, Salazar's lasting seven days and
Brown's lasting six days, and a lengthy post-hearing review of all the
evidence and testimony, the AAA panel found that Salazar and Brown
trafficked testosterone, a banned performance-enhancing substance,
administered a prohibited IV infusion, and engaged in tampering to attempt
to prevent relevant information about their conduct from being learned by
USADA.
The panel determined that Salazar committed the following violations of the
Code:
1. Administration of a Prohibited Method (with respect to an infusion in
excess of the applicable limit),
2. Tampering and/or attempted tampering with the doping control process,
and
3. Trafficking of testosterone through involvement in a testosterone
testing program in violation of the rules.
The panel determined that Brown violated anti-doping rules by:
1. Tampering with patient records under WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency)
Code Art. 2.5 (2009 & 2015), which carries a sanction of 2 years WADA Code
Art. 10.3.1 (2009), and 4 years under WADA Code Art. 10.3.1 (2015).
2. Administration of an over-limit L-carnitine infusion under WADA Code
Art. 2.8 (2009 & 2015), which carries a minimum sanction of 4 years up to a
maximum lifetime ban under WADA Code Art. 10.3.2 (2009) and WADA Code Art.
10.3.3 (2015).
3. Complicity in Salazar's trafficking of testosterone under WADA Code Art.
2.8 (2009) and WADA Code Art. 2.9 (2015). Under WADA Code Art. 10.3.2
(2009), a complicity violation carries a minimum sanction of 4 years up to
a maximum lifetime ban. Under WADA Code Art. 10.3.4 (2015), a complicity
violation carries a sanction of 2 to 4 years.
Testosterone is a Non-Specified substance in the class of Anabolic Agents
and prohibited at all times under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and
Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic and Paralympic
Committee National Anti-Doping Policies, and the International Association
of Athletics Federations Anti-Doping Rules, all of which have adopted the
Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. Intravenous
infusions of any substance in excess of the limits, regardless of whether
the substance is prohibited, is a prohibited method under the rules.
With respect to the evidence of extensive and troubling medical
coordination between Salazar and Dr. Brown, the Salazar panel wrote:
"Respondent and Dr. Brown communicated repeatedly about the athletes of the
NOP's performance and medical conditions, exchanging information without
any apparent formal authorization by the athletes at the NOP or distinction
between Dr. Brown's role as an athlete's physician and NOP consultant.
Respondent and Dr. Brown shared information with the aim of improving the
athletes' performance via medical intervention, with a particular interest
in increasing testosterone levels."
The Brown Panel noted, "a number of very complex issues that can arise at
the confluence of the practice of medicine and the Applicable Rules" and
that "these issues arose in the context of the perceived or potential
conflict of interest that may exist when an athlete's personal physician is
also a medical consultant for the high profile sports organization that is
responsible for training the athlete." While the Panel did not find rule
violations specifically on this ground, it is significant that both panels
found these conflicts of interest and potential conflicts which threatened
the wellbeing of athletes permeated the evidence in this case.
USADA's investigation yielded a wide range of evidence referenced in the
hearing, including eye-witness proof, testimonies, contemporaneous emails,
and patient records. Between the two cases, USADA relied on more than 2,000
exhibits, which the AAA heard along with the defendants' cases. In all, the
proceedings included 30 witnesses and 5,780 pages of transcripts.
Salazar and Brown's periods of ineligibility began on September 30, 2019,
the date the decisions were released.
Redacted versions of the arbitration decisions will be posted here once
available.
In an effort to aid athletes, as well as support team members such as
parents and coaches, in understanding the rules applicable to them, USADA
provides comprehensive instruction on its website on the testing process
and prohibited substances, how to obtain permission to use a necessary
medication, and the risks and dangers of taking supplements, as well as
performance-enhancing and recreational drugs. If athletes choose to use
supplements despite the known risks, USADA has always recommended that
athletes use only dietary supplements that have been certified by a
third-party program that tests for substances prohibited in sport. USADA
currently recognizes NSF Certified for Sport® as the program best suited
for athletes to reduce the risk from supplements.
In addition, USADA manages a drug reference hotline, Global Drug Reference
Online (www.GlobalDRO.com), conducts educational sessions with National
Governing Bodies and their athletes, and distributes a multitude of
educational materials, such as an easy-reference wallet card with examples
of prohibited and permitted substances, a supplement guide, a nutrition
guide, an athlete handbook, and periodic alerts and advisories.
Along with education and testing, robust anti-doping programs enable
investigations stemming from tips and whistleblowers. USADA makes available
a number of ways to report the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs in
sport in an effort to protect clean athletes and promote clean competition.
Any tip can be reported using the USADA Play Clean Tip Center, by email at
, by phone at 1-877-Play Clean (1-877-752-9253) or by
mail.
USADA is responsible for the testing and results management process for
athletes in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement and is equally
dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport through research initiatives
and educational programs.
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