Nevada commission to form committee to study testing policy

LAS VEGAS – When UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive in December for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite of cocaine, the Nevada Athletic Commission was powerless to do anything about it. It couldn't pull him out of his title bout at the MGM Grand against Daniel Cormier on Jan. 3, nor was it able to fine or suspend him.

The commission follows the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list, and benzoylecgonine is a substance not banned out of competition. WADA code defines in-competition as anything from within 12 hours of the event. Since Jones tested positive a month out from his competition, he was able to skirt any punishment and successfully defended his title against Cormier.

But to many, it just felt wrong, and many fans were outraged that Jones seemingly got away with using cocaine.

Commission chairman Francisco Aguilar scheduled an agenda item for Monday's meeting at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building to discuss the possibility of breaking from WADA code and essentially allowing the commission to make individual determinations on what is considered in or out of competition.

But that attempt went nowhere. Commissioner Pat Lundvall quickly challenged Aguilar on the matter, asking about jurisdictional issues. Ultimately, the five commissioners agreed to the formation of a committee to study the issue.

"WADA, with its broad scope of, broad array of medical personnel available to it, says that there are certain substances that an athlete may take out of competition that are presumed to give them an unfair advantage in an exhibition or contest," she said. "These are the typical anabolic steroids, those types of things, and it's presumed the athletes bring those to the competiton and that's why those are banned.

"Then there are other substances, like the one at issue here, cocaine, that is a stimulant that have short-term limitation on the body. Medical personnel will tell you that [an] athlete who uses that out of competition, as defined by WADA, does not bring an unfair advantage or edge to the competition."

The implication was that taking some drugs out of competition would make an athlete bigger, faster and/or stronger, and thus more lethal, while a drug such as cocaine has no such impact.

Aguilar said he simply wanted to get the discussion started. The commission formed a similar committee in 2007 and that committee recommended it follow the WADA prohibited substances list.

Aguilar is going to appoint a five- or seven-person committee to examine the issue and report back to the group with recommendations.

Any changes to what some see as the loophole that Jones skipped through are going to take a long while to be enacted.