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CSAC Drug Testing Returns On Dec. 11

By Tom Hamlin/MMAWeekly.com

The California State Athletic Commission is one week away from rolling out a new program to streamline and strengthen the drug testing process in one of the country’s biggest hotbeds for MMA.

Newly minted Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas finalized the program on Tuesday, and said it will take effect at two upcoming California events, a Roy Englebrecht-promoted boxing card and King of the Cage event scheduled for Dec. 11.

The CSAC will now conduct steroid testing with one of two World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) labs in the country at the University of California, Los Angeles. In early November, the CSAC became its exclusive client for combat sports testing. Among other clients, the UCLA lab currently handles steroid testing for the NFL, NCAA, and the U.S. Olympic Team.

Douglas said the commission has doubled its funding to separate the facilities used for steroid and drugs of abuse testing. The UCLA lab will now exclusively handle performance-enhancing drugs, while the CSAC’s current facility, Quest Diagnostics, will handle drugs of abuse.

“With this budget, we should be able to test every single bout on every single show; no matter the size of the show,” he said.

Douglas clarified that testing every MMA and boxing participant in California was a goal, and not necessarily a rule, but the new funding allowed the commission to conduct at least two steroid tests for every event, in addition to increased testing for drugs of abuse.

Under the WADA lab, the new program will also take a fighter’s supplement usage into account during steroid testing. If, for instance, an athlete discloses on his pre-fight medical questionnaire that he has used a certain supplement, particularly a supplement known by WADA to have issues with steroid contamination, the lab will consider a “false positive” likely.

According to Douglas, the new disclosure forms will address the heated issue of positive tests caused by contaminated supplements. Last year, the commission took heavy criticism after the suspension of former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, who claimed his dietary supplements flagged him for steroids.

“The misconception before this, for whatever reason, with the drug testing for combative sports, everyone is quick to say ‘commission,’” Douglas commented. “Clearly the commission’s crooked. Well, now that we’re under this protocol with everyone else, questioning us is questioning everyone else that has this ‘sterling’ reputation. Same laboratory, same laboratory, same protocol.”

Funding for the new program will be in place for “at a very minimum” of one year, after which the CSAC will need to justify its continued expense to state regulators. California currently faces a budget shortfall of 11.2 billion dollars, and thousands of state employees have faced layoffs. Douglas admitted the state’s fiscal situation put the program on shaky ground, but stressed the need to put it in place.

“What we have right now is what I have to run with,” he said. “Within my duty, I have to do what I can to make sure it’s the best program and the fairest program.”