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MMA

20th Jul 2016

Jon Jones’ manager uses date rape analogy to explain tainted supplement responsibility

"This is the problem with this whole system"

Ben Kiely

Well, that’s one way to get your point across.

Malki Kawa has been a busy man of late. The manager of Jon Jones has had a lot on his plate since Bones was booted off UFC 200’s main event after testing positive for oestrogen blockers in a pre-fight drug test.

The two banned substances Jones got popped for were confirmed by Usada on Tuesday, but everyone who had been following the story already knew they were oestrogen blockers, thanks to Chael Sonnen.

Kawa made an appearance on Sonnen’s podcast ‘You’re Welcome‘ on Wednesday to clear the air with the outspoken former UFC star. He firmly believes the fighter didn’t knowingly ingest the banned substances, claiming that a contaminated supplement may have been the reason why Jones failed the test

He then referenced the case of Yoel Romero, another fighter he represents, who was proven to have failed a drug test after taking a tainted supplement which contained a banned substance that was not listed on its ingredients. Despite not being at fault, Romero was still banned by Usada, which Kawa feels is a grave injustice.

“There’s this thing called, ‘you’re responsible for what you put in your body.’ I’ve been on the record in saying this, I absolutely 1000% believe if you are a (sic) athlete and you decide to take the route of ‘I’m going to go do this,’ and you knowingly go out and purchase products, whether it’s a supplement or a steroid, any type of performance enhancer and you use it, I believe there should absolutely be harsh punishment.”

“On the other hand, you get a guy who walks into a freaking wholefoods market who picks up whatever supplement. And you go out and all of a sudden you test positive for something and you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, I had no clue this was happening. How is this happening?’ a la Yoel Romero, you should then not be suspended.”

Much like Sonnen, Kawa isn’t exactly one for mincing his words and went on to try to put his athlete’s case into perspective by using a date rape analogy, which he acknowledged would probably get him into trouble.

“If I’m taking steroids, I know what I’m taking. If I’m taking oestrogen blockers, I know what I’m taking. If I’m drinking alcohol, I know what I’m drinking. This is the problem with this whole system.”

“This is like saying, I might get ripped for this tomorrow, if you’re a girl at a bar and you have your drink there and a guy comes and sits next to you and you get raped. ‘Well, sweetheart, you should have been watching your drink.'”

“That’s exactly what they tell anybody who comes and says, ‘I didn’t do this. I’m not a cheater. I’ve done all these blood tests that prove I’m not cheating, and then all of a sudden, I’m cheating. I didn’t cheat!'”

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