InsideFighting: Thank you for taking time to speak with us, Sean. What is your reaction to the California state athletic commission reducing your suspension by half to six months? Are you happy because the suspension time was reduced or does it still bother you because you are recognized by them as a steroid user?

Sean Sherk: I’m not happy about it at all. It was a loss. We came in there with so many facts, so much proof including tons of mistakes they made regarding chain of custody, carry over and other things. They test everyone’s urine on the same machine. We found contamination in supplements I had taken.
I had clean blood work done, I took a polygraph, we just had so much evidence but it fell on deaf ears. Regardless of what I came in there with they were not going to listen. It was a huge loss. I’m looking to pursue this as far as I can.

IF: How did they treat you “like garbage?”

Sherk: After the positive drug testing, we had a first meeting. We showed up but the commission wasn’t prepared for it, weren’t ready for it at all. There was a lack of communication and they didn’t hand out our paper work. Sure enough they wanted to proceed anyway but one of the other guys said “we can’t do this properly.” Then it got postponed to two weeks later and right before they postpone it again for no reason. We showed up and they postponed it again and we had to show up December 4th.

A couple of days before the hearing they decide to go from a formal hearing to an informal hearing. In a formal hearing you can call witnesses; you can have witness examination and cross examination to get all the facts on the table. But a couple of days before they say it will be an informal hearing and that we cant bring in any witness and that there will be no examination of the state’s witnesses allowed. Now they don’t allow us to present our case properly. They allowed their witnesses to speak but we couldn’t bring our witness out. That seems pretty biased to me.

The guy from Quest lab that did the testing was up there almost the whole time. The whole time, I’m asking, ‘How can you do this, how can you do that?’ And they blatantly tell us, ‘We can do whatever we want.’ It’s just crazy to think about.


IF: Talk about what your understanding of “carry over” is, please.

Sherk: Everyone gives a sample before and after they fight. They test on the same machine with all the samples. There were tests before me that tested positive for steroids. They are supposed to do a water blank after each test and then run a test again to make sure it’s showing zero. Right before me the machine wasn’t clean and it came back with steroids. That’s what the carryover is.

The Quest guy knew about all these issues. Everything they do is documented. But they kept proceeding with the stuff. My attorney did his research and presented the case as best he could under the circumstances. We were not given our opportunity properly and were speaking to deaf ears.

IF: What do you mean by “deaf ears?”

Sherk: The commission just don’t care. They don’t care. They just want to prosecute regardless of how much evidence they had. Want to take this to the next level and fight it.

IF: What is that “next level” as you understand it?

Sherk: I’m not real sure. I’m still talking to my lawyer as to exactly what our next move is going to be. I think we can go to court where we can get a real judge, a non biased judge, and present our case to him.

IF: Obviously you will be eligible to fight again soon so what will your goal be with pursuing this further?

Sherk: I want it overturned. That’s what I’m looking to get done. I didn’t take Nandrolone. That’s what I’m going after. I’m eligible to fight in [January]. There is nothing else I want except for it to be overturned.

IF: Can you describe how much of an impact this all has had on you professionally?
Sherk: I’ve taken a real big hit. I’ve had a lot of expenses that had to come out of pocket. I’ve spent over twenty thousand dollars defending myself. By the time I fight again I will have missed two fight pay days. I’ve lost sponsorship pay days, tons of exposure, people that backed out of main stream stuff. No one wants to touch that. Exposure translates into money. I’ve lost out on a ton of stuff. Plus, I lost a ton of momentum. I had a lot of momentum going before this. I’ve lost everything that I’ve worked for.

IF: BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson are fighting January 19th. You will be eligible to fight by then. Would you have been willing to fight that soon?

Sherk: There’s just no possible way in five weeks I would have been able to do it.

IF: You said that you all also found some supplement contamination in things you had taken. Talk about that please. What, exactly, did you find?

Sherk: Yeah, it was actually a testosterone booster in my Glucosamine supplement. It was just a regular Glucosamine supplement. I had seven of my twenty two supplements tested. That was one of the supplements I decided to send in to the lab. Testosterone boosters raise a test number. There’s no proof that’s exactly what caused it but it’s clear that there is contamination and it could be the cause.

IF: Shouldn’t you have known what was in your supplements and if they could have caused problems for you in tests?

Sherk: See, what happens is the companies have the products and they have to list what’s in the product. If they list something that’s illegal then that’s my fault. It’s my job to know what I can and cannot take. If I take something that has something illegal or banned on the label, then it’s my fault. But what some companies do is they put things in their products that are not supposed to be there so you can get a little more effect and think, “Hey this is a great product.” For the average person that may be fine but for guys like me that compete and are tested I could be entitled to one hell of good lawsuit.

When companies have the supplements made there are hundreds and hundreds made at the same place using the same equipment. One company may have one thing up to commission standards but another may not and when they make something like Glucosamine they put a little bit of this and a little bit that. That’s where the contamination comes from. My Glucosamine had the testosterone booster, that’s contamination and I’ve learned that happens a lot. I just read about a study in USA Today that said 25% of all supplements are contaminated

I didn’t even know what contamination was before. Now I’m doing all this research. I take twenty two different supplements. With 25% of those supplements having the risk of being contaminated that increases my chances of having contamination pretty well. I can’t stop taking supplements, I need the stuff and its legal so what am I going to do? I can’t test all of my supplements; it’s about three hundred and fifty to five hundred dollars per test.

IF: Obviously, you are maintaining your innocence in this case and saying that you did not knowingly take a banned substance, but that doesn’t it make it less likely the things you say happened with the contamination and testing won’t happen again. What are you going to do from this point on to try and guard against that?

Sherk: I’ve thought about that a lot. What I need to do is protect myself better next time. First of all there is nothing I can do about contamination. Everything I take is legal and it does help so it’s not an option. I’m going to continue taking supplements. But I’m going to also get pre fight tests done, both blood and urine, before I fight. If something like this happens again we just go from there.

I’ve been tested eight times in six years and passed them all until the most recent one. It’s scary but you just got to go on with what you got to do.

IF: As you said, you’ve missed out on possible fights and pay days, so what have you been doing to keep yourself occupied since your last fight in July?

Sherk: I stay real busy doing stuff. I have a lot of appearances and seminars so I’ve been traveling a lot. Keeping a real positive mindset has been my big thing. I’ve got to keep a real positive mind. I hope this thing turns over in my favor.

Could some of Sherk's critics simply be resentful of him? Sherk believes so
IF: I don’t know if you have gotten a chance to see comments that Hermes Franca and Kenny Florian made regarding the reduction in your suspension time. To sum up, each in their own way, expressed some level of disappointment that you had your suspension reduced despite not being acquitted, so to speak, of the steroid use. Franca, for example, admitted to knowingly using and did not get his suspension reduced. If you had a chance to see their comments, what is your reaction to them? (
Read what Sherk’s last two opponents had to say)

Sherk: I didn’t get a chance to see it yet. I couldn’t care less what Kenny Florian or Hermes Franca say. They probably don’t like me because I beat the sh_t out of them and I’d beat the crap out of them again. They’ve got resentments against me. They can say what they want to say. I know I didn’t do it and I’m willing to defend myself.

IF: Throughout this whole process have you felt support from the UFC management?

Sherk: I’ve felt some support. (UFC President) Dana [White] has been vocal with everything and he supports me with this. They’ve kept in contact with me. You can always feel like there could be more support from guys but ultimately it’s my deal.

IF: How about from the fans? Has there been a noticeable drop off in the support from fans

Sherk: No not at all. I’ve had a lot of support from my fans, at least to my face. You get e-mails from time to time from people using fake names. I appreciate all the support I’ve gotten and I don’t take the other stuff personal.