by David P. Greisman
Andre Berto hasn’t said much publicly since the news came out that he had tested positive for nandrolone — but he couldn’t keep completely quiet, briefly taking to Twitter on Tuesday for the first time since the night of the Miguel Cotto-Floyd Mayweather fight.
“I know my attorney told me to stay quiet, but all of this is some BULLSH*T!!!!” Berto tweeted. “I’ve always been clean and always will. Truth commin very soon”
Last Friday, when the news broke that the VADA testing for Berto’s rematch with Victor Ortiz came up positive for the banned substance, Berto’s team released this brief statement from the boxer:
“At the present time, I cannot explain the positive drug test, which was provided as part of a voluntary anti-doping program in which I agreed to participate. I know that I have never used any steroids or other banned substances, and I am investigating all possible causes of the positive test with my attorney Howard Jacobs. I have never cheated, and all of my success has come from hard work and dedication.”
Victor Conte, a sports nutritionist whose post-BALCO-scandal career has seen him once again working with pro athletes, including Andre Berto, has posited that the nandrolone in Berto’s system likely came from “trace contamination” from a supplement.
“Andre has admitted to taking supplements other than what I provided without my knowledge,” Conte said on Twitter last week. “Apparently something was contaminated.”
Conte has said that the amount of time nandrolone stays in a person’s system would preclude him from intentionally using it to cheat.
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter at twitter.com/fightingwords2 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fightingwordsboxing, or send questions and comments to fightingwords1@gmail.com
