Great article on peterson's innocence
this is from a guy named John McCormick from the site that talks boxing; he brings up great points. Any of you guys ever see his work before?
STATING THE CASE FOR LAMONT PETERSON
By John McCormick
By now, most boxing fans are well aware of Lamont Peterson’s testosterone pellet scandal. Just in case you aren’t, both Peterson and Amir Khan had agreed to random, Olympic-style drug testing to be implemented through an organization known as*VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) during their*training camps for their May 19th rematch in Las Vegas. On March 19th, VADA took urine samples from both Peterson and Khan after a press conference in Los Angeles to announce the fight. *
As per standard protocol, both fighters’ urine samples were split into A and B samples and sent off to be tested. Peterson was initially informed that his A sample had tested positive on April 12th. To confirm that the A sample wasn’t a false positive, the B sample was then tested and those positive results came back early this week. According to Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, the lead promoter of the Peterson-Khan rematch, Peterson tested positive for a substance “consistent with the administration of an anabolic steroid such as testosterone.”*
The rematch with Khan was called off and Peterson now has gained the reputation of a cheat overnight. In my opinion, Peterson has been labeled guilty before being able to prove his innocence. One should take a look into all of the evidence and factors involved with this situation before labeling Peterson a “cheat” or “doper” because I believe there is significant evidence *that Peterson was not trying to cheat.
First off, it was Lamont Peterson who requested that the random drug testing protocol be in place for the rematch with Khan. I have talked to Peterson on many occasions, and in each of those conversations, Peterson was very coherent. He didn’t appear punch drunk or close to brain dead, which one would have to assume he would be if he had intentionally used testosterone to gain an athletic edge and while requesting random drug testing for the biggest fight of his career.
According to Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) executive director Keith Kizer, Peterson admitted to taking testosterone pellets sometime, late last year before the first fight with Khan, which Peterson narrowly won. Afterwards, Peterson’s doctor, John A. Thompson, sent a letter to NSAC that described his interactions with Peterson. Thompson claims he evaluated and treated Peterson on November 12, 2011 and explains why he felt the need to treat Peterson for low testosterone. “Prior to his arrival at the clinic, I requested a battery of tests including a CBC with differential as well as a sex hormone panel. Years ago, I observed an ongoing trend of declining testosterone in young adult males. This is what prompted me to test Mr. Peterson’s testosterone in light of his complaints of fatigue and difficulty concentrating” said Thompson’s letter which can be found in its entirety on the Ring Magazine’s website. “Upon obtaining the lab results, I was literally shocked to see Mr. Peterson’s testosterone was so low. His total testosterone measured 563 ng/dl, and the more important free testosterone was drastically low measuring 7.5 pg/ml. Free testosterone is the better standard for measuring testosterone levels in the body. I have never witnessed such a young athlete with so little available testosterone. Declining testosterone levels appear to be increasingly prevalent in the past two decades. Given the critical nature of this hormone for many important bodily functions and overall health and Mr. Peterson’s severe deficiency, I made a medical decision to treat his condition. Mr. Peterson complained of ongoing fatigue and lack of mental focus. Since low testosterone levels can cause these symptoms, I felt that Mr. Peterson could possibly experience significant health problems without normalizing his testosterone level.”*
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Thompson’s letter was his statement, “I have measured the testosterone levels of many men, and I have never seen any male in good physical and mental health whose levels were not well within the normal range. As stated previously, Mr. Peterson’s free testosterone was only 7.5. I have patients in their 70’s and 80’s with higher levels.”
Thompson then goes on to explain the procedure, claiming “to therapeutically treat Mr. Peterson’s testosterone deficiency, I administered 800mg of testosterone in the form of pellets which were inserted subcutaneously into his hip. These pellets delivered testosterone derived from soy, not synthetic testosterone. When delivered via pellets, the hormone is time-released as the body needs it over a period of months and does not cause a sudden rise in testosterone levels. This would not produce a significant enhancement of athletic performance.”'
Thompson’s letter adds up if you take into account Peterson’s post-fight drug test after the first with Khan last December. Most State Athletic Commissions use a testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E) ratio analysis while testing athletes for steroid use. I’m assuming that most of you aren’t expert endocrinologists, so a simple way to break this down would be: *The average male, who doesn’t exercise on a regular basis, produces a T/E ratio around 1:1. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) uses a 4:1 standard for positive tests as does the Athletic Commission in Washington D.C. NSAC uses 6:1 as its cutoff, a number used by WADA up until 2006. Known steroid users such as MMA fighter Alistair Overeem tested positive with a 14:1 testosterone to epitestosterone ratio. It should be known that Peterson’s testosterone to epitesosterone ratio was only 3.7:1 after the first fight with Khan, which is under the 4:1 cutoff by the Athletic Commission in Washington D.C.*
Both the letter from Thompson and Peterson’s post-fight test results in December make it clear to me that Peterson may very well be innocent and was simply just a patient of hormone replacement therapy, which is perfectly legal. In my opinion, Peterson didn’t have enough testosterone in his body during the Khan fight to give him any type of edge and shouldn’t be stripped of his IBF/WBA junior welterweight titles.
NSAC would have never suspected anything abnormal either if in fact it was them that had tested Peterson. That is because Peterson was given only enough testosterone to make up for what his body wasn’t producing already and to get his testosterone levels to that of a normal 28 year old. The only reason Peterson is in the mess he is now is because VADA uses a specific type of test, which is named Carbon Isotrope Ratio (CIR) to detect synthetic testosterone regardless of the levels. Meaning a man could have a perfectly normal ratio of 2:1, but if he used hormone replacement therapy to achieve that level, he would test positive for synthetic testosterone by VADA.*
To make a long story short, it appears to me that if Peterson’s doctor recommended hormone replacement therapy to him in order to treat his deficiency, but the treatment in no way, shape, or form seemed to help boost his athletic performance. To me, *Peterson’s post-fight test results after his first fight with Khan supports this conclusion.
Now Khan is screaming that he was cheated and that Peterson should be banned for life. That may be one of the most ridiculous things that I have ever heard. Peterson’s testosterone to epitestoserone ratio was perfectly normal after the Khan fight and would suggest that he and Khan were on an even playing field, when one takes into account Peterson’s original deficiency.*
If he is to be punished at all, there must be proportionality. Orlando Salido tested positive for an anabolic steroid in November 2006, after he defeated Robert Guerrero. Is he banned for life? No, we are praising him for knocking out Juan Manuel Lopez for a second time, nearly six years later. Antonio Margarito was caught attempting to load his hand-wraps with plaster before fighting Shane Mosley. Is he banned for life? No, he made a few more big day days against Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto after being suspended for only a year.
Lamont Peterson’s case is not being heard despite showing sufficient evidence to back up his story. Sure, he may have needed to contact any Athletic Commission and inform them of his deficiency and hormone replacement therapy procedures. Sure, maybe he should’ve informed Khan’s camp and Golden Boy Promotions when the A sample tested positive nearly a month ago. Peterson may have been a bit negligent with his responsibilities, but based on the evidence gathered,I don't consider a doper or a cheater at all. Peterson has fought 32 professional fights over the span of 8 ½ years and he has never once tested positive for any banned substances, he should at least be listened to before everyone labels him a cheat and ruins his reputation and career. What has Peterson tested positive for? Being a prescribed patient of hormone replacement therapy. He hasn’t tested positive for anything else besides that.
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Send questions and comments to: jmccormick43@aol.com
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