Ryan Jensen Not Cleared to Fight at UFN 18 for Adderall
by Nate Wilcox on Apr 1, 2009 1:13 AM EDT
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The UFC really needs to train their fighters on what prescription drugs to avoid. From MMA Weekly:
Independent sources have confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the alleged medical issue stems from Jensen's use of Adderall, which is not allowed under standard athletic commission rules.
...
According to sources, Jensen disclosed his use of the drug to the commission and the bout was held up pending further approval. Obviously, the commission decided to scrap the bout all together, and Jensen vs. Steinbeiss will no longer happen... at least in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday night.
Really regrettable. Totally preventable. Major downer for Steinbeiss who trained, prepared and didn't do anything wrong. I wonder if the UFC will still pay him.
Tim Credeur ran into this very same situation at the TUF 7 finale. It is totally unprofessional that Jensen was not aware of this possibility and I believe the UFC really ought to do more drug awareness training with their fighters.
Too many fighters seem to believe that if they have a prescription for something (or if their cousin has a prescription for something) then that means its ok for them to have it in their system come fight time.
I also have to question Jensen's doctor's wisdom in prescribing Adderall to a professional athlete.
Photo via mmajunkie.com
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For those wondering...
“[Adderall] acts as a cardio-vascular restrictor and that’s the main reason it’s banned because it can cause athletes to have a cardiac episode with the stress they’re under when they’re in an athletic competition. Secondly, it can have a performance-enhancing effect as well.”
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Why is Adderall not allowed? If he has a prescription he clearly needs it to pay attention. I guess it can be viewed a performance enhancer because it allows him to perform at a level higher the usual but its not his fault he was born with ADD. Plus, couldnt he just not take his adderall pill the day of the fight, its not something that stays in your system very long. I have ADD ad take adderall and when i played baseball i played a lot better when i took it because i was able to concentrate more because i wasnt able to when i didnt take it. Other professional sports allow it Adam Laroche o the Pirates for example is permitted why not MMA fighters?
See above...
the increased risk of a heart attack is too much for the sport right now. Heart issues are an acknowledged side effect of the drug.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
http://CurseOfRonKarkovice.blogspot.com/
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 31, 2009 8:54 PM EDT up reply actions
We posted our comments at the same time I didnt see it. Thanks for the clear up though. Sucks they miss out on a payday.
Yeah...
I don’t really care for the “oh…and it’s a performance enhancer” thing Kizer pulled…but the heart attack? Yeah…
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
http://CurseOfRonKarkovice.blogspot.com/
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 31, 2009 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions
But there is some truth to that.
It isn’t a coincidence that ADD/ADHD diagnoses in major league baseball skyrocket after they started testing for amphetamines.
I’m not saying that it sucks if you need to take the drug to focus, but it is a stimulant, and one that can used by athletes as onlyh a stimulant, not just for treatment of the ADD.
How is this not an ADA violation?
Or has no one brought a legal challenge under the American’s with Disabilities Act. It seems to me a clear case where the commissions are failing to let someone compete on equal footing due to a disorder. While those using ADHD medication may be at a higher risk for heart related health effects, those are issues left to an individual and his doctor. They don’t test athletes for their cholesterol to see if their heart can handle the sport. If Butterbean can get clearance to enter the cage with the strain his obesity puts on his heart there is no reason that a healthy fighter with a valid prescription for ADHD medication should not be allowed to enter the ring.
1. This is a professional sport not a employment opportunity. There is no reasonable accommodation that could be made for most ADA issues, heck the majority of people without a disability can’t do it either.
2. Reasonable accommodation doesn’t mean that one has to be “equal” in terms of job performance(impossible to accomplish) it just means that he would have to be able to have an equal employment opportunity(of course that isn’t going to happen in a professional sport to start with. see point 1). Jensen is able to compete and he has already had 17 fights where this wasn’t an issue.
3. Adderall isn’t the only prescription medicine out there for ADHD. Reasonable accommodation doesn’t have to be specific it just has to be something that reasonably works. He can reasonably fight using another medication or with no medication at all.
4. Adderall is potentially dangerous to athletes thus it’s use wouldn’t fall under ADA anyway. Reasonable accommodation does not include something that could kill you (thus not very reasonable).
5. The banned substance list has nothing to do with legality of the substance it has to do with it’s usage in the sport, thus his prescription is irrelevant to the discussion.
6. The Butterbean example is completly bunk because if he can’t pass a medical physical then an athletic commission isn’t going to let him fight either. Fighters do have to be cleared as healthy by a doctor in order to get a professional fighters license in athletic commission controlled states.
7. And this is a big one: ADHD isn’t neccessarily covered under ADA to start with. Easier for me to just point to other available information than to try and explain the details of that.
The ADA defines "disability" as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more "major life activities," such as walking, seeing, hearing, or learning. Having a
diagnosed impairment, such as ADHD, does not necessarily mean that an individual is disabled within the meaning of the ADA.<?blockquote>http://newideas.net/book/export/html/291
by who me on Mar 31, 2009 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
I don’t understand why people keep getting caught up on the fact that it should be allowed if a fighter has a prescription. There still is room for a list of what is approved and what isn’t.
You can’t say that it’s ok to use Adderall or a painkiller with a prescription but it’s not ok to use steroids or hgh with a prescription.
As I understand it, the increased risk of heart attack and performance enhancing effects only occur when you’re actually on the drug. Merely having a prescription for it poses no added danger to yourself or your opponent.
WHat I dont get is why doesn’t he just not take his Adderall the day of the fight. If hes not on it he wont be at risk for a heart attack.
ADD is a Farce
Was there such a thing as ADD 40 years ago, no. ADD is strictly attributed to what I call “P-cubed” Piss Poor Parenting! If the parents of these ADD kids actually gave a S_ _ T about their kids’ lives when they grew up, no dumbass doctor would have ever had to figure out what was wrong with them. If this ADD thing was never dreamed up by some crackpot psychologist, there would have been no need for this “performance enhancer” Adderall, and there would be no situation at hand. And I will step down off my soapbox now.
by DroppinHammers on Mar 31, 2009 10:07 PM EDT up reply actions
i love your lack of medical backing in your statement
by Brian Bobby on Mar 31, 2009 10:15 PM EDT up reply actions
No Need!
No need for medical backing. I lived it. When I was young I probably could have been diagnosed with ADD. I had a huge problem focusing in school, and focusing on homework and stuff like that. My mom, however, was a huge part of my life. She was a stay-at-home mom, not because we didn’t need the money, because let me tell you, we could have used an extra income growing up. She was constantly over my shoulder making sure I stayed on task. She would check with my teachers at school to make sure I stayed in line. Back then, I hated it, but now I know it was the best thing she could have done. She could very easily have taken me to a psychologist and had them diagnose me with ADD, give me a lifetime prescription of Adderall, and send me on my way. She didn’t and I love her for that!
by DroppinHammers on Mar 31, 2009 10:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Ok well my grades in school improved drastically when i started taking Adderall and believe me i was getting severely disciplined by my parents. My parents were on top of me all the time about why my teachers said i dont live up to my potential and that i was easily distracted and it was hard to get me back on track. I would lose tv for a week and all these other punishments for this and it wasnt until i was prescribed and started taking it that things turned around.
by Brian Bobby on Mar 31, 2009 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Perhaps you are confusing your personal experiences as something that applies to a world population of 6,706,993,152 people. Your example is the same as saying “I don’t have leprosy thus leprosy doesn’t exist”, things just don’t work that way.
by who me on Mar 31, 2009 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
he has a point - and should be flamed.
Im not saying its true for every case, but a lot of things that are treated with psychiatry can be just as effectively delt with using psychology. I know my sister couldnt focus for shit when she was in school, was on all sorts of meds. Then she went to culinary school and found she didnt need them. She got into cooking and thought that if she could focus on that, she could do the same for reading.
I also know several ADD kids who have gone into the military, and come back from boot camp cured. There they learn a thing called personal discipline.
Now there are several extreme cases which do need medication, but it should be a blanket diagnosis.
I think he was using himself as a case study for a trend which can be seen all over the place. Not for every case, but for many.
This is a syndrome, not a disease so the definition of what is and isnt ADD is not black and white. Lately, it has become a blanket diagnosis for many children.
Overdiagnosis is a real problem but that still doesn’t mean that the disease doesn’t exist. DroppinHammers fatal post mistake was that he called ADD a farce and said there was no such thing and that is just factually wrong. Doesn’t mean that he didn’t have a point about a lot of kids getting a bad diagnosis or the diagnosis being used as a parenting crutch but his statement was still just plain wrong all the same. It does exist and there are people who truly suffer from it out there.
Bullshit
Yes, ADD is used as a crutch by many lazy parents who would rather dope their kids rather than discipline them. However, my best friend has severe ADD and requires meds. Meds, coupled with cognitive-behavioral therapy, have allowed him to function a day-to-day life. Of course ADD could have existed 40 years ago – just because it isn’t diagnosed doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Medieval society may not have known about germs, but does that mean the plague wasn’t a pathogen?
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Mar 31, 2009 10:34 PM EDT up reply actions
The problem with ADD/ADHD is that there isn’t any 100% way of determining it, it is a pschological diagnosis not a medical test. People like to slap that diagnosis on all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons. They tried to diagnose 2 of my children with it because they wouldn’t pay attention in elementary school (what kid pays attention in first grade?). I had a friend growing up who had a real case though and it was plainly obvious, he could barely sit through a 2 hour movie (while on the medication).
Overdiagnosis is a real issue but overdiagnosis doesn’t mean that there isn’t a underlying illness here.
by who me on Mar 31, 2009 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Absolutely
My friend is so scatterbrained he forgets to fall asleep. He can’t sit still for a movie unless we’re in the theater and he can’t leave. I was tested for it by several different doctors and received as many diagnoses. I’ve tested positive for ADD, ADHD, OCD, dysthemia, clinical depression, and chronic panic attacks. After scanning the DSM-IV and enormous research, I finally figured it out: Asperger’s Syndrome. Things have been so much easier for me now.
However, Aspies are becoming overdiagnosed now, supplanting ADD, but it’s far more esoteric.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Mar 31, 2009 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Interesting, another self diagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome, if I am reading that right. I remember seeing a lot of similarities to myself in one of the Law & Order shows when that was brought up, and reading up on it made it a valid explanation for a lot of stuff I have noticed about myself.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
Recent article in New Scientist discussed how Asperger’s could be a low-low-low impact version of autism. Obviously doesn’t feel that way to the people struggling with it, but in a bio-medical sense, it could well be a difference of degree rather than a difference of kind. Regardless, considering how difficult autism can be to diagnose and treat, if Asperger’s is a partially hidden or somewhat fluid version of autism, it stands to reason that it can be very VERY difficult to identify and treat because the triggers are specific combinations of stimuli which may not be replicatable in controlled medical testing conditions. Not really going anywhere with that; I just thought it was an interesting point.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
Asperger’s is considered “High Functioning”, meaning it disrupts life, but not impairs it. Watch Sheldon on “The Big Bang Theory” to see a prime example of an Aspie. I’m a bit anomalous in that I favor the humanities while most go into the sciences, because of the exacting nature of the work (aspies must know). It has the fantastic side-effect of correlating with genius. Seriously, famous (likely) aspies are Stanley Kubrick and Bill Gates.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Apr 1, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Nope.
Let Carl Sagan explain it. He can do it better than I can.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Apr 1, 2009 1:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Adderall is simply prescription speed
It is most definitely a performance enhancing drug, both for training and during the fight. No question about it.
At least he did it pre-fight
He didn’t do it after the fight and said “I’ve got a prescription bro” ;).
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by achengy on Mar 31, 2009 9:13 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
The UFC really needs to train their fighters on what prescription drugs to avoid.
I agree…but what part does the agent play in this? Agents in MMA seem so damn useless
I wasn’t aware that agents in any other medium do anything either.
by Gogo Platter on Mar 31, 2009 9:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Twas a joke, making fun of the historical connotation that agents are parasitic slimeballs.
by Gogo Platter on Mar 31, 2009 9:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I wonder what the UFC has to do with this. I was under the impression that every AC has a banned list that they issue to fighters. Additionally they would have to know everything about any medication they’re taking into their bloodstream
A lot
It’s their fight and it looks bad when it doesn’t go off. They also promised a fight to 2 fighters with all kinds of promotional opportunities. One of them is now unjustly out of luck. There’s a few others but those are the 2 biggest I can quickly come up with.
That sounds like a reason for them to penalize him, I’m more concerned with the supposition that Zuffa act as a replacement for the ACs when Jensen doesn’t follow the regs on the matter.
But this is assuming that the ACs actually do give out a rumored banned substances list. If they don’t then the UFC has the leverage to get every AC’s updated list, and distribute it to fighters, but the ACs still have the ability to do so nowadays with a simple email to all licensed fighters.
As long as the list is available then it’s the fighter’s job to follow it explicitly.
by asa on Apr 2, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions
The one thing that confuses me is that after 18 fights, without what I imagine too be any prior instance of testing positive for Adderal, or any previous pre-fight cancellations, how does this come up now? Was it recently prescribed? Has he been “cycling” his Adderal? I’m not trying to be a shit stirrer, it just comes off as a little odd.
I doubt he needed it. Lets be honest here, hes not trying to do complex math problems or read war and peace, hes training for fighting.
I didnt know about the heart attack thing, but in NCAA compliance meetings, we are told its a stimulant and thats why you cant take it. In college lots of kids would eat/blow adderal to stay up and write papers. If you dont have ADD and take it, youll get wired.
Or he could have changed medication recently. Adderal is just one of a range of different drugs used to treat a certain set of symptoms (rather than specific diseases). Some people respond differently to different drugs and so have to try different types to see what is most effective; others build up a resistance to one type over time and have to switch. Not that I know either of those situations apply here, but it’s not unusual.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
I think it is hilarious to hear people comment about something they know absolutely nothing about. I personally know Ryan and know that this is a drug he has been on for almost 10 years and has needed to take it b/c he needs to… not b/c he wants to, and guess what?? this isn’t his first fight in the UFC so they were aware of this before. And obviously some of you don’t know this b/c well… i’m guessing you have never had the balls to train for a fight or get in the ring and fight, but last time I checked the only responsibility the fighter has is… do what he needs to do to train for the fight, due the required medical screening, and show up for the fight. Any fighting event has all of the paperwork 3-4 weeks before the fight and it is their responsibility along with management to clear anything in question. Ryan is an honest guy full of integrity and didn’t deserved to be shafted b/c someone wasn’t doing their job.
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by George Lucas on Apr 1, 2009 3:50 AM EDT reply actions 3 recs
thanks man
I try.
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
that should really be green
lol
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
Nah, just add it to your sig line =)
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
its already so long
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
As a OSH professional I would usually charge for my opinion on an issue like this (particularly the ADA regulation). Of course it’s not like you have to be a deep thinker to get to the bottom of this one, if it’s on the banned substance list then you can’t have it in your system before a fight period. What goes into a fighters body is 100% the fighters responsibility and it is 100% his responsibility to know the rules of the sport he requested license to be involved with.
Ryan Jensen
I’ve been friends with Jensen for about 15 years. I was with him the whole month of March in Albuquerque, helping with his training camp at Greg Jackson’s. Ryan has had ADD for as long as I can remember — to be honest, I’m not too keen on the use of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of ADD/ADHD. I think better/different parenting, teaching, etc, could be very beneficial for kids with ADD, but I’ve witnessed firsthand how much medication does help, in the case of Jensen.
With that being said, Jensen has disclosed the use of his prescription medication since day one. The Athletic Commissions in California, Ohio, Nebraska, etc. did not have a problem with it, and obviously allowed him to fight. Jensen had his pre-fight physical done in late February, where he disclosed his Adderall prescription. On Wednesday, March 25th, he faxed paperwork for his sponsors, etc, and again disclosed his prescription as well. Nothing was said until he was about to weigh in, on Tuesday, March 31st.
The last time Jensen took the medication was the morning of Monday, March 30th — and it was only 5 mg, which is a very small dose relative to what others with ADD/ADHD take. It is not uncommon for individuals to take up to 150 mg per day.
When he was about to go on the stage for the weigh-ins, the Tennessee AC stopped him. They said that Adderall was a banned substance, and that he could not fight. Former Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and current Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the UFC, Marc Ratner, argued with Tennessee officials on Jensen’s behalf. The Tennessee AC said that the prescription medication Ritalin (methylphenidate) was allowed, but not Adderall. Both drugs are FDA approved for the treatment of ADD/ADHD, and act as Central Nervous System stimulants. Their method of action is virtually identical.
The half life of Adderall is 11-13 hours, and given the dose Jensen was taking, he would have in all likelihood passed the post-fight drug test. In fact, Jensen volunteered to take a drug test on Tuesday, March 31st, to prove that the medication was out of his system. The Tennessee AC would not administer a drug test, and told him that he could not fight on Wednesday, April 1st.
Like I stated, numerous state athletic commissions have allowed him to compete, and he has had a legitimate prescription for years. He provided the Tennessee AC documentation from his physician, as well as documentation from other state commissions that had cleared him to fight in the past, while using his prescribed medication.
The Tennessee AC dropped the ball on this. Jensen did everything expected of him as a fighter — he showed up in shape, and made weight. They’re the ones who should be scrutinized…
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