All Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery Fighters to Undergo Drug Tests
by Brent Brookhouse on May 15, 2010 12:35 PM EDT
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According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, once back at the hotel all fighters were required to submit to drug tests administered internally by the Strikeforce organization via a local independent laboratory.
"It wasn't based on any one specific fighter," Coker told MMA Fighting. "It was just the right thing to do. It's so all the fighters, all the fans, and all the media know what's going on. I talked to all the fighters about it and they were all fine with it."
Coker said the decision to conduct the independent tests has been in the works for at least a week, and was spurred on in part by the Missouri Office of Athletics' policy of conducting only random testing.
The possibility of fighters not being tested was first reported by Jonathan Snowden via a FanPost here on Bloody Elbow, then over the next few days the story was ran by several sites such as Sherdog and MMA Fighting (without giving any credit to Jonathan for the original story).
It now appears that the fighters will be tested by an independent lab on Strikeforce's dime. It's a nice PR move but without knowing what kind of tests are being given or anything else it is hard to say exactly how much meaning there is to the testing, but I suppose once again MMA fans should just be thankful that "something is better than nothing."
HT: Hendar
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Apparently with steroid cycling , masking agents, etc
I don’t know if any of you read up on the argument for Olympic testing
but that if a fighter knows when they are going to be tested, it’s pretty easy to pass.
by pickleofguatemala on May 15, 2010 12:01 PM EDT reply actions
Don't tell that to Chris Leben
Unless he assumed he wasn’t going to be tested in the UK.
by pickleofguatemala on May 15, 2010 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions
I’ve talked about this a lot in other threads. But the fact that some fighters have failed tests does not mean that the tests are effective. It actually takes 48-72 hours notice and steps can be taken to help pass a test. And depending on what exactly is being tested for you can pass while using certain things without even doing anything.
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by Brent Brookhouse on May 15, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
What about when your employer, who has a vested interest in you passing the test is involved?
What does that do to their effectiveness?
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
If you like it, you should put a rec on it.
by jemaleddin on May 15, 2010 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
SF isn't involved ...
In the commissions choice to randomly test fighters. So, are you implying that SF is only saying they are testing everyone to trick people into thinking that all the guys are clean or that if someone pisses dirty they would sweep it under the rug? Sf likely wouldn’t have made public the fact they are actually testing everyone to begin with if they had something to hide and had such a vested interest in absolving their fighters. What is the incentive to try and cover up the fact their fighters are roiding? Thats on the athlete not the organization. The fallout of them covering up a positive test is far worse than popping someone.
by Johnnynumber5 on May 15, 2010 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions
You're completely misinformed about the situation in every conceivable way.
Thanks for your comment though.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
If you like it, you should put a rec on it.
the independently administered ask test
you’re not on steroids, right?
carry on.
Yeah, a shitfarce test actually means something…
As long as a test overseen by an athletic commission is administered to overeem and he passes that’s fine by me. The problem is for some odd reason it doesn’t look like he’s being tested through the commission.
by mmalogic on May 15, 2010 12:29 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
shitfarce...
wow, that’s creative and funny. wait.
by 12.59 on May 15, 2010 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
You’re late to this particular party.
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by Richard Wade on May 15, 2010 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions
No kidding.
It never ceases to amaze me just how easily logic can push some peoples buttons. It is positively Pavlovian.
it probably has to do with my registration being 2 days old.
by 12.59 on May 15, 2010 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
It’s obviously a PR move because there was no guarantee the state was going to test Overeem. And if the Reem wasn’t on the card they wouldn’t have to put on this show.
So ..
You are saying it is a conspiracy. Strikeforce only did this show in St. Louis because there is a chance that Overeem wouldn’t be tested? Then, they come up with this PR rouse to trick everyone that he is actually steroid free? It’s more likely (to me) that the show would have taken place in that location with or without Overeem.
by Johnnynumber5 on May 15, 2010 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
No. That's not what I'm saying.
I’m saying it is a PR move on Strikeforce to implement in-house drug testing on everyone so they can placate the critics who would be outraged if Overeem fought without being tested. They could test only Overeem, but that would make it appear as if they were unfairly targeting him, which they kind of are.
gotcha ...
totally agree. They are doing this to placate the critics and it is in direct response to the allegations against Overeem. Still, I don’t think it necessarily means they wouldn’t announce he tested positive if that happens to be the result.
by Johnnynumber5 on May 15, 2010 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions
First we don’t know if he will be tested o not. The BS headline that Overeem would escape testing was inaccurately. It should have read that he might escape testing. If fighters are tested the most likely fighters to be tested are the winners followed by the the title fighters. With all the controversy going on my guess is that the commission will test Overeem. Unfortunately if they do test him and he is guilty it will be the top story on every MMA site. If they test him and he is clean we will never know.
Keep in mind that if the UFC does an event here and many other places they are in the exact same boat. They do their own testing as well. Is it any more strict than Strikeforces? I doubt it.
The headline was
Alistair Overeem to Escape Urinalysis? Missouri Coy About Drug Tests
It’s not a “BS headline that he would escape testing”
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by Brent Brookhouse on May 15, 2010 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Doesn’t:
Alistair Overeem to Escape Urinalysis?
mean:
he might escape testing
or does the question mark mean something different
And I don’t think there is any if here, they are testing all the fighters. And I doubt they would bother if it were not for all the hubbub surrounding Overeem. Same with the UFC. None of them normally do their own testing; the commission does and I doubt UFC would bother doing it in this situation unless there was a similar deal with a fighter’s use being questioned.
And even with the testing, he should not fail. Apparently if a fighter knows it’s coming, it’s easy to test neg. At least that’s what Brent always says (who for some reason seems to be an expert at how to do drugs and not get caught lol)
"I'm going to strip them of their health. I bring the pain, a lot of pain."" - Tyson
Thats because ...
It’s not the UFC where everyone is clean and natural and the streets are made of chocolate. Thats how you think isn’t it?
“The problem is for some odd reason it doesn’t look like he’s being tested through the commission.”
There is really nothing odd about the reason he would or wouldn’t be tested. The fighters are chosen at random. You might say the rules of the commission are odd but the reasoning as to whom is chosen to be tested and who isn’t odd or conspiratorial. It’s by the book and the letter of the law. Take umbrage with the commission in terms of their rules, regulations and protocols.
“Yeah, a shitfarce test actually means something…”
Strikeforce is doing the testing to placate the blogging biomass and it seems they can’t ever catch a break … Not that anyone expects you to be fair minded when it comes to any MMA organization not controlled by Zuffa. But, it certainly means something and that something is more than nothing at all.
“As long as a test overseen by an athletic commission is administered to overeem and he passes that’s fine by me.”
You are just hedging your bets. Even if Overeem is one of the fighters randomly selected to be tested by the commission you’d still come up with something to discredit him.
by Johnnynumber5 on May 15, 2010 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
More testing is always a good thing, but they may be opening up a can of worms here.
This is a company that can’t afford to film prelim fights, now they can afford to test everyone on the card for steroids? Also, is this going to be a permanent practice?
If I was a 265 pound HW that wouldn’t take interviews unless it was agreed that no steroids questions would be asked, and my promoter tested everyone on the card I was fighting on, but didn’t do that, I’d probably be offended.
This is likely a one time thing due to the “random testing” of the commission for this fight.
And it certainly isn’t that SF “can’t afford” to film prelim fights. It’s that the people in charge of production (NOT Strikeforce) don’t see the value add.
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by Brent Brookhouse on May 15, 2010 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I think CSAC is the only one that test all fighters, most just do title fights and pull randomly from the card.
I thought New Jersey had the most stringent testing. Here is their policy:
On fight night all competitors undergo urine testing. Additionally, some fighters are randomly selected to undergo blood testing in the three weeks leading up to the show. Once notified, each fighter had 48 hours to get to an approved facility. Once there, the fighter has to submit a photo ID and a sample, and a picture was taken of each competitor and sent to the commission for ID verification.
The test is obviously being done to silence any criticism they may get if Overeem doesn’t end up being tested by the commission.
exactly
I think everyone agrees with that. It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when this many accusations are made about a guy who has never tested positive for any banned substance (AFAIK) in the past.
by Johnnynumber5 on May 15, 2010 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions
If SF couldn’t afford to film prelim fights they wouldn’t still be putting on shows. They aren’t incharge of the production of their events AFAIK Showtime makes those decisions.
by Johnnynumber5 on May 15, 2010 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions
"They aren’t incharge of the production"
Which is a huge part of the problem with SF.
Additionally, its very short sighted if they can’t see the value of filming prelims. Whole show can be produced later based on the backlog of video from just filming prelims.
Fuck all this cynical bullshit. They are testing everyone and that is good for everyone involved. Fighters, fans and the organization.
"Hit me up on Twitter @ IDontHaveATwitterBecauseIhaveAFuckingLifeAndDontCareWhatEveryoneElseIsDoingOrThinkingEverySecondOfEveryFuckingDaySeriouslyKnockItOff
by Earl Montclair on May 15, 2010 1:25 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Am i the only one who thinks its weird that he had to talk to all the fighters to make sure they were fine with it before doing it?
you can’t just go around randomly drug testing people. If someone wasn’t ok with it and refused to do it after this announcement it would be terrible.
But it does kind of undermine the "message" it is supposed to send.
You’re all getting test…unless someone has a problem with that…
That picture is photoshopped, right?
Tatum: I think he's a good man. I like him. I got nothing against him, but I'm definitely gonna make orphans of his children.
It’s a nice PR move but without knowing what kind of tests are being given or anything else it is hard to say exactly how much meaning there is to the testing,
i dont see everyone accusing UFC of the same thing in all their oversees shows
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the UFC uses a well known lab in the drug testing community. They imposed a harsher penalty than the athletic commissions when someone was positive. They established a procedure to do these drug tests whenever they are at international events, and stick to them no matter how much whining is done about specific fighters.
by Phildo on May 15, 2010 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Is SF using a well known lab or did they just pick up some over the counter tests from CVS? (rhetorical question) … SF is going above and beyond what they should have to do considering there is an athletic commission and the event is taking place inside the continental united states. They had an event in this same arena last year when Shields fought Lawler and there wasn’t a single article stating all athletes wouldn’t be tested. Are we going to see an article for every future UFC event stating all fighters may not be tested? Of course not. So, in my opinion, SF and Overeem (especially Overeem) are being unfairly held to a different standard because of allegations.
by Johnnynumber5 on May 15, 2010 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions
ekc's point is that ...
The UFC would have just as much of a vested interest in covering up their fighters positive tests as would Strikeforce.
by Johnnynumber5 on May 15, 2010 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions
thank you for reading ekc’s mind. Doesn’t change the fact that there are big differences between how it goes down outside the US for the UFC and what happened this week.
Your welcome. I’m good at reading minds ;p
There really isn’t any difference except that the UFC has done it before and has protocols in place. Other than that, it’s the same urine test.
by Johnnynumber5 on May 15, 2010 6:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Good. I give Strikeforce props for this
Confucius says:
"Baseball is wrong; man with four balls cannot walk."
If they want to do a megareem blood test, just scrape some off of Rogers’ gloves post fight.
Keep Firing, Assholes!
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by Ubernoober on May 15, 2010 4:54 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Or they could check his stool.
"I am a man who pisses largely and frequently, which they say is a sign of great mental activity" -Henry Miller-
I am confused by this.
Is Alistair gonna get dookie wit it in the cage? Is he gonna give Brett Rogers a prostate exam? If so, is that the basis for calling himself “The Reem”?
"Hit me up on Twitter @ IDontHaveATwitterBecauseIhaveAFuckingLifeAndDontCareWhatEveryoneElseIsDoingOrThinkingEverySecondOfEveryFuckingDaySeriouslyKnockItOff
by Earl Montclair on May 15, 2010 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions
or am i completely off base?
"Hit me up on Twitter @ IDontHaveATwitterBecauseIhaveAFuckingLifeAndDontCareWhatEveryoneElseIsDoingOrThinkingEverySecondOfEveryFuckingDaySeriouslyKnockItOff
by Earl Montclair on May 15, 2010 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions
“The possibility of fighters not being tested was first reported by Jonathan Snowden via a FanPost here on Bloody Elbow, then over the next few days the story was ran by several sites such as Sherdog and MMA Fighting (without giving any credit to Jonathan for the original story).”
So … they didn’t give him credit for a story he got wrong?
What was wrong about my story? It was supported by quotes from the man actually administering the testing for Missouri. The fact that Strikeforce responded to these stories by performing their own testing has nothing to to do with whether the story was accurate.
by Jonathan Snowden on May 15, 2010 9:55 PM EDT up reply actions
That Pic
I was thinking the same thing. How many threads and comments have I read that we can’t know (about Reem) just by looking at him. Then, its a picture caption…geesh.
ps. Yes, I believe the guy is on horsemeat. I don’t know (care) enough to have an opinion about Alistair. But I like fair fights and think everyone should be blood tested before every fight.
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