Nevada Athletic Commission files official argument in Wanderlei Silva drug testing situation

Several months ago, Wanderlei Silva was handed a lifetime ban by the Nevada Athletic Commission for evading an out-of-competition drug test ahead of his scheduled match-up at UFC 175.

The commission's decision to ban Silva was an unheralded one, and was later vehemently disputed by Silva's lawyer, Ross Goodman. He argued on a September edition of The MMA Hour that the commission did not have the jurisdiction to enforce a drug test on an unlicensed combatant in their State.

"It makes all the difference in the world," Goodman said on the show. "It expressly says you have to be a licensee. This is plain as simple as that," he said. "(The commission) takes one section out of context when says ‘a person.' Before I even explain that, if they valid what he's saying, the commission would have the authority to discipline anybody that's a person. That is absurd. That's unreasonable."

However, several days ago, the NAC filed an answering brief to the Wanderlei Silva drug testing case which detailed their official argument for attempting to test the combatant while unlicensed.

The entire NSAC Answering Brief can he found here (courtesy of Combat Sports Law).

Here are some notable excerpts from the commission's argument:

Silva admitted to the Commission that he knew that he was scheduled to fight in Las Vegas when the collector asked him to provide specimens for testing. Silva admitted to the Commission that he should have submitted to the Commission's drug testing. So why did Silva refuse to be tested? Because he knew he was using a prohibited drug. That is simple truth. Siva's subsequent statement in his memorandum to this Court, that he "properly objected to the [Commission's] attempt to administer blood draw because he was not licensed" in contemptible at best.

The Commission has and is vested with the sole direction, management, control and jurisdiction over all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat to be conducted, held or given within the State of Nevada. With that broad scope in mind, the question is: Should an unarmed combatant who has a contest scheduled in Nevada be permitted to evade drug testing in the weeks before his contest? The Commission believes that for the health and safety of these contestants and the integrity of the sport, the answer must be "No."

They added that since Silva eventually admitted to ingesting a diuretic ahead of UFC 175, the commission finds that their decision to test him out of competition when he was unlicensed was a sound one.

Here, Silva admitted that he used a prohibited drug before his scheduled contest. The Commission's finding that Silva was subjected to out-of-competition drug testing is supported by his own admissions.