Last week, the legal team of Ryan Garcia proclaimed his innocence by attempting to argue the supplements he had used had been contaminated and using a hair follicle test to drive home their point. Not long after, the legal team alleged supplements from the company of NutraBio had been contaminated and had led to Garcia’s positive drug test. However, earlier test results from the same batch appear to debunk this notion, and NutraBio has now stepped in to fight against the allegations made towards them.
The supposed hair follicle test conducted by Ryan Garcia (25-1, 20 KO’s) which tested negative for the banned substance of Ostarine was teemed in misinformation and misdirection, with the hair test not serving as an ineffective method to detect the presence of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) such as Ostarine, hence the use of urine tests to detect such substances.
Moreover, despite the legal team’s claims of innocence, the hair tests had not been actually sent to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) to begin with, suggesting Garcia’s legal team had attempted to sway the public rather than the actual institutions responsible for determining his innocence; including the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) under whose jurisdiction his April 20th fight with Devin Haney (31-1, 15 KO’s) fell under.
Since their hair follicle test defense, Garcia’s legal team has proceeded with another claim of innocence on Thursday, May 30th, arguing that they had sent over supplements to the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) which allegedly found traces of Ostarine.
“The test results of samples from two supplements declared by Ryan Garcia on VADA Doping Control Forms, signed on April 19th and April 20th, have returned positive for Ostarine contamination,” The legal team’s statement read as reported by Happy Punch on Friday, May 31st.
“This confirms what we have consistently maintained: Ryan was a victim of supplement contamination and has never intentionally used any banned or performance-enhancing substances.
“Any claims to the contrary, questioning Ryan’s integrity as a clean fighter, are unequivocally false and defamatory. Throughout his career, Ryan has voluntarily submitted to numerous tests, all of which have returned negative results, underscoring his commitment to fair and clean competition.
“Additionally, multiple negative tests leading up to his fight against [Devin] Haney further affirm his clean record. The ultra-low levels of Ostarine detected in his samples, in the billionth of a gram range, along with his clean hair sample proves contamination rather than intentional ingestion. The recent test results reiterate this. A press conference will be held next week to provide more insights and answer questions.“
However, the product supplements sent over to SMRTL―identified as supplements from NutraBio―was later revealed to have been opened and closed only with tape according to SMRTL who sent their report over to VADA.
Anti-doping advocate Victor Conte substantiated on this report, explaining that there was no chain of custody―a documented record detailing the exact persons that handled the NutraBio products and the procedures to safeguard potential tampering or contamination; from the moment the products left the company and was purchased by Garcia [during or before his training camp] to when they arrived at the testing agency.
According to Conte, this suggested tampering of said supplements could have taken place, as products that may be contaminated cannot be opened or unsealed. Instead, each product must be retrieved from the same batch of supplements that Ryan Garcia had claimed to have used. These products can be traced through its lot number, and Garcia was required to purchase products from the same batch to SMRTL and its laboratory―albeit unopened/sealed.
Having failed to meet the basic conditions needed to prove his innocence through the SMRTL testing procedure, Ryan Garcia and his team were not only hit with accusations of tampering, but their assertions that contamination had occurred through NutraBio’s supplements seems to have been debunked when it was discovered that the same batch of products had allegedly been used by Ryan Garcia [Super Carb – Raspberry Lemonade] were tested years prior and disproved any notions of Ostarine contamination.
Mark Glazier, founder of NutraBio, also came out to address the allegations of contaminated supplements, revealing through a statement to Fox News Digital that his company did not produce supplements that contained Ostarine or other such banned substances.
“NutraBio has never manufactured a supplement with Ostarine, and has never brought Ostarine into our manufacturing facility,” The statement from Glazier reads. “We have a long-standing commitment to producing the highest-quality supplements, trusted by athletes worldwide. NutraBio set the bar when it comes to guaranteeing products’ quality and safety and we are the first sports supplement company to have full-label disclosure.
“Our supplements are manufactured in our own GMP facility, meeting CFR Part 111 GMP regulations. We take any claims against our company extremely seriously and we will aggressively investigate the recent allegations made by Ryan Garcia’s camp.
“We stand by our process for ensuring the quality, safety and security of our products. We deeply appreciate the trust placed in us by our customers and athletes alike, and we are confident that trust is deserved.“
Ryan Garcia is now poised to be pursued legally by NutraBio after the legal team’s statement on May 30th claiming that the fighter’s positive drug test for Ostarine came through products from NutraBio. This recent reaction by NutraBio puts the revelation of the delivery of opened/unsealed products to SMRTL into perspective, and legal repercussions against may now emerge due to his legal team’s claims.
In addition, there has still been no word on who the hair follicle test results were sent to. Despite Garcia’s legal team having claimed the hair tests contained no traces of Ostarine, no actual attempts to deliver these results to either NYSAC or VADA have yet been made.
