One thing to take away from the Alistair Overeem hearing (link from MMA Weekly) with the NSAC is that they actually believed him.
One thing today that we don’t realize is that with Twitter and countless blogs, we are in the world of mass media. No matter what is going on in the world you can find at least 20 blogs, vlogs, editorials and TV shows about the subject. Everybody has an opinion and a platform to share it which is great. First Amendment at its finest.
But what’s lost in this particular story is that Hector Molina admitted under oath to injecting Overeem with testosterone without telling him. Overeem didn’t ask, so Molina didn’t tell. However, Molina had been part of the Texas State Athletic Commission so why if you’re Overeem would you think that he would inject you with testosterone?
It’s almost the equivalent of Keith Kizer injecting you with an anti-inflammatory. Would you really think to ask Keith if he’s injecting testosterone in your body or would you trust that he knows the rules and regulations and wouldn’t do something like that since he’s part of the NSAC?
I think every fighter would take an injection from Keith Kizer if he were able to administer one. If you fail a test then at least you failed a test only getting injected by a member of an athletic commission. And that’s what Overeem did.
In all reality, I wouldn’t have asked him either. If his inner circle told him that Molina is a doctor that was part of an athletic commission so he’ll put the right things in your body, I’d be on board. No problem Doc, inject me with whatever will help me heal.
So in this case I found Overeem to be very believable. He told the usual story of not knowing what a doctor was injecting in his body, but had the doctor there to collaborate his story and admit to not telling him. The doctor was testifying and making himself a good candidate for malpractice and Overeem looked like a sympathetic figure. That to me is a big deal.
So to me, the NSAC was justified in a shorter sentence for Overeem. I think they genuinely wanted to license him but just couldn’t because of the ripple effect that would cause.
I think it’s also important to point out that Overeem did not test positive for any substance, just elevated testosterone levels which a doctor admitted to administering. I’m not saying that Overeem did or didn’t do steroids or any other performance enhancing drug, I am saying that in this case he had a good excuse for testing the way he did.
Those in the court of public opinion who are ready to banish Overeem from MMA should look at all the facts of this case and see that if this were a court case in which you had to prove without a reasonable doubt that he willingly took testosterone, he would be found not guilty.
There are doubts and concerns, but the self proclaimed “most tested athlete” had a very good excuse for what could have been a career-killing move. And with that, the UFC should welcome him back with open arms for their end-of-year show for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
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