Casey details abuse that followed false positive in Texas
Cortney Casey: “I was approached at Target, and I was told that I had let the island down, that I was a cheater, and asked how I could do that to my fans.”
On May 13, women’s strawweight Cortney Casey defeated Jessica Aguilar at UFC 211 in Dallas, Texas. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) administered an anti-doping test and it was flagged for an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio. Anything over 4:1 is flagged in Texas, and Casey’s was 5.4:1. WADA also uses the 4:1 ratio, but as a trigger for a more specialized isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) test, rather than a cause of sanction in and of itself.
It’s something like a cop pulling over a car and smelling marijuana. A funny smell is reasonable grounds to search the car, or administer a field sobriety test. But in and of itself it is does not necessarily mean the driver was high. That distinction was unfortunately lost on Texas; the commission changed Casey’s the win to a No Contest, and suspended her for 90 days.
An elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio does not necessarily mean the fighter was taking a prohibited substance; it’s a ratio and on its own doesn’t even high testosterone – the cause could be low epitestosterone, which can be caused by birth control pills. And birth control is necessary for female fighters, as they are prohibited from fighting while pregnant.
UFC vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky, who arguably knows more about PED testing that anyone in history, tried to explain the test to Texas officials, but apparently to little avail. Texas actually charged Casey for the appropriate follow-up test; the ‘B’ sample was negative. Still, nothing.
Ian Kidd did a brilliant job for BE in laying out what the TDLR knew and when they knew it. Now he has spoken to Casey and she detailed the fallout from the TDLR administering PED tests, while failing to understand PED testing. Once the TDLR test went public, and the bout was overturned, many assumed she was guilty. And she is not.
Making matters worse, Casey lives on the small island of Maui.
One of the worst things that can happen to an athlete is being associated with steroids in any way, shape or form. I don’t want to have that asterisk next to my name,” she said. “I’m innocent, but that’ll still be there; some people aren’t going to read the second article, some people aren’t going to understand it, or they’re going to think I just found a loophole. I can’t change the way they think because they heard I used steroids, so I’ll always be attached to that and it sucks.
“I was approached at Target, and I was told that I had let the island down, that I was a cheater, and asked how I could do that to my fans. I live on a small island and word travels fast; they don’t call it Coconut Wireless for nothing.”
“It’s one thing for people to attack me on social media, but then they went and found my mom on social media. When I posted pictures of the kids I train, people were saying things like, ‘Don’t take steroids like your coach.’
Everyone told me not to say anything, to make sure my family didn’t say anything because I should avoid pissing Texas off,” said Casey. “Especially when Jeff reached out on my behalf and told them that this was basically a false positive and they shouldn’t be releasing it and they still did nothing. Jeff told me after that to just say silent so we don’t piss them off. Dana said the same thing, he told me just to listen to Jeff because he knows what he’s doing and they hired him for a reason.
“I’ve been following that advice, but it has been hard. I’ve been attacked on social media, I’ve been verbally assaulted by people at Target, it’s just been hard. I’m glad it’s coming out that I was innocent to all along. It has been the longest month of my life, waiting for the result of a test I already knew the answer to.
Casey offered high praise for Novitzky and for UFC president Dana White who are supporting her in multiple ways. But they cannot undo the error in Texas. That would be the responsibility of the TDLR, who thus far have said only the the matter is under review.
The wheels of justice are turning painfully for Casey. Grease today is the social network. So let the @tdlrlicense know what you think about the treatment of @CastIron_Casey.