Victor Conte looking for a legal fight with WBC
It’s easy to see why sports nutritionist Victor Conte views his SNAC conglomerate with such pride. The infamous Conte masterminded and launched the now very successful and respected training facility back in 2011. Yet, the very reason that Conte is infamous is due to the rocky path that he traveled to arrive at this point. When he created his first company, BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative), the venture ended in public ridicule and jail time.
In 2005, Conte entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy and an additional count of money laundering. This was for his role in supplying a wealth of professional athletes PED’s that could not be detected at the time. Since serving his four months in jail and another four on house arrest, Conte has repurposed his life. Like the drug dealer shaken awake by his stint behind bars, Conte is now devoted to helping clean the sport he once sullied.
Having adopted his current ethics, it’s easy see why the SNAC founder has a bone to pick with the WBC. As suddenly as fighter jets can go screeching through the sky, WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez unwittingly dropped the bombshells that would ignite the boxing world afire. The announcement that the Mexican champion had failed a drug test was the incendiary news that caused the ruckus. In fact, both his A and B samples were flagged as dirty due to containing the banned PED phentermine.
CALL A SPADE A SPADE!!
What lit a Bic under Conte’s Bugle Boy jeans was how the WBC played their hand. When flagged, like all fighters, Valdez reflexively threw up his hands, looked shocked and said “I did nothing wrong, I promise!” Later he would speculate that perhaps it was consuming some herbal tea that resulted in the adverse finding. The longtime sanctioning body could have required Valdez and his team send a sample of the tea in question. Instead, they merely gave him a pass. Along with the boxing world, Victor Conte bubbled over with indignation at this limp wristed response.
“The first thing that he [Mauricio Sulaiman] should have done, and there was enough time, was say, ‘okay, you took what you took. Give us that, which you think where it came from, let us have it tested. If it is the source, then we mitigate.’ The outcome and the consequence is based upon additional evidence that is supportive of his claim. But if it’s not, then we know that it didn’t come from the tea.
There’s never been a case history ever that it came from the tea, but it doesn’t look good. So to take the steps that he took, I’m talking about Sulaiman now, to come out and say that it’s not a PED, oh my God! If it’s not a PED why is it prohibited on fight night? It makes no sense, whatsoever!”
“…one of my fighters Julian Williams came to me and said, ‘does this mean that I now get to use this? Does this mean that my opponent can be using this? What’s the deal?!’ To say that phentermine is not a PED and run away and hide like a little girl, which is exactly what Sulaiman is doing and then he puts out a statement that is completely not in line or congruent with any science at all that I just laid out for you here. What is this? We’re supposed to respect this guy, he’s supposed to be a leader? I think he is a chump!”
TOUCH ME AND I’LL SUE!
Conte was clearly animated when discussing the topic. Yet, he was firm in his assurance he would take the matter far past wordplay. Now, he is not trying to catch another bid, however. So, Conte is more than willing to take the issue to courts.
“I don’t know if it’s going to take some elite boxers and others to possibly file a class action lawsuit against the ABC or the WBC for negligence. For putting their fighters at risk, for allowing the opponents to use these dangerous drugs as well as performance enhancing drugs and then call them and say they are not a PED after you’ve been calling it a PED, the WBC, for how many years now, in the Clean Boxing Program? This is just straight up BS!
“…if somebody decided to figure out how to hold somebody accountable and get boxers to sign a petition, I would be willing to fund a lawsuit. If that’s what it would take! I’ve got deep pockets! Let’s bring some real science to the court of law and see what happens!”
It will be interesting, and revealing, to see how the WBC continues to handle themselves in this very troubling matter. They have already contradicted their own guidelines and objectives. So only time will tell if they correct their movements or continue to make up the rules as they go. Regardless of the overall outcome, 3kingsboxing will be here to report the news.
By: Bakari Simpson
