The source of Ryan Garcia’s drug problems appears to taste like lemonade.
The boxer’s legal team. issued a statement on Thursday announcing that two supplements he declared to anti-doping authorities had tested positive for contamination with Ostarine. Ostarine is the same banned substance that Garcia tested positive for after his big win over Devin Haney.
The attorneys claimed the results showed that Garcia was a victim of supplement contamination and had never used performance-enhancing supplements. They also pointed to previous negative tests and a clean hair sample as indications that Garcia never knowingly ingested Ostarine.
Test results of samples of two supplements declared by Ryan Garcia on VADA doping control forms, signed on April 19 and 20, came back positive for contamination with Ostarine. 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 statement to the contrary, which questions Ryan’s integrity as a clean fighter, is unequivocally false and defamatory.
Throughout his career, Ryan has voluntarily submitted to numerous tests, all of which returned negative results, underscoring his commitment to fair and clean competition. Additionally, multiple negative tests prior to his fight against 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, demonstrate contamination rather than intentional ingestion. Recent test results reiterate this.
A press conference will be held next week to provide more information and answer questions.
By documents obtained by ESPN, the supplements in question are Raspberry Lemonade Flavored NutraBio SuperCarb (which tested positive for Ostarine at 70-2200 picograms per gram of powder) and Body Health Strawberry Flavored Amino Acid Blend (660 to 830 picograms). A picogram is one billionth of a gram.
The supplements that returned positive results apparently won’t get Garcia completely out of the woods when it comes to doping, either. Garcia’s attorney, Paul Greene, also told ESPN that he hopes the finding will only lead to a reduced suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission.
For the commission, fighters are ultimately responsible for the supplements they take, but the finding could help reduce the suspension. From ESPN:
“The World Anti-Doping (Association) code recognizes the advance declaration of a supplement as proof that the athlete took it, and allows the athlete to obtain a reduced sanction in most cases,” said Greene, Global’s founding partner. Sports Advocates, who represents Garcia along with three other attorneys.
“I’m hopeful that (the punishment) is on the lower end of how they determine these cases,” he added. “Normally, there is a range of penalties based on the degree of fault, and when you have a situation where you have a contaminated supplement that is not available in an Internet search, is not on a label, there is no way for an athlete to I could have known.” “The banned substance was there unless it had been sent in advance to one of the two WADA-accredited laboratories.”
Greene expressed hope that Garcia can avoid a hearing and reach an agreement on a punishment with the NYSAC and WBC, ruling out “four months or less” as an appropriate punishment.
Garcia has maintained his innocence since his first positive test, often in unhinged ways. He reached his peak after his B sample tested positive, when he declared: “I will swallow steroids” in a tweet that has since been deleted.
It’s been a chaotic time in Garcia’s life in the month since what should have been the biggest win of his career, had he not been three pounds overweight and lost $1.5 million in the process. In addition to the fight against banned substances, he is also facing a defamation lawsuit from influencer Logan Paul’s beverage company Prime Hydration. Paul also claimed that García fabricated texts that made light of the deaths in the Gaza Strip.