Thread: Holly Holm’s supplement company selling WADA-banned products raises questions

Holly Holm’s relationship with supplement company selling WADA-banned products raises questions


Wednesday, November 18, 2015, 12:57 AM

Holy Holm shocked the sports world when she knocked out UFC superstar Ronda Rousey in Australia Saturday.
Thanks to her ties to a Texas company that sells supplements containing banned substances, she’ll have to kick her way out of a public relations nightmare, too.
Holm is taking heat for the sponsorship deal she signed with Intel Pharma, a company that has sold supplements advertised as containing substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and federal law.

Intel Pharma has offered products it claims contain prohormones and a steroid alternative known as SARMS, both of which are banned by WADA and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which administers UFC’s performance-enhancing drug program.
“I’ve got a lot of problems with that,” anti-doping pioneer Donald Catlin said about Holm’s ties to Intel Pharma, calling her decision to partner with the firm “bizarre.”
UFC said in a statement that Holm has provided five separate samples to USADA for testing since July 1, and all were negative. A USADA spokeswoman confirmed that Holm has never been sanctioned by the agency.
“As independent contractors, UFC athletes can accept endorsements and sponsorships from supplement companies that do not conflict with their contractual obligations at official UFC events,” the statement said. “UFC athletes are both aware that they are liable for any substances put into their body, whether knowingly or unknowingly, and still must adhere to the requirements set forth by the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.”


View Gallery Ronda Rousey suffers first loss, gets knocked out by Holly Holm

The company’s chief executive officer, Landon Suggs, told USA Today that the company stopped offering products with banned substances earlier this year. But the supplements with banned ingredients remain available through the Internet.
“This product is not for human consumption,” one website says of Intel Pharma Phenom, a muscle-building prohormone. “Use this product at your own risk.”
Holm’s manager, Lenny Frequez, also did not return a call but he told USA Today that Holm was aware that the company sold products with banned substances before she inked the sponsorship deal with Intel Pharma but had never used the products.
“I’m sure she didn’t use any of them,” Frequez said. “She might have taken a picture with one.”
An attorney for Rousey did not return a call for comment.
BALCO founder Victor Conte, now an anti-doping activist who works closely with boxers and mixed-martial arts athletes, pointed out that prohormones were banned in the United States in 2005 but remain easy to score on the Internet.

intel-pharma.co Holly Holm’s agent tells USA Today that he knew Intel-Pharma sold substances that were banned by WADA.



Conte said existing laws are more than adequate to address spiked supplements and doping, but FDA and other agencies need to take a more aggressive approach to policing.
“The focus needs to be on the enforcement of laws,” Conte said. “There are no consequences for selling this stuff.
“It’s one thing to have rules in place, but what value are they to competitors if there is a lack of enforcement?” Conte added.
UFC hired Jeff Novitzky — the former Food and Drug Administration agent who led the BALCO investigation — to oversee its drug program earlier this year.
Conte said it was “ironic” that the man who once searched his dumpster for evidence linking Barry Bonds and other athletes to doping is now tied to a UFC champion linked to banned products.
“Now one of UFC’s top athletes is sponsored by a company that makes products that Jeff Novitzky used to bust people for using,” Conte said. “What the hell?”

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