Sprinter suing USPLabs for $1.8m in failed doping case


Sprinter suing USPLabs for $1.8m in failed doping case
by Anthony Roberts

An American track and field sprinter, Philippe DeRosier, is suing USPLabs for $1.8m, after having been suspended for six months, having failed a drug test after ingesting Jack3D. He’s asking for $1.8m (+ another $300k, in related claims).

He tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexanaminet, thereby forfeiting his earnings from his last track meet in Turkey, and was suspended for six months as a result of the failed drug test.

He qualified for the Olympic trials, and he has/had a promising career as a sprinter, but at 26, he’s running over 10 seconds for the 100m, so while he’s blazing fast, he’s about half a second behind the (absolute) fastest American sprinters (best-ever-times) at the moment.

I realize that a lot of supplement consumers would like me to trash USPLabs right now, because of their over-the-top marketing and unlikable CEO, or perhaps even on the suspicion that certain products are ineffective – but those opinions are besides the point, and this case certainly won’t be decided on those types of considerations. In the end, this is a legal issue.

The truth of the matter is that DeRosier isn’t the fastest guy in the world (or even America), and if he were, I’m sure we’d have heard of the dude before now.

Still, this is a huge setback for his running career, and while I believe a lot of the fault lies with him, I also believe that there is a lot of confusing information on USPLabs’ website and labels concerning the product in question. It would be easy for the advanced supplement consumer to say “screw this guy, he should have checked his facts, looked into the ingredients, etc…” – I’m going to say that if you’re selling a banned substance, you ought to put that fact on the label. In my estimation, USPLabs is not 100% clear about the product facts either, with regards to it being banned by almost every federation in the world (WADA, MLB, etc…).

Still, the onus is on the athlete himself to know everything about every substance he’s putting in his body; at that level, a trip to GNC is not the same thing as it is when you or I buy our supplements. I don’t know how this is going to end up, and I’m certainly not a lawyer (nor do I play one on TV). One thing is certain: this is bad for the entire industry. It’s also not too great for USPLabs, who are facing a huge lawsuit, related to a compound in their two best selling products.

And since this product is banned by most sporting organizations, an is now the subject of a huge lawsuit, I’m forced to wonder if Bodybuilding.com is going to continue carrying it – especially since it’s sitting at #1 on their best-seller’s list.

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