Alberto Salazar responds to doping allegations

The Nike Oregon Project coach lashes out in a 11,636-word rebuttal of doping allegations made against him by former staff and athletes

In short, Alberto Salazar’s response to allegations he’s been abusing therapeutic use exemptions and giving Galen Rupp performance enhancing drugs since the athlete was 16 is: “I believe in a clean sport and hard work and so do my athletes. What follows below are the actual facts.”

That’s printed in the second paragraph of his 12,000-word response to allegations presented in a joint investigation by ProPublica and the BBC earlier this month. The Oregon Project coach denies any wrongdoing and says neither Salazar nor his athletes have ever used PEDs.

“Oregon Project athletes are only to use legal supplements from a limited number of suppliers,” reads the statement. “I insist that all supplement batches be tested before any Oregon Project athlete takes one.”

Further in the statement is a story of fears a massage therapist could sabotage an athlete by rubbing them with testosterone cream, similar to claims made by sprinter Justin Gatlin.

“Dr. Jeffery Brown set up the experiment. […] The experiment was designed to see if lower amounts, which the athlete may not notice being applied could trigger a positive test. The subjects for the experiment were my sons, who are the same approximate age as typical elite athletes and are in good physical condition. But are not elite athletes subject to USADA or any other elite testing pool.”

The statement elaborately explains an internal study the group did to test how much Androgel would set off a positive test as a precautionary measure against being sabotaged. It does not make any comments on why the Androgel was with the team in Park City, Utah, during a training camp.

The statement also says Steve Magness, a former coach with the team who spoke with David Epstein and made many of the most damning accusations, was terminated from his position.

The statement is long, exhaustive and addresses many claims made by ProPublica and BBC as well as some which were never made in the first place. It also lays out clearly the legal medications and supplements Oregon Project athletes have used. It flatly denies any wrongdoing and provides email archives to support many of the stories.