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Chael Sonnen receives two year suspension from Nevada Athletic Commission, fined for drug testing costs
Jul 23, 2014 - 3:20:33 PM
Chael Sonnen receives two year suspension from Nevada Athletic Commission, fined for drug testing costs
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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Chael Sonnen has received his official punishment for testing positive for five separate banned substances in two random drug tests, and it amounts to... not much in reality.

Sonnen, who was released from the UFC and lost his job at Fox, was given a two year suspension, will need to pay for the costs of testing, and is being asked to cooperate with the Nevada Athletic Commission to educate them on how fighters are skirting past drug tests.

The decision was handed down Wednesday during a farcical commission meeting addressing a clear and unquestioned case of deliberate cheating. Sonnen admitted his guilt right off the bat, but while the Assistant Attorney General urged for a severe punishment in response, deliberations by the commissioners were rife with asinine rhetoric and little sense.

Commissioners Skip Avansino, Pat Lundvall, and Bill Brady consistently pushed a talking point of not kicking Sonnen while he was down, and that he'd already received considerable punishment. Brady went so far as to express his continued admiration of Sonnen, while saying he considered him a friend.

Chairman Francisco Aguilar and the newest member of the commission, Anthony Marnell, seemed to address the issue at hand, with Marnell especially coming off as the voice of reason. Marnell tried to make it clear that this was a situation Sonnen brought on himself by intentionally cheating, and Aguilar on several occasions made note of the fact that Sonnen intended to fight on July 5 knowing the substances were in his system.

Despite those protestations, Avansino continued to tout the "confusion" of the system in place, despite Marnell and the AG's rather quick takedown of that idea, and they tried to move forward with Sonnen as some type of consultant.

This same commission has handed down ridiculously exorbitant fines in the past for much lesser infractions than Sonnen received, most notably Nick Diaz and boxer Julio Caesar Chavez, Jr. for marijuana. Chavez was initially fined $900,000, though that didn't stick, while Diaz was fined nearly $80,000 and lost an appeal of that amount.

Now, a six figure fine would have been ridiculous, just as it was for Chavez and just as the $80,000 fine was for Diaz. And there's something to be said for the fact that Sonnen already lost his Fox job and his spot with the UFC. That said, the way Sonnen was treated in comparison to others failing tests for non-performance enhancers was laughable.

The message sent by the commission wasn't one that will reverberate throughout the MMA community on Wednesday. Vitor Belfort was licensed despite a failed drug test, and the now retired Sonnen received a meaningless two-year suspension and a consultant gig with the commission. The random drug testing has to continue, but with this set as a commission punishment, that won't necessarily serve as a detriment to those determined to game the system.

[Chael Sonnen art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]


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