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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The Nevada Athletic Commission this week is attempting to stop Chael Sonnen from competing at the Metamoris 4 grappling event in Los Angeles. Their attempt was already a dubious abuse of power in the first place, but with more details now out regarding their attempt, it's even more of a mess.
It starts with the letter sent to Sonnen by Francisco Aguilar, chair for the NAC, on July 30. Here's what Aguilar sent to Sonnen, via a report from Jeremy Botter at BleacherReport.com, who initially reported on the issue earlier this week:
Mr. Sonnen:
On July 23, 2014 you personally appeared with legal counsel before the Nevada State Athletic Commission (the "Commission") for a disciplinary hearing. You testified under oath regarding your use of five drugs that are prohibited at all times: Anastrozole, Clomifene, Erythropoletin, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, and Human Growth Hormone. While under oath, you promised that you would not fight in any jurisdiction during your two-year suspension.
Despite your promise, the Commission's reliance on your promise when it determined discipline, I now see that you had already scheduled a fight in California on August 8, 2014. Be advised that the occurrence of any fight is a breach of the Commission's Order and will subject you to further proceedings before the Commission. In addition, should you breach your agreement, the Commission reserves the fight to rescind the penalty imposed against you and reconsider a different form of punishment for your admitted violations.
Sincerely,
Francisco V. Aguilar, Chairman
There are two key issues here. First, Sonnen is not in a "fight" on Saturday in Los Angeles, it's a grappling event with no striking. That is not currently under the purview of athletic commissions as far as regulation is concerned. Second, Sonnen didn't book this matchup at Metamoris after the July 23 meeting, and Aguilar was aware of it on the day of that hearing.
That's exactly what Sonnen's attorney, Ross Goodman, is arguing in response to Aguilar's letter.
To the first issue, regarding Nevada's jurisdiction over grappling contests in general, Goodman wrote:
"There is no dispute that the NSAC has no jurisdiction or authority to regulate, license or sanction jiu-jitsu and other forms of grappling. Moreover, jiu-jitsu does not fall within the Nevada definition of unarmed combat because it does not involve "blows" of any kind.
Likewise, it would be a violation of due process to expand the interpretation of “fighting” broader than the statutory definition of unarmed combat. In our view, there could be no violation under NRS 467.885 as any interpretation to include jiu-jitsu or grappling would be outside of the NSAC’s jurisdiction and constitute an invalid order."
After not receiving a response, Goodman sent a second letter to Aguilar in an attempt to resolve the issue before Saturday's event. As to Aguilar's claim that he was just made aware of the matchup, Goodman pointed out an interview with Brazi's Combate outlet following the July 23 hearing where Aguilar made it clear that the no-gi grappling wouldn't be subject to their suspension. Additionally, he was perturbed by the fact that the commission had not responded in a timely matter.
"As you may know, I endeavored to diligently respond within 24 hours to your initial letter given the time constraints of this weekend’s show and Mr. Sonnen’s contractual obligations with Metamoris pre-dating the NSAC hearing. In light of the detailed explanation underscoring Mr. Sonnen’s reasonable understanding that the 2 year suspension only applied to MMA or other NSAC sanctioned events, I have not received any response."
As of now, Sonnen's status for Saturday's event remains up in the air.
Penick's Analysis: It's ridiculous for Aguilar to not only claim Sonnen's set up a "fight," but to act as if Sonnen's participation in Saturday's event is new to him. If they wanted to prevent him from competing on that event, they could have brought it up at the meeting as a discussion point, as it was booked well before then. Now, it can absolutely be argued that grappling competitions could use regulation so that there is drug testing, health and safety standards, etc., but as that's not the case, they just don't have jurisdiction over this matter. He's not breaking the suspension they set forth for him by competing on Saturday's event, and they simply don't have the right to take further action against him if he goes ahead with the event.
[Chael Sonnen art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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