See update at bottom.
A defamation lawsuit filed against anti-doping authorities and United States track and field star Tyson Gay is likely on the move after the United States Anti-Doping Agency asked that the case be moved from a state district court in Tarrant County court to federal court.
Jon Drummond, a Fort Worth resident and former Olympic champion, trained Gray from 2007 until just after the 2012 London Olympics, often in Fort Worth. Gay tested positive for a product containing an anabolic steroid in July 2013. His positive test led to a stripping of all competition results from July 15, 2012 -- the first time Gay said he used the substance -- forward, including the silver medal he won as part of the United States' 4X100-meter relay team. Gay was banned from competition for one rather than the maximum two-year penalty because he cooperated with the USADA.
Drummond claims that in the process of that cooperation Gay blamed him for his positive test. Gay, Drummond says, falsely told doping authorities that his coach hooked him up with and vouched for Dr. Clayton Gibson, an Atlanta chiropractor.
Gibson provided Gay with a number of creams and other substances which were labeled as containing banned ingredients, Drummond says. Gibson assured both Drummond and Gay that the medicines did not contain banned substances -- and were, in fact, all natural -- but were just labeled that way so less experienced athletes would understand their intended effects.
Drummond says that, contrary to Gay's claims, he did not tell the sprinter that it was OK to use Gibson's products or help him inject any of them. Drummond says that the USADA brought charges against him seeking a lifetime ban from all track and field related activities because of Gay's statements against him. The coach further claims that the USADA's president, Travis Tygart, conveyed and published through the press the belief that Gay's claims were true, further defaming Drummond.
Drummond claims that the USADA, Gay and Tygart, in defaming him, have hurt his character and reputation, damaged his earning power and caused him mental anguish.
A USADA spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Update, 11 a.m.: Unfair Park has received a comment from the USADA. "We view this lawsuit as a misguided attempt to undermine the established arbitration process agreed to by the entire Olympic movement that is in place to protect the rights of all clean athletes and uphold the integrity of sport," spokesperson Annie Skinner says.
