In July 2016 the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the cyclist Jennifer Schumm after her sample tested positive for the prohibited substance testosterone. After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in her defence and she was heard for the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Commercial Arbitration Tribunal.
Previously the Athlete had filed applications for a TUE for the use of testosterone which were denied by USADA.
The Athlete denied the intentional use to enhance her sports performance and requested for a reduced sanction.
She explained - sustained by two doctors - that she suffered from varous medical conditions for many years and a medical specialist gave her a bioidentical testosterone implant which she found to be very effective in helping her with her complaints.
Because testosterone was prohibited under the cycling rules she applied for a TUE the day before the competition. She did not wait for the TUE to be granted or denied before racing. She stated that she believed her treatment was essential to her health, that bioidentical testosterone was “natural” and was not the same as taking a prohibited exogenous steroid.
The Panel finds that the Athlete failed to prove by a balance of probability that her violation was unintentional and that she knew before racing that she was being administered the prohibited substance, thus no reduction of the sanction is possible. The Panel rejects the Athlete’s request to allow publication of the Award anonymized in order to protect her job and career.
Therefore the AAA Tribunal decides on 19 January 2018 that:
A.) Respondent has committed an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.1 (Presence of a Prohibited Substance) of the Code and Article 2.2 (Use of a Prohibited Substance) of the Code;
B.) The period of Ineligibility for the anti-doping rule violation under Article 10.2.1 of the Code is four years, starting on July 21, 2016, the date Respondent accepted a Provisional Suspension, and ending July 20, 2020. Respondent shall be prohibited during this period from participating in any capacity in a Competition (as defined in the Code) or activity authorized or organized by any Signatory (as defined in the Code), Signatory's member organization or a club or other member organization of a Signatory's member organization, or in Competitions authorized or organized by any professional league or any international- or national-level Event organization or any elite or national-level sporting activety funded by a governmental agency, all as set forth in Article 10.12 of the Code;
C.) Respondent's competitive results from the date of her positive test, May 28, 2016, through her acceptance of Provisional Suspension, on July 21, 2016, are to be disqualified, and any medals, points and prizes earned during that period shall be forfeited;
D.) The parties shall bear their own attorneys' fees and costs associated with this Arbitration;
E.) The administrative fees and expenses of the American Arbitration Association, and the compensation and expenses of the Panel, shall be borne by USADA and the United States Olympic Committee; and
F.) This Award shall be in full and final resolution of all claims and counterclaims submitted to this Arbitration. All claims not expressly granted herein are hereby denied.
G.) This Award may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, and all of which shall constitute together one and the same instrument.
