Nike is standing by world-class marathoner-turned-coach Alberto Salazar in the wake of a four-year ban issued by the U.S. Anti-Doping Association.
As head coach of the Nike Oregon Project, Salazar is accused of “orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct,” following two independent inquiries led by three-member panels of the American Arbitration Association. Jeffrey Brown M.D., a physician who worked with some of the athletes in the Nike-supported program is also facing a four-year ban. The 61-year-old Salazar has coached such elite runners as Mo Farah, Kara Goucher, Alan Webb and Amy Yoder Begley. And visitors to Nike’s vast corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., are familiar with the building that was named for Salazar years ago.
The USADA reported that after the two evidentiary hearings, a seven-day one for Salazar and a six-day one for Brown, as well as “lengthy post-hearing review of all the evidence and testimony,” the panels found that the two men “trafficked testosterone, a banned performance-enhancing substance, administered a prohibited IV infusion, and engaged in tampering to attempt to prevent relevant information about their conduct from being learned by USADA.”
A Nike spokesman declined to say Tuesday whether the Oregon Project will go forward. He issued the following statement, “Today’s
As head coach of the Nike Oregon Project, Salazar is accused of “orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct,” following two independent inquiries led by three-member panels of the American Arbitration Association. Jeffrey Brown M.D., a physician who worked with some of the athletes in the Nike-supported program is also facing a four-year ban. The 61-year-old Salazar has coached such elite runners as Mo Farah, Kara Goucher, Alan Webb and Amy Yoder Begley. And visitors to Nike’s vast corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., are familiar with the building that was named for Salazar years ago.
The USADA reported that after the two evidentiary hearings, a seven-day one for Salazar and a six-day one for Brown, as well as “lengthy post-hearing review of all the evidence and testimony,” the panels found that the two men “trafficked testosterone, a banned performance-enhancing substance, administered a prohibited IV infusion, and engaged in tampering to attempt to prevent relevant information about their conduct from being learned by USADA.”
A Nike spokesman declined to say Tuesday whether the Oregon Project will go forward. He issued the following statement, “Today’s