Here's an interesting update on the doper-du jour from the AP:
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Sprinter Justin Gatlin has asked for an arbitration hearing on doping charges against him, hoping to get his potential eight-year ban from track and field reduced.
Gatlin, the 100-meter gold medalist at the Athens Olympics, tested positive for testosterone and other steroids at the Kansas Relays in April. He shares the 100-meter world record of 9.77 seconds, though that would be erased if his doping penalty becomes official.
The April test was his second positive, which usually brings with it a lifetime ban.
But an agreement between Gatlin and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency reduced the ban to a maximum of eight years.
As part of the agreement, Gatlin acknowledged that his positive test was accurate and USADA recognized that Gatlin's first positive test – for a medication he had been taking for Attention Deficit Disorder – was a unique case. Gatlin also promised to cooperate in USADA's effort to find other drug cheats.
"When he accepted the validity and accuracy of the positive test finding and his offense, he did reserve his right to seek reduction in the eight-year suspension," said USADA general counsel Travis Tygart.
"And he has provided us notice of his intent to seek reduction."
Next, an arbitration panel will be selected and a hearing will be held within three months.
With his track career on hold, the 25-year-old Gatlin worked out for the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals last football season, though he didn't sign with either team. He was supposed to work as a volunteer track coach at his old high school in Pensacola, Fla., this spring.