The saga of boxer Claressa Shields is unfolding.
She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. A three-time undisputed world champion. But, at 29, the self-proclaimed ‘GWOAT’ (Greatest Woman Of All-Time) is facing a question involving her integrity.
Could Shields have tested positive for marijuana even if she never used the drug?
According to Shields, that’s what happened after her last boxing match, a victory over Danielle Perkins Feb. 2 at Dort Financial Center in her hometown of Flint, Michigan. The drug test results have not been publicly released, but Shields has said a saliva test detected ‘trace’ amounts of marijuana, a prohibited substance in competition for professional fighters in Michigan.
Ten days after dominating Perkins in a fight that improved Shields’ record to 16-0 and elevated her to undisputed heavyweight champion came the gut punch. She was suspended by the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission (MUCC), which regulates boxing in the state, and such discipline generally is upheld by other states.
But she’ll soon get a chance to contest the decision.
On March 6, during a pre-hearing meeting before an assistant attorney general, Shields will request her suspension be revoked, according to her lawyer, David Slutsker. ‘We will present evidence … and be open to any questioning they have,” Slutsker told USA TODAY Sports. Depending on the outcome, a formal hearing could follow.
For now, Shields faces a 90-day suspension, a possible fine and newly surfaced claims about her possible exposure to the drug.
Other boxers tested positive
Shields was not the only boxer on the Feb. 2 card to test positive for marijuana. Eight of the 16 boxers on that night’s card were drug tested by swab, and three tested positive for marijuana, according to Dmitry Salita, the promoter of the show, and Shields’ attorney, Slutsker.
‘That number is highly unusual for a single boxing event, particularly one featuring Claressa and other elite athletes,” Salita said. ‘Given the circumstances, it’s important to review the testing protocols to ensure consistency and fairness.”
Joe Hicks, a middleweight from Michigan, confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that he tested positive for marijuana. Salita said the other boxer who tested positive for marijuana was Skylar Lacy, a heavyweight from Indiana, who did not respond to USA TODAY Sports’ requests for comment left by voicemail, text message and social media.
Hicks, who is 12-0 as a pro boxer, said he worried about potential consequences because he works for an insurance company where ‘you can lose your job for taking any drugs without a prescription.
‘When they called, I was, like, wow,’ he said of learning of the results. ‘I don’t take drugs.’
Adding he was also surprised to hear Shields tested positive, Hicks speculated that marijuana smoke inside the Dort Financial Center in Flint triggered the positive tests.
‘Oh man, it was everywhere,’ he said. ‘I’m not exaggerating. … I was getting dressed to take pictures with my family; it was like a big cloud of weed. When you go in the bathroom, it’s just a big cloud of smoke that hits you. You smell nothing but marijuana.’
Marijuana is legal in Michigan but banned at Dort Financial Center. However, Salita and Shields’ manager, Mark Taffet, said the smell was noticeable.
‘The hallways smelled horrible,’ Taffet said. ‘… Like where (Shields) took the post-fight (drug) test, that sort of ring of hallway around the building, that smelled terrible.’
Jeremy Torrey, general manager of the Dort Financial Center, declined to comment to USA TODAY Sports.
Secondhand smoke a risk?
Whether secondhand smoke can cause a non-smoker to test positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that produces a psychoactive effect, depends on the exposure conditions, according to a 2015 study published in Journal of Analytical Toxicology.
The study, which focused on ‘extreme cannabis smoke exposure conditions tolerable to drug-free nonsmokers,” reported, ‘Positive tests for THC in oral fluid and blood were obtained for nonsmokers up to (three hours) following exposure.”
But the study also concluded, ‘positive tests are likely to be rare, limited to the hours immediately post-exposure, and occur only under environmental circumstances where exposure is obvious.”
A 2004 study published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology reported, ‘Passive exposure to cannabis smoke in an unventilated room has been shown to produce a transient appearance of THC in oral fluid for up to 30 (minutes). However, it is well known that such factors as room size and extent of smoke exposure can affect results.”
Salita, the promoter, said, ‘The amount detected was negligible and consistent with potential secondhand exposure rather than personal use.”
Shields had said the saliva test showed ‘trace’ levels of marijuana in her system, but she has not publicly released the test results.
What Shields may challenge
Victor Conte, who describes himself as a ‘dietary supplement and training adviser” for Shields, said the boxer told him she had concerns about how her saliva test was administered after her fight Feb. 2.
According to Conte, Shields told him the drug testing kit was torn before the test was administered. Conte also said Shields told him the man who administered the test had no backup kit and used a towel to ‘push it back together.”
‘I don’t want to get into all the irregularities,” Conte said, adding, ‘They didn’t follow protocol.”
Shields has drawn criticism for working with Conte, who was the mastermind behind the BALCO steroids scandal that two decades ago tarnished the reputations and accomplishments of Barry Bonds, Marion Jones and dozens of other professional athletes. Conte has since repositioned himself as a leader in the anti-doping movement and works with multiple champion boxers, including Terence Crawford.
Shields is sponsored by SNAC, Conte’s supplement company, and the deal includes financial support, according to Conte.
Conte indicated another issue likely to be addressed at the hearing is Michigan’s use of saliva tests, also known as oral fluid tests and conducted with a swab.
“Swab tests have a number of disadvantages compared with urine and blood analysis,’’ James Fitzgerald, head of media relations for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), told USA TODAY Sports. “They are less accurate and do not allow quantitative analysis, more limited in the number of substances that can be identified, and more prone to contaminations. They have never been considered robust enough for the level of scientific quality required under the World Anti-Doping Code.’’
How drug testing works in Michigan
The MUCC, which regulates boxing in the state, contracts a third-party testing company to provide the ‘oral fluid’ drug tests so a fighter can be tested immediately after the contest, according to Abby Rubley, director of communications for Michigan’s licensing and regulatory affairs. The agency assists the MUCC with drug testing and other matters.
‘These tests are processed by a globally recognized laboratory with all the appropriate controls and procedures in place,” Rubley said by email. ‘A positive specimen is always independently verified by a medical review officer to determine if the positive result has a legitimate medical explanation and ensure the accuracy of the testing process.
‘Additionally, oral fluid testing is best at detecting recent drug use, which supports the overall purpose of the drug testing laws and rules to prevent those with the presence of controlled substances, alcohol, enhancers, etc., from competing in unarmed combat events in this state.”
But last week, Shields’ manager posted on Facebook a copy of a lab result indicating Shields took a urine test that detected no marijuana in her system. The urine sample, according to what Shields posted, was collected Feb. 8, six days after the post-fight saliva test showed marijuana in her system.
Marijuana can be detected in urine for between three and 30 days after use, according to Mayo Clinic Laboratories, and detected in saliva for up to 24 hours after use, according to the Council on Drugs and Alcohol.
‘The moment I received the saliva test result, I acted immediately to schedule a follow-up urine test to ensure complete clarity,” Shields wrote on Instagram and provided a timeline of the drug testing.
In hopes of clearing his name, Hicks said, he also paid for a urine test. A copy of the results shared with USA TODAY Sports shows no marijuana was found in Hicks based on a urine sample collected Feb. 14, two weeks after the event.
Confusion in Michigan
WADA tests for marijuana and allows a threshold of 150 ng/mL – about 50 times the amount Shields’ camp has said drug test results show was in her system. But the Michigan boxing commission has no allowable limit.
In Michigan, marijuana is legal for recreational and medicinal use. But according to Weatherspoon, marijuana is prohibited for contestants at boxing events because the drug is illegal under federal law.
“So the fighters, who don’t really know about the federal guidelines, they think it’s OK,’’ Weatherspoon said.
The Michigan commission posts a list of prohibited substances on its website.
Boxing is regulated state-by-state, and ‘numerous” state boxing commissions do not test for marijuana anymore, said Mike Mazzulli, president of the Association of Boxing Commissions. The change has occurred as legalization of marijuana for recreational use has expanded to 24 states.
Salita, the promoter, said Shields has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs or marijuana. Before Shields’ fight in February, according to Salita, she was enrolled for testing with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), which uses urine and blood tests.
“The results confirmed both fighters tested negative for PEDs,’’ he said.
VADA does not test for marijuana. Shields is offering no apologies.
‘I stand by who I am, a clean athlete with nothing to hide,” she said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. ‘While this situation is frustrating, I’m confident the truth will come out. I’m grateful to my family, team, fellow athletes, and everyone who’s shown support – your belief in me means everything. I’ll continue to fight with pride as the people’s champion and The GWOAT.’