Richard Schaefer Lashes Out at VADA, Team Peterson

Golden Boy Promotions boss Richard Schaefer is spitting some pretty hot fire toward the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) and Lamont Peterson and his team following the cancellation of the May 19 rematch between Peterson and Golden Boy's Amir Khan, following a failed drug test from Peterson in March, which was known to Peterson and VADA on April 13, but not by Golden Boy until May 7, when the rest of the world also found out.

In an interview with BoxingScene.com, Schaefer spoke boldly about VADA's position that they were not obligated to inform Golden Boy of the failed test, and is apparently threatening legal action if necessary.

Here's what VADA said earlier in their official statement:

In order for VADA to release the preliminary "A" sample results to a third party such as GBP, VADA requires an executed authorization allowing us to do so. VADA sent GBP a draft contract for its signature which would have authorized the preliminary "A" sample results to be released to GBP. This initial draft (which was never signed) contained a clause pursuant to which GBP would have represented that it had obtained the necessary authorization from the fighters. GBP's legal team rejected this clause and instead suggested making the fighters signatories to the contract with their signatures being the necessary authorization. VADA's counsel made it clear to GBP that, if GBP wanted to handle it this way, GBP must take responsibility for obtaining the athlete's signatures. Unfortunately, and to VADA's dismay, GBP never obtained the signatures.
Various versions of a draft contract were sent back and forth between GBP and VADA. The contract was never finalized. Richard Schaefer may, or may not, have been aware of this situation. The bottom line is that VADA had no contract with GBP. This is not a mere technicality. It involves issues of medical ethics. VADA needed a signed contract in order to deviate from its Results Management Policy (posted on our website) and release the preliminary and personal medical information to a third party. VADA still has never received a signed contract or signed athlete authorization from GBP.
 VADA would have been happy to inform GBP of the preliminary "A" results. But we needed a signed authorization allowing us to do so, which we never received.

Schaefer is literally calling bullshit on this claim:

"And now for people, whether its lawyers or its not lawyers, to go and spin it in a way where 'we're under no obligation to tell the Nevada Athletic Commission, to tell Golden Boy and for that matter to tell anybody' - that is plain straight out bullshit. Bullshit, and you can print that in capital letters. That kind of behavior is unprofessional and disrespectful. And unprofessional and disrespectful I don't tolerate. Those parties will be well advised to stop spinning that bullshit and start telling the truth - acknowledging that they should have informed us."

Schaefer also says that after speaking with Max Boxing's Gabriel Montoya, who has been up, down, and around this story from the beginning, he believes that the testing procedures in boxing need to be updated.

This is encouraging, but the fact remains that VADA's testing, which includes a Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR) test, looks like the most cutting-edge testing that there is, arguably even stronger than that of USADA, the company that Floyd Mayweather uses for his fights.

VADA also recently handled the Canelo vs Mosley fight, and have been brought on to work the Victor Ortiz vs Andre Berto rematch for June 23. If Golden Boy Promotions and VADA wind up at some stand-off where GBP is at their throats, or there ends up being legal issues here, what good is that? They're not going to start hiring USADA for every big fight.

VADA's involvement is a stone cold, 100%, without question good thing for boxing, in my opinion. To see them get elbowed out of important fights where their level of testing absolutely needs to be present at this point would be a major blow to the small steps the sport has taken to get serious about drug testing. The commission tests do nothing. Guys who fail commission tests are idiots.