Josh Barnett reacts to USADA decision: ‘I proved my innocence’

Yesterday, after a very lengthy process, the United States Anti-Doping agency reached a resolution in their case against Josh Barnett. The veteran heavyweight tested positive for Ostarine in December 2016 and was facing up to a four-year suspension, but he chose to take his case to arbitration. And in the end, he proved his case and was only issued a public reprimand by USADA.

Not long after the decision was made public, Barnett took to Twitter to give his side of things:

The arbiter believed Barnett’s stance that he had taken a tainted supplement, and released a statement saying that Barnett was not trying to cheat:

“On the evidence before me, the Applicant is not a drug cheat. He unknowingly ingested a Contaminated Product. In so doing, he did commit an ADPV [Anti-Doping Policy Violation] because he had a Prohibited Substance in his Sample but he did not actively engage in attempting, in any way, to engage in the use of the Prohibited Substance.”

Barnett (35-8, 7-3 UFC) hasn’t competed since a submission win over Andrei Arlovski in September 2016. It is unclear when he will be returning to the Octagon.