Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently rescinded the 12-month suspension it levied against Cung Le after the striking specialist tested positive for elevated levels of human growth hormone (HGH) following his loss to Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 48, which went down on Aug. 23, 2014 in Macau, China.
After further investigation, there wasn't enough evidence to support the claim that Le had in fact taken any sort of performance enhancing drug (PED).
While that's all fine and well, and Le appreciates the fact that UFC officials made an effort to truly get down to the bottom of the situation, the simple press release it sent out does little in helping Team Le recuperate from the pain caused to them after Cung was labeled a "PED user."
That's why the former Strikeforce middleweight champion told MMA Fighting that he is owed a formal apology.
"I am extremely happy with the UFC's decision to rescind my suspension. I believe the issues raised in regards to the testing procedures as well as the manner in which the results were determined by the UFC clearly support my assertion that I did not use any performance enhancing drugs. I am also happy to take away the fact that the UFC has decided to make the proper changes in their testing procedures which will now ensure that no athlete will ever have to endure the same hardship. While I feel vindicated in this matter, the UFC's press release does little in the way of an apology of which I believe I am rightly owed after unfairly enduring the public's scrutiny. Their decision to announce me as a user of performance enhancing drugs with little thought to the accuracy of the testing or proper procedures has caused my family and I great pain; that we have now come to know was completely unnecessary had the proper care been taken to ensure my test results were in fact valid proof of impropriety."
In addition, Le's manager, Gary Ibarra, added to the statement by saying that had UFC been more diligent in its initial testing methods, this situation would have never happened.
Furthermore, Ibarra says the absence of said formal apology is simply "outrageous."
"The AMR Group is also extremely happy with the UFC's decision to avoid arbitration and rescind their 12 month suspension of Cung Le. The evidence of my client's innocence was overwhelming in this instance and the UFC's decision to forego any further action and exonerate him is proof positive of that. We hope that my client will not now forever be associated with illegal doping especially now that he has been completely cleared of any wrongdoing. Regardless of the UFC's decision, we are left to wonder if this whole matter should have ever happened at all but we do now know several things for certain: 1) my client did not take any performance enhancing drugs, 2) we questioned the propriety of the testing procedures before the UFC announced their initial suspension, 3) sports doping tests should be left to impartial third party experts, and 4) the UFC should have confirmed and evaluated my client's test results before dispensing discipline and making inaccurate statements that could permanently tarnish Cung's previously pristine reputation. The absence of a formal apology, in light of the recent ‘medical advice' the UFC received, which prompted them to lift his suspension, is outrageous. Moreover, the insinuation that my client will not be disciplined due to ‘the [mere] lack of conclusive laboratory results,' is a clear attempt to deflect responsibility and cloud my client's innocence, when, in fact, the mistakes that were made resulted solely from the UFC's reckless and premature actions and decisions."
UFC officials probably won't be in any kind of hurry to get on their hands and knees and apologize, especially after they've already released that weak press release and rescinded the punishment. And to complicate matters, not everyone believes that Le is innocent.
Including an "indifferent" Bisping (via ESPN.com):
"Regarding the suspension being lifted, listen, I'm not a scientist. I don't know all the details. I know the blood samples were destroyed, so it looks like, to me, he got off on a loophole or a technicality. They're saying his HGH levels were high after a fight for a number of natural reasons. Well, his were the only levels that were high. Mine weren't high. Nobody else's were high. He was the one everybody was suspecting going into the fight. There's no smoke without fire, but I'm not a scientist and I haven't even read the stories about it because I couldn't care less. Cung Le is old news for me. Done and dusted. I'm focused on the future."
How about it Maniacs, should UFC issue a formal apology to Le and his family for the "pain" they've caused them? Or is the lifted suspension good enough for you?
It obviously isn't for Team Le.