Jon ‘Bones’ Jones’ Manager Claims Deal Didn’t Involve Snitching, USADA Responds Back
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones manager Malki Kawa appeared on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, where he claimed that ‘Bones’ didn’t “tell on” anyone in MMA to have a reduction in his suspension by USADA.
Jones was initially facing a 48-month ban due to his positive test for turinabol, but it dropped to 18 months following arbitration. Many wonders 30-month reduction is very significant, how did Jon Jones wrangle such a short sentence. Reports are that ‘Bones’ turned someone into USADA or another anti-doping organization. On those accusations, Kawa said that’s not true; instead, Jones gave out information about himself. (Via MMAJunkie)
“I can just tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Jon did not tell on any teammate,” Kawa, of First Round Management, said on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.” “Jon did not tell on anyone in MMA. Jon did not do anything that these people are saying he did. So all that, ‘He’s a snitch’ and all that stuff, we can put it to bed. He did not do that. There’s other things that took place in here. There’s other things that Jon did with himself. There’s things that USADA – and the arbitrator and everyone involved – got from Jon about Jon that they had never had before.”
After USADA announced the suspension, it was said in the deal that Jones provide ‘Substantial Assistance’ helping USADA or another anti-doping organization discover a violation or criminal offense by another person that led to a reduction in punishment. If you are wondering who former champion snitched on, the agreement doesn’t mention any name.
USADA spokesperson Danielle Eurich responds in regards to Malki Kawa’s statement, where she cited rule 10.6.1.1 and said Jones continues cooperation in providing all the information is vital or else the reduction would be rescinded.
“Importantly, if the athlete or support personnel fails to continue to cooperate and provide credible substantial assistance, USADA will reinstate the original sanction,” Eurich said. “These rules set out in 10.6.1.1 are crystal clear, and if they are not met, an individual would not be considered for a reduction based on substantial assistance.”
The “substantial assistance” rule in the UFC anti-doping program allows USADA to “suspend all or part” of a potential suspension for providing information “which results in a criminal or disciplinary body discovering or bringing forward a criminal offense or the breach of professional rules committed by another person.”
She didn’t discuss the nature of ‘Bones’ assistance, as it involves “ongoing matters.”
On being asked about Jones cooperation requirements, Kawa said it’s unclear but Jones contributions moving forward is not insignificant.
“It’s not like Jon sits in a room somewhere and watches people do steroids, and then he’s like, ‘Hey man, guess what, my teammate over here is doing steroids,’” Kawa said. “Jon goes and trains, gets his stuff, and he goes home. He doesn’t take a shower there. He doesn’t really hang out there. He comes in, does his thing, and he leaves. So he doesn’t sit there and hang out like that, or would know about anyone that does that. He doesn’t do that. So when people say these things, to me, it’s a funny thing.
“I’m assuming if Jon’s name comes up in something, and he was to know something, he would have to be cooperative with them. But I don’t know of a deal where it’s like, ‘Hey, we’re going to continue to’ – I don’t know about that. That’s not how it went down. I don’t want to assume anything or have this turn into a disaster all of a sudden. But from what I understand, a lot of the stuff they were talking about had to do with him – not other people.”
Jones is eligible to return to Octagon on October 28th following his 15-month suspension. Kawa said rematches with Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson are top options when Jones returns.
