Despite all the strange and surprising actions Ryan Garcia took leading up to, during, and after his fight against Devin Haney last month, one of the least surprising moments was his meeting with former American President Donald Trump during his post-fight celebration.
This meeting was meant to showcase Garcia’s growing fame as the new face of boxing, before news of his failed drug test for ostarine came to light. Little did we know, there were more surprising twists in Garcia’s story to come.
Looking back now, the meeting with Trump seems like a meeting of two individuals who share a tendency to use social media to push their own narratives. Both Garcia and Trump have utilized social media to tell their stories, often disregarding facts or truth in the process.
Garcia started by aligning himself with like-minded individuals who distrusted authority and sought to challenge the status quo. This gave him a loyal following online who would support him through any challenges he faced.
After his failed drug tests, Garcia relied on his social media presence to defend himself and assert his innocence. While some speculated about the details of his tests, Garcia used social media to declare himself “cleared” of any wrongdoing.
Ryan Garcia (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)
Despite being cleared of one banned substance, Garcia still has ostarine in his system, which raises questions about his innocence. The media coverage and speculation surrounding his case only added to the confusion.
In the current landscape of boxing and PEDs, social media has become a platform for boxers to proclaim their innocence without waiting for official processes to unfold. This trend raises concerns about how PED cases are handled in the sport.
The concept of the B sample has become a focal point in these cases, allowing boxers to delay consequences and manipulate the narrative. This culture undermines the principle of strict liability and complicates the process of proving guilt in doping cases.
For a sport already fraught with ambiguity and danger, the focus on B samples and social media narratives only adds to the complexity of addressing PED use in boxing.