Issam Asinga files lawsuit demanding compensation from Gatorade following four-year ban

Issam Asinga files lawsuit demanding compensation from Gatorade following four-year ban

Abigael Wafula 09:20 - 12.07.2024

Issam Asinga has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Gatorade, the company he alleges gifted him gummies that led to his four-year ban.

Issam Asinga has filed a lawsuit against Gatorade, the company he bought the gummies that saw him receive a four-year ban from the Athletics Integrity Unit.

Asinga claimed that the Gatorade Recovery Gummies he received for being the Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year in 2023 were responsible for him for testing positive for banned substance GW1516.

Asinga wants the company to compensate him for the millions he has lost after being banned. In the lawsuit he also explained the emotional damage the ban has caused him.

In June, Gatorade provided Asinga with a sealed container of gummies but they tested negative for GW1516. As per Letsrun.com, he found another Gatorade Player of the Year who still had some gummies but they also tested negative. That’s when he thought something was wrong.

Asinga’s gummies also tested negative and he claimed that Gatorade’s delay made him unable to prove his innocence. He insisted that the delay was intentional.

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“Aware that cardarine would not be detectable in the supplement by June 2024, Gatorade knew that turning over a sealed version from the lot number 22092117150234 for testing at that time would further the false impression that that it was Issam, not Gatorade, who was responsible for his failed drug test,” a part of the lawsuit read. Asinga alleged that Gatorade pulled the gummies from the marketplace in March 2023.

In response to Asinga, Gatorade provided a statement to the Washington Post saying noting that their products are safe for consumption and that the claims made by Asinga are false.

“The product in question is completely safe and the claims made are false. … Gatorade products are FDA compliant and safe for athlete consumption, which was validated by the findings of the Athletics Integrity Unit investigation,” they said.

The whole lawsuit can be read here.

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