Major League Baseball will reportedly speak with the Los Angeles Dodgers team doctor, Neal ElAttrache, about his role in Conor McGregor’s alleged use of banned performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
On Wednesday, a report revealed that after the broken leg he suffered in his last UFC fight, Conor McGregor took multiple banned substances on the advice of Dr. Neil ElAttrache. ElAttrache defended his recommendation, stating that it had nothing to do with giving McGregor a competitive advantage.
“There are many ‘banned drugs’ on the list which are necessary to medically treat various conditions which occur in people. That is why a therapeutic use exemption application exists,” the doctor said.
Major League Baseball wants to know more about Conor McGregor’s alleged use of PEDs
The report about Conor McGregor and Dr. ElAttrache, who also works as the team doctor for the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, has now drawn the attention of Major League Baseball. The league reportedly wants to know more about ElAttrache’s involvement in McGregor’s treatment, but it is not an official investigation, according to an MLB source who spoke with The Athletic.
“I have spoken with MLB and I am very comfortable with the process that the league and I will complete to assure the public that I have followed every rule and regulation in my medical treatment of athletes without exception,” The Athletic reports Dr. ElAttrache said in a statement. “My record is completely clean including in this case. I will leave it to MLB officials to provide any further comment as they see fit.”
In interviews with the New York Times, ten sports doctors, anti-doping specialists, sports officials, and trauma surgeons expressed surprise at Dr. ElAttrache’s endorsement of McGregor’s treatment and stated that they could not think of any instance in which an athlete received permission to use a performance-enhancing substance to aid in the healing of a fractured bone.
According to the New York Times, Shohei Ohtani and Tom Brady are among the many baseball and football stars that ElAttrache has treated. The doctor has also operated on, treated or examined 18 of the 29 baseball players who have won the MLB Cy Young or Most Valuable Player Awards over the past 10 years. He has also worked as a consultant for the Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, and Anaheim Ducks.
The Athletic reported that the Dodgers declined to comment on the matter, and the NFL had not responded to requests for comment.