Kizer: Sonnen's claims at CSAC hearing could cost him

While Chael Sonnen got his suspension cut in half at his hearing with the California State Athletic Commission this afternoon, he may have gotten himself in more trouble thanks to a statement about a conversation he claimed to have had with Keith Kizer, the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.  Sonnen claimed that he had spoken to Kizer about his use of testosterone as part of hormone replacement therapy, had the use approved by Kizer, and was told by Kizer that he didn't need to mention it again.  At the very least, Kizer had already told me that Sonnen had never requested a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone when it was revealed that Sonnen's claim would be based around testosterone replacement therapy.  With Sonnen's claim on the record involving a conversation with Kizer, I got in touch with him again to get his thoughts on what Sonnen said today.

He immediately noted that "I have never talked to Chael Sonnen in my life," regardless of the subject.  With regards to Sonnen's licensing in Nevada when the California suspension expires, he added that it would have to wait until after the California suspension expires, and then "if Mr. Sonnen wants to get a license here in Nevada, it's probably best if he appears before our commission as opposed to me giving him one administratively."  As far as the comments during the hearing could be an issue:  "Possibly.  I mean anything's a possible issue, but yeah, it's probably best that he appears before the commission and explains what he meant by that.  I'm very confused."

After the hearing, Sonnen refused to speak to any reporters, including Josh Gross of ESPN, who repeatedly asked about the Kizer comments.

As far as the rest of the hearing goes, Mike Fagan did a great job liveblogging the hearing a Bloody Elbow if you want to read the live reactions.

Anyway, what just happened was a complete embarrassment to the California State Athletic Commission, the UFC, and the sport of MMA in general.  I'm not even sure what to think of it.

The...err...highlights included:

• Sonnen blaming the CSAC, who had no records of the paperwork he submitted before the Yushin Okami fight where he requested a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for testosterone.
• Sonnen claiming that he was teased during his adolescent years over not going through puberty (it wasn't clear if he meant literally or not until later, as it's a stretch even by Sonnen standards to say that it had been going on so long without diagnosis or treatment)
• Sonnen claiming that the CSAC okayed Matt Lindland's use of testosterone.
• Sonnen claiming that he had believed that UFC's Dr. Davidson was part of the CSAC.  He asserted that Davidson was aware of all of his testosterone use.
• Dr. Mark Czarnecki, D.O., Sonnen's physician, being a total embarrassment.  He testified in a T-shirt while chewing gum and may have been in no condition to perform testify.  He's not an endocrinologist or a urologist, but he's undergoing some sort of life extension/anti-aging training (no, that's not a warning sign at all).  When asked if he knew who "Dana" was, he answered "a high capacity...UFC...uh..." before being cut off.  He didn't know of any drugs that could lower natural testosterone levels (like steroids).  This was simultaneously incredibly uncomfortable and incredibly hilarious to watch.
• Sonnen's lawyers claiming that the suspension violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.

If you want to watch the archive of this trainwreck, it's available here.