Tim Montgomery v. United States Anti-Doping Agency

Tim Montgomery (defendant) was an elite Olympic track-and-field athlete. In and out of competition settings, Montgomery had not tested positive for drugs. However, Montgomery was apparently involved with the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO), which provided him with prohibited performance-enhancing steroids, creams, and hormones that were undetectable or difficult to detect through routine testing. BALCO and its documents allegedly implicated Montgomery in a doping conspiracy. Additionally, certain of Montgomery’s blood and urine tests in 2000 and 2001 were reportedly abnormal or unusual. In March 2001 at an international competition, Montgomery had a conversation with Kelli White, an athlete who admitted to doping. During the conversation, Montgomery relayed to White that he used a prohibited substance known colloquially as “the Clear” and that the Clear made his calves tight. Montgomery asked White whether she had experienced the same thing. In 2004, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) (plaintiff) charged Montgomery with violating anti-doping rules. Montgomery agreed to bypass a domestic hearing process and have the matter heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Before the CAS panel, the USADA presented seven types of evidence, and the parties made oral arguments. Montgomery did not testify in his own defense. The CAS had to determine whether Montgomery was guilty of doping despite the lack of drug-test evidence.