Jeff Novitzky (born December 15, 1967) is the current Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance for the UFC, the world's largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. He previously served as a special agent for the Food and Drug Administration, investigating the use of steroids in professional sports. Before April 2008 he was a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service who investigated the use of steroids for over five years.[1] Novitzky's work has been credited with "changing the face of sports."[2]

Early life and education

Novitzky grew up in Burlingame, California and graduated from Mills High School in Millbrae, California, in 1986.[3][4] While at Mills High School, Novitzky high jumped 7-feet, still the only high school athlete in San Mateo County history to achieve the 7-foot mark. Novitzky was the Peninsula Athletic League's (PAL's) Most Valuable Player in boys basketball in 1986. After graduating from Mills High School, Novitzky enrolled at the University of Arizona on a track and field scholarship,[5] before transferring to Skyline College to continue his basketball career. Novitzky played two seasons of basketball at Skyline but just one game in his second season due to injuries. In 1989, Novitzky transferred to San Jose State University on a basketball scholarship. For the San Jose State Spartans, Novitzky played two games as a reserve forward in the 1989–90 season, Stan Morrison's first as head coach.[6] Again, injuries limited Novitzky's playing time to those two games.[5] Novitzky graduated from San Jose State in 1992 with a degree in accounting.[7]

Investigations

Novitzky first gained public notoriety during his role as a federal agent for the IRS. In a 2002 investigation which came to be known as the BALCO scandal, Novitzky was the lead investigative special agent for a raid on a San Francisco Bay Area laboratory co-operative that was supplying banned substances to dozens of elite professional athletes. The investigation is recognized as the world's most well known performance enhancing drug scandal in sports history.[8] The resulting fallout implicated many well-known athletes in cheating at various high level competitions including Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Olympic Games. Notable athletes involved included Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, Barry Bonds, Bill Romanowski, and Jason Giambi.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Novitzky was the lead special agent on the federal perjury trial of Barry Bonds. The trial detailed the extensive history of Bonds' athletic performance enhancing drug use during his quest for the two most hallowed records in American professional sports, the single season and all-time home run marks.

On May 20, 2010, the New York Daily News reported that Novitzky was involved in an investigation into performance enhancing drug use on Lance Armstrong's Tour de France teams, and that Armstrong's former teammate Floyd Landis was cooperating with the investigation.[15] In a December 2018 UFC press conference, Novitzky referred to Armstrong as "one of the biggest frauds and cheats in professional sport history." [16] Previously, Marion Jones, a track and field Olympian winner, pleaded guilty in October 2007 to making false statements to Novitzky.

The bulk of the names provided in the Mitchell Report about doping in Major League Baseball were provided by Radomski and Brian MacNamee, a personal trainer for MLB pitcher Roger Clemens, both of whom Novitzky persuaded to talk to Senator Mitchell and his staff.[17]

In his book The Secret Race, former professional cyclist Tyler Hamilton wrote that Novitzky drove a "bulldozer" through the sport of cycling in uncovering details about the pervasive use of performance enhancing drugs.[18]

Novitzky has been compared to famed U.S. Treasury Department investigator Elliott Ness.[19]

Starting in April 2015, Novitzky began working for the UFC as their Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance. Within this role at the UFC, Novitzky oversees all anti-doping efforts, as well as other athlete related health and performance initiatives within the organization. The UFC's program is widely recognized as the most comprehensive anti-doping program in professional sports.[20] In both 2016 and 2019, Novitzky was nominated for the category "Leading Man" at the World MMA Awards, awarded to the leading industry executive.[21] In July 2019, Novitzky was promoted by the UFC to Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance.[22] [23][11][13]

Criticism

Novitzky has been criticized by certain defendants in steroid-related cases as being biased and unfair.[3] Novitzky, in multiple cross examinations, including during the federal perjury investigation of Roger Clemens, has been a credible government witness. [24][25] [26]

The Joe Rogan Experience

Novitzky has appeared as a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on three separate occasions. It was Brendan Schaub who coined Novitzky's nickname, "The Golden Snitch."[27][28][29]

Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson

In 2019, Novitzky appeared as a guest on Mike Tyson's podcast Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson.[30] Tyson hailed Novitzky for his contribution to keeping the combat sports community clean. In reference to Novitzky's nickname, "The Golden Snitch", Tyson stated “No, that’s not a golden snitch. He is a discoverer of people that are doing devilish and wicked things. People that are hurting people physically.”

References

  1. ↑ Watching athletes go cold turkey Archived 2012-05-27 at the Wayback Machine M & G
  2. ↑ October 2010, Daniel Friebe 28 (28 October 2010). "Lance Armstrong's new nemesis: Federal agent Jeff Novitzky?". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2021-01-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 Wilson, Duff; Schmidt, Michael S. (November 8, 2007). "A Harvest of Trash and Turmoil for an Agent Fighting Steroids". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
  4. ↑ "Mills High School". mhsvikings.olinesports.com. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  5. 1 2 Fainaru-Wada, Mark; Williams, Lance (2006), Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports, Penguin, ISBN 110121676X
  6. ↑ "1990 San Jose State Spartans". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  7. ↑ "Big Fish". Outside Magazine. September 30, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  8. ↑ Research, CNN Editorial (2013-10-31). "BALCO Fast Facts". CNN Digital. Retrieved 2021-01-31. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  9. ↑ Peter, Josh (3 September 2018). "BALCO figures offer how to rid sports of doping 15 years after scandal". USA Today. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  10. ↑ Peter, Josh (14 October 2015). "Jeff Novitzky opens up on Barry Bonds, BALCO investigation". USA Today. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  11. 1 2 Peter, Josh (14 October 2015). "Jeff Novitzky, responsible for BALCO bust, aims to clean up UFC". USA Today. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  12. ↑ Pessah, Jon (1 March 2009). "Over the Line? Critics Conflicted on Steroids Crusader". ABC News. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  13. 1 2 Maese, Rick (2 May 2016). "He busted Marion Jones and Lance Armstrong; now top steroid cop works for UFC". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  14. ↑ "Jose Canseco to spill juice to Jeff Novitzky and feds". Daily News. New York.
  15. ↑ Vinton, Nathaniel (2010-05-20). "Floyd Landis outlines elaborate doping system in letters, details Lance Armstrong's alleged role". The New York Daily News. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
  16. ↑ "UFC's Jeff Novitzky responds to Lance Armstrong, calls him 'the biggest fraud in sports'". MMA Junkie. 2018-12-29. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  17. ↑ Schmidt, Michael S. (30 December 2007). "Jeff Novitzky". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  18. ↑ "Tyler Hamilton exposes cult of back-alley tactic that helped Lance Armstrong make millions in new book 'The Secret Race'". Daily News. New York.
  19. ↑ "UFC hires "Eliot Ness" of anti-doping to lead new drug testing program". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  20. ↑ "Novitzky details UFC efforts in anti-doping | UFC". ru.ufc.com (in Russian). 14 September 2018. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  21. ↑ Tucker, Bryan (2019-07-03). "World MMA Awards 2019 Results". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  22. ↑ "Jeff Novitzky promoted to UFC senior VP of athlete health and performance". MMA Junkie. 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  23. ↑ "Anti-Doping Expert Jeff Novitzky Joins UFC as Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance". Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  24. ↑ "Roger Clemens' defense lawyer Rusty Hardin squares off with federal investigator Jeff Novitzky on the stand at perjury trial". Daily News. New York.
  25. ↑ "Jeff Novitzky | www.ktvu.com". Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
  26. ↑ Sherdog.com. "Breen: What Exactly is Jeff Novitzky's Deal With Jon Jones?". Sherdog.
  27. ↑ "JRE MMA Show #53 with Jeff Novitzky". JRE Podcast. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  28. ↑ "JRE MMA Show #9 with Jeff Novitzky". JRE Podcast. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  29. ↑ "Joe Rogan Experience #685 - Jeff Novitzky". JRE Podcast. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  30. ↑ ""He's Not a Golden Snitch" - Mike Tyson Defends UFC's Jeff Novitzky". EssentiallySports. 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
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