Major League Baseball is planning to question Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the executive director of medical services for the Dodgers as well as the Rams, following a report from The New York Times on Thursday that he supported the therapeutic use of performance-enhancing drugs for UFC star Conor McGregor during his recovery from a severe leg fracture, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The California Post.
The MLB inquiry does not constitute an official investigation, the sources said.
ElAttrache’s role with the Dodgers is not expected to be impacted.
ElAttrache denied any wrongdoing when reached by The California Post on Thursday.
“I look forward to answering whatever questions they may have,” he said.
ElAttrache –– a renowned sports surgeon who has treated superstar athletes across several sports, as well as Hollywood celebrities, in addition to his duties with the Dodgers and Rams –– oversaw the surgery to repair the leg that McGregor broke during a fight in 2021, according to The Times’ report, then subsequently “wrote a letter supporting McGregor’s application for a special exemption that would have allowed him to use performance-enhancing drugs without facing a penalty.”
ElAttrache told The Times that he referred McGregor to specialists in bone healing following his surgery, out of concern that McGregor’s leg would not heal correctly, and “explained that I don’t prescribe hormone or steroid treatment.”
ElAttrache also confirmed he wrote a letter supporting McGregor’s application for a so-called “therapeutic exemption” to use otherwise banned substances but only after the consultants he referred McGregor to deemed that such treatment could optimize his chance of making a full and complete recovery.
“You are acting as if ‘banned drugs’ are somehow ‘illegal drugs’ or that they have no legitimate therapeutic use and only have performance enhancement use,” ElAttrache said. “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.”
ElAttrache also told The Times his support was based on unspecified medical research.
McGregor’s application for the exemption was not granted, after which the mixed martial arts fighter “quietly withdrew from the U.F.C.’s antidoping program, which meant he was no longer subject to drug testing,” according to The Times.
Five years removed from the broken leg, there has been speculation in the UFC world that McGregor used performance-enhancing drugs anyway during his recovery and return to the sport. The Times cited two anonymous sources who claimed UFC officials “learned that McGregor had indeed taken banned drugs while outside the [testing] pool.” McGregor received a backdated 18-month suspension from the UFC for violating testing rules last year.
