Massimo Manfra

Penn State wrestling former National Champion Aaron Brooks has officially been suspended for two years by USADA for a doping violation. USADA sought a four-year suspension but an arbitrator sided with Brooks, resulting in his return date being June 12, 2027. Here’s a full breakdown of the arbitration ruling: Brooks submitted a sample on April 21, 2025, which tested positive for “for an anabolic agent of exogenous origin as a result of his purchase and use of a clearly-labeled, single ingredient DHEA supplement.” The agent is prohibited “at all times.” The arbitration case was to determine if Brooks had “met his burden of establishing that his violations were unintentional and if so, whether he can establish no significant fault or negligence.” USADA asserts that Brooks was given an anti-doping education including a handbook that lists DHEA as a prohibited substance. Brooks was notified of his failed test on June 13, 2025 and placed under provisional suspension. I’ll quote this next part directory from the arbitration report: “Respondent waived testing of his B sample and explained that his positive test wascaused by a DHEA supplement he had purchased and taken in the days leading up to sample collection despite not having declared it on his doping control form. Responded explained that on April 15, 2025, five days after being released from the hospital where he was treated for double pneumonia, he purchased a container of Life Extension brand DHEA from his local grocery store while stocking up on his “normal supplements.” He stated that while he was hospitalized, doctors told him he might have sleep apnea which could negatively impact his testosterone levels, although no testing was done to confirm a low testosterone diagnosis. Respondent recalled this conversation on April 15 while buying his usual supplements and noticed a DHEA product that he believed would increase his testosterone based on the label advertising the promotion of “optimal hormone levels.” Brooks recalled taking two 25mg tablets of DHEA per day between April 15 and 21. On “April 30, 2025, he searched DHEA on his ChatGPT account, which immediately notified him that DHEA was a prohibited substance for Olympic athletes. In Respondent’s words, realizing that DHEA was prohibited “was a tough moment. The bottle literally says DHEA, and I go to the [Prohibited] List, and it says DHEA, so I knew right away what it was.”” USADA charged Brooks on August 28, 2025, for the use of DHEA and the presence of an anabolic agent of exogenous origin in his sample. On September 5, 2025,Brooks requested a hearing on the matter. The hearing took place on Zoom on November 24, 2025. The results were delayed due to the holidays upcoming at the time. USADA argued that Brooks displayed recklessness in using DHEA and cannot prove his conduct was incidental. Brooks argued that he was “merely oblivious” that his actions were a violation and that his recent diagnosis of Pneumonia, as well as his ADHD for which he hadn’t taken medication for, factored into the decision he made at the time. USADA sought a suspension of four years for the violation. Brooks accepted fault for the violation, but sought a suspension of no more than two years. The arbitrator decided that Brooks met the burden of proof that the violation was unintentional, placing the suspension at two years. He can return on June 12, 2027 Read the entire report below: usada.org/wp-content/uploads…