By The Jiu-Jitsu world was rocked this week with the announcement of a number of massive suspensions for top grapplers after failed drug tests, with no announcement causing more upset than the news of failed tests by Fight Sports’ Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu and Vagner Rocha, two men with otherwise stellar records of upstanding behavior. While it’s long been speculated the top levels of the sport are rife with juice use, and that equilateral triangle is not a natural torso shape, few if any fans would expect such low behavior from a team that is so widely viewed as the true paragons of the sport.
“It’s really shattering me to my core, if I’m being honest,” said blue belt Tyler Hardy. “They’re just really, really good at Jiu-Jitsu and so you naturally expect that means they are good people, too. People you can count on to do what’s right when it really matters, so learning they are just cheaters is a real blow.”
Although it’s clear the doping violations will have an impact on the popularity of both men and their team, many cautioned not to rush to judgment. Fans insist that nobody should be indicted for just one slip of conscience in an otherwise unimpeachable record, and that it’s important nobody make the men or their teammates feel unsafe or unwelcome in the sport.
