Deer Antler Velvet Spray Company Suing Major League Baseball

Nutronics Labs, the makers of a deer antler velvet substance promoted as one of the latest performance enhancing products, is suing Major League Baseball.  According to Darren Rovell of CNBC.com, Nutronics Labs alleges that Major League Baseball made “false, misleading and malicious” statements that have significantly damaged the company’s business.

Deer antler velvet products are said to stimulate muscular development and help athletes recover from injury.  Major League Baseball sent out a letter to all players recommending they not take the product due to the chance that they test positive for methyltestosterone, a banned substance by MLB’s standards.

Nutronics Labs CEO Dr. Ricardo Lentini has said that this resulted in a significant drop in the company’s business.  Lentini went as far as saying that perhaps as much as $50 million had been lost due to MLB’s letter.

According to Lentini, deer antler velvet has never tested positive for methyltestosterone or any other steroid contaminant.

While Major League Baseball hasn’t banned IGF-1, deer antler velvet’s active ingredient, Lentini said the league’s letter had the same impact as a ban.  Players at the professional and college levels stopped ordering the product and programs and organizations shunned Nutronics Labs.

Major League Baseball hasn’t released a statement regarding the pending case.

It makes sense for the commissioner’s office to be hesitant of anything that has the words “performance enhancing” attached to it.  MLB is slowing coming out of the steroid era, and it won’t be able to separate itself from that time period if the sport continues to be tied to questionable substances, regardless of their makeup.

For a better understanding of deer antler spray products and their uses, be sure to check out Justin Klugh’s serious and in no way tough-in-cheek article from August.

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