‘I Am Not a Drug Cheat,’ Kerley Insists, Denies Wrongdoing Despite Two-Year Ban

Fred Kerley has insisted he is ‘not a drug cheat’ despite being handed a two‑year ban for three whereabouts failures.

The American sprinter, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics and bronze in Paris, told the Tribunal that the missed tests were not due to negligence on his part.

On May 11, 2024, Kerley said he updated his whereabouts to Jamaica, where he was competing.

‘My presence there was widely publicised. I posted about it several times on my own social media. I am 100% sure that I updated my whereabouts for that event,’ he argued, blaming technical glitches in the USADA Athlete Connect app.

On June 13, Kerley admitted he was outside his Munich hotel room stretching when the DCO arrived.

‘I woke up early and went outside the hotel to do a shakeout and stretching. I was at the hotel but not in my room. I did not see anyone come to test me,’ he explained.

The most contentious failures came on December 6 and 7. Kerley insisted he was inside the apartment during both testing windows. He accused the DCO of failing to make reasonable efforts, pointing to vague logs and short phone calls.

‘It is absolutely clear that the DCO was not attempting to locate the Athlete for the entirety of the 60‑minute window,’ his brief stated.

Despite the Tribunal’s ruling, Kerley maintains his innocence. He asked for the charges to be dismissed or, at worst, reduced to a one‑year sanction.

‘The inability to collect a sample was not due to any negligence on my part,’ he said.