Gatlin Will Claim Sabotage In Defense of Doping Charges

Novitzky is expected to testify at today's hearing. It will be the first time he has attended an anti-doping arbitration as a witness called by an athlete. USADA has also called him as a witness. Novitzky declined comment in an e-mail.

An athlete's "substantial cooperation" could result in a penalty being reduced, according to the WADA code.

Gatlin faces an eight-year ban instead of the standard two-year penalty for a steroid positive because this is his second offense. Gatlin's supporters contend, however, that the first offense -- a 2001 positive test at a junior national championships for a stimulant in the attention deficit disorder medication Gatlin had been taking since childhood -- should be struck from the record and he should face no more than a two-year ban.

In its opinion at the time, the panel said Gatlin, who was 19 and a student at the University of Tennessee, had "neither cheated nor did he intend to cheat."

Whetstine massaged Gatlin the day before the test at the Kansas Relays and the day of the event, a relay in which Gatlin's team finished first, Gatlin said. Gatlin plans to tell the arbitration panel that tension between himself and Whetstine early in 2006 could have provided a possible motive for the alleged sabotage, he said. Whetstine did not accompany Gatlin on a training trip to Jamaica as expected after a dispute over a bonus, and he had verbally sparred with Graham that spring over work-related issues, Gatlin said.

Whetstine declined a recent request for comment. He has denied rubbing a testosterone-based cream on Gatlin through his attorney.

"From our investigation, it appears the only way the substance could have entered his body was through something rubbed on his skin," Collins said. "We have been unable to rule out [Whetstine's] involvement and look forward to cross-examining him."

Gatlin said a public-records search on Whetstine after the positive test revealed information that made him question Whetstine's integrity and which will be introduced during the hearing. Whetstine was convicted on felony marijuana charges in 1994 and in 2002 received a $1,500 fine and probation for "unprofessional conduct that could endanger the health or safety of a client or the public," according to the Oregon Board of Massage Therapists, according to public records. A spokesman for the board declined to elaborate. Whetstine also has been the plaintiff in two personal-injury lawsuits, one of which is ongoing, public records showed.

"As to his technique and talent, he's a great massage therapist," Gatlin said. "But to mirror that, he is a despicable person. The information we found out about him . . . showed me this guy needs to be banned from massaging anybody else for the rest of his life."

Whetstine, who resides in Eugene, Ore., worked for years as a massage therapist for Nike, traveling on the international track circuit to provide massages to some of the company's biggest track and field stars, including five-time Olympic medal winner Marion Jones. Whetstine, however, said in a lawsuit filed in June seeking nearly $4 million that he can no longer work in the industry because of injuries sustained in a fight with a Nike employee in June of 2006.

Even if Collins is able to show that Whetstine or someone else administered a drug to Gatlin, Gatlin could still be held accountable because the WADA code holds athletes responsible for the behavior of those in their "inner circle," such as coaches, trainers and spouses.

Since learning of his positive test, Gatlin has tried out with several NFL teams. Gatlin, however, said his first love is track, and he hopes to return to the sport in time for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

"We are looking forward to the hearing Monday," Collins said. "It has been a very long year for Justin."