Ex-Pitcher Says Doping Probe Hurt Business

MANHATTAN (CN) — Major League Baseball was way off base when it falsely accused a former pitcher of doping and soliciting baseball player clients, the athlete says in a federal complaint, accusing the league of destroying his business.

Calling himself a "sports science guru," Neiman Nix says the injuries that sidelined his eight-year pitching career in 2003 were just the beginning.

After nine surgeries and working with the top orthopedic surgeons, Nix says he perfected how to apply force properly when throwing to avoid injuries.

Nix opened a year-round clinic for athletes called the American Baseball Institute in 2006, and six years later started "a state-of-the-art sports science testing facility for human performance called DNA Sports Performance Lab."

DNA Sports uses an insulin-like growth factor derived from elk antlers to improve body performance in its clients, according to the complaint, filed July 14.

Nix says the World Anti-Doping Agency approved his line of products, but that he "does not work with MLB players at DNA Sports Lab and has never tried to market or recommend this product to any MLB player or knowingly sold his product to an MLB player."

The lab wasn't even open a year, however, before the Biogenesis doping scandal broke in early 2013.

Yankees player Alex Rodriguez was found to have doped that same year, and the MLB intensified its scrutiny of performance-enhancing drugs and supplements among its players.

Nix notes that South Florida — where he used to live and run his business — was at Ground Zero of the investigation.

The MLB allegedly contacted DNA Sports in April 2013, accusing Nix of selling illegal substances to players and.

Nix says his clients were told that DNA was somehow involved in the Biogenesis scandal.

"As a result of MLB's false accusations to many members of the baseball community and Nix's clientele, many believed Nix was tied to the scandal and his reputation was quickly tarnished," the complaint states.

When Nix asked the MLB to stop contacting his clients with the false accusations, according to the complaint, league investigator Dan Mullin warned Nix that, if he did not "drop it," the MLB would have Nix criminally charged for making fraudulent misrepresentations to minors.

Nix also accuses the MLB of hacking into DNA Sports' social media accounts through league Vice President of Information Security Neil Boland, also a defendant in the case.

The lawsuit references instances where DNA Sports' YouTube account was flagged 17 times by an untraceable IP address in 2014, as well as the shuttering of Nix's PayPal account.

Referencing an unsuccessful 2014 lawsuit Nix filed in Florida, the MLB called Nix's newest lawsuit "baseless litigation."

The Cincinnati Reds drafted him right out of high school in 1998, and he went on to pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers and various minor league teams, according to the complaint.

Nix says the MLB cost him his first business too, wrongfully accusing him of using phony baseball scouts to lure players.

"As a result of MLB's conduct, many players at ABI left abruptly, and in or about January 2012, Nix was forced to sell the majority of his shares in ABI at a fraction of their worth," the complaint states.

Nix noted that his Florida-based "lab" did not work with baseball players "since he was bound by a non-compete agreement with ABI in order to maintain ten percent of ownership in ABI that he had retained."

Now living in Texas, Nix is represented in his New York lawsuit by Vincent White.

Follow @NickRummell

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