GNC is facing "criticism from USA Track & Field" over the nutritional supplement company's ties to the USATF Foundation, according to Brent Schrotenboer of USA TODAY. GNC interim CEO Bob Moran sits on the USATF Foundation's BOD, "even though his company sells substances that are banned for USATF athletes." GNC also had been "listed on the foundation's website as a corporate partner of the foundation -- a listing that since has been removed." USATF said that it "doesn't select the foundation's board members or approve its business decisions." But it is "closely aligned with the foundation, having helped form it" in '02. Schrotenboer notes the USATF Foundation "gives grants to athletes under the condition that they don't take banned substances." It also has "received money from GNC through a program in which GNC customers were encouraged to make small donations to USATF Foundation programs when buying products at GNC stores." Under this program, GNC customers in effect "could donate to the track foundation while buying several bottles of DHEA, a steroid hormone that is banned for the same athletes the foundation supports with those donations." GNC said that only a "small fraction" of the products it sells "contain substances banned by the NFL" and WADA. However, GNC also has "faced allegations that it had sold products containing illegal substances that pose a health risk to consumers, including the stimulant DMAA." While the USATF Foundation is separate from USATF, the USADA said that national governing bodies "should be careful about how they relate to supplement companies" (USA TODAY, 3/9).
