EPIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY DOPED: THE DIRTY SIDE OF SPORTS UNMASKS THE DARK REALITY OF BANNED SUBSTANCE TESTING

EPIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY DOPED: THE DIRTY SIDE OF SPORTS UNMASKS

THE DARK REALITY OF BANNED SUBSTANCE TESTING

World Television Premiere Airs Wednesday, September 30 at 8PM ET/PT, 7C

From the Conflicts of USADA to the Ongoing Anti-Doping Challenges in Olympic and Professional Sports

As Seen through the Eyes of Elite Athletes

New York, NY – September 9, 2015 – Premium TV network EPIX® announced today that its newest one-hour Original Documentary Doped: The Dirty Side of Sports, which offers a timely and critical look at the history of anti-doping policies in professional sports, will premiere Wednesday, September 30 at 8PM ET/PT, 7C.  The film is executive produced by Bobby Valentine (former MLB Manager, current athletic director of Sacred Heart University), produced and directed by Andrew J. Muscato (“Schooled: The Price of College Sports,” Checkmates) and narrated by Nick Kroll (“Kroll Show,” “The League”). 

The documentary features the inspiring first-hand accounts of athletes who claim their professional careers have been unfairly impacted by ineffective drug testing or intrusive testing protocols. Interviewed are record-setting 2015 World Championship bronze medalist and 2016 United States Olympic sprint sensation Tori Bowie, track coach Philippe DeRosier, former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi and shot put champion Adam Nelson, who claimed his rightfully-earned 2004 Olympics gold medal after a retroactive testing of his Ukrainian competitor confirmed the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Doped: The Dirty Side of Sports presents the many controversies and conflicts surrounding anti-doping policies and implementation along with archival and vérité footage that tell the story of a system that has trouble catching the cheaters. The film also reveals more about what the MLB Commissioner did and did not know about the steroid scandal in baseball through the first-ever public interview with former MLB investigator Ed Dominguez. 

“EPIX strives to present relevant and thought-provoking programming that not only entertains but also informs,” said Mark S. Greenberg, EPIX President and CEO. “The topic of doping is a hot-button issue that continues to spark pointed conversation throughout the sports universe. This documentary offers a compelling look at the efforts to create fairness in testing, while shedding light on the surprising personal stories of everyday athletes.”

Doped: The Dirty Side of Sports also includes conversations with current and former representatives of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) as well as Victor Conte (former BALCO CEO), Armond Armstead (former USC Football player), David Epstein (bestselling author, The Sports Gene), David Howman (WADA Director General), Dick Pound (former WADA President), DeMaurice Smith (Executive Director, NFL Players Association), Renee Anne Shirley (former Executive Director, Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission), ESPN’s T.J. QuinnVice’s Patrick Hruby, noted boxing writer Thomas Hauser and many others.

“The policies used in sports for the war on performance enhancing drugs overreach and underperform,” said Andrew J. Muscato, Producer and Director of the documentary.  “Amazingly clean athletes are not only being harmed by these rules, but they have no say in how to improve what’s clearly a broken system. In order for a global gold standard to truly work, athletes should be a bigger part of the process and that is how we can get to a better and more amicable solution for all. This is a big issue we discuss in the film.”

Doped: The Dirty Side of Sports clip for Media Review only: Former Boxing Champion Paul Malignaggi.

Join the conversation about Doped: The Dirty Side of Sports on Twitter with #Doped or visit http://www.epix.com/doped-the-dirty-side-of-sports.

For photos and press information about this show and other EPIX programming go to http://press.epixhd.com.

Doped: The Dirty Side of Sports is an EPIX Original Documentary produced and directed by Andrew J. Muscato. The executive producers are Bobby Valentine and Robert Musumeci. The co-executive producers are Matthew Byrnes, Robert Castrignano, Douglas Lorentz, Terry Maltese and Ravi Singh. Andrew J. Muscato and Ray Hubley are the writers, Brett Mayfield is the director of photography and Nick Kroll is the narrator.  Music is by Alex Bilo.  Ross Bernard and Jill Burkhart are the executive producers for EPIX.

About EPIX

EPIX® is a premium movie and original programming entertainment service delivering the latest movie releases, classic film franchises, original documentaries, comedy and music events on TV, on demand, online and on devices. Launched in October 2009, EPIX has pioneered the development and proliferation of “TV Everywhere.” It was the first premium network to provide multi-platform access online at EPIX.com and was the first premium network to launch on XBox 360, PlayStation® 3 and 4, Android phones and tablets, Windows 8.1 and Roku® players.  EPIX is available to authenticated subscribers on hundreds of devices including Chromecast and Apple® iPads® and iPhones® and is the only premium service providing all its programming on all platforms, delivering more movies than any other premium network, with thousands of titles available for streaming.

EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM). Through relationships with cable, satellite and telco partners, EPIX is available to over 50 million homes nationwide.  For more information about EPIX, go to www.EPIX.com. Follow EPIX on Twitter and Periscope @EpixHD (http://www.twitter.com/EpixHD) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EPIX), YouTube (http://youtube.com/EPIX), Instagram (http://instagram.com/EPIX), Google+ (http://plus.google.com/+EPIX), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/EPIX) and Vine (https://vine.co/EPIX).

# # #

Media Contacts:

EPIX                                                              

Marlea Willis, mwillis@epix.com /212.846.6748

 

THE LIPPIN GROUP

Pam Golum, pgolum@lippingroup.com / 323.965.1990

Jeanne O’Keefe, jokeefe@lippingroup.com / 323.965.1990

Katie Fuchs, kfuchs@lippingroup.com / 212.986.7080

 

Favorito PR

Joe Favorito, fatherknickerbocker1@yahoo.com  / 201.746.0005