MLB to – Major League Baseball is expected to speak with Dodgers team doctor Neal ElAttrache after an investigation tied him to support for Conor McGregor’s claimed use of performance-enhancing drugs. The inquiry arrives as McGregor is scheduled to return to the octago
For Major League Baseball, the first question is simple: what exactly did a prominent team doctor do—and why does it matter beyond the diamond?
MLB is expected to talk with Los Angeles Dodgers team doctor Neal ElAttrache after he allegedly supported Conor McGregor’s use of performance-enhancing drugs. according to a report by New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt. ElAttrache is the Dodgers’ primary team doctor and also works for the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL.
The doctor’s profile is wide enough to reach Hollywood as well. He is described as a well-known physician who works not only with professional athletes but also with Hollywood actors.
Inside the sports calendar, the timing is what makes the story land hard. McGregor, who reportedly took performance-enhancing drugs after breaking his leg in 2021, is scheduled to return to the octagon and compete against Hawaiian fighter Max Holloway at UFC 329 on Saturday, July 11.
The report says McGregor’s injury occurred during the first round of his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. While the investigation describes the underlying drug issue, officials and experts focus on what ElAttrache allegedly did around it.
ElAttrache told the Times that he repaired McGregor’s leg injury before sending him to a bone healing specialist. He also said, “I don’t prescribe hormone or steroid treatment.” Steroids are known to help athletes build muscle faster than normal and are prohibited by most major sports leagues.
According to the report, after McGregor saw the specialist, ElAttrache wrote a letter to support McGregor’s application for a special exemption that would have allowed him to use performance-enhancing drugs without facing a penalty.
UFC’s drug testing program officials indicated to the Times that McGregor. seeking the exemption. was trying to exploit a loophole to use banned drugs. Because athletes have previously tried to work through similar exemptions, antidoping officials have set a high bar for granting them. Under that standard. athletes have to prove they have an acute or chronic medically diagnosed condition and provide evidence there are no other alternatives to treat it.
The issue of status is one of the sharpest edges here. The report says that while McGregor was a retired fighter. he was no longer required to provide urine and blood tests to the United States Anti-Doping Agency. With a publicly announced fight scheduled, he is treated as an active fighter who must take the necessary tests.
USADA declined to answer questions regarding McGregor and ElAttrache, according to the Times. The NFL also had not yet commented to the Times about how the league plans to handle the situation.
The sequence of facts creates a stark contrast: a doctor tied to elite team medicine and league-level oversight allegedly supported a pathway meant to avoid penalties, while antidoping authorities emphasize that exemptions require rigorous proof and no viable alternatives.
MLB Los Angeles Dodgers Neal ElAttrache Conor McGregor performance-enhancing drugs USADA UFC drug testing UFC 329 Max Holloway Los Angeles Rams anti-doping exemptions