Light flyweight Luis Yanez was kicked off the U.S. Olympic boxing team for skipping three weeks of residency training without getting permission or even telling USA Boxing where he was, national team coach Dan Campbell claims.

USA Boxing removed Yanez from the Beijing squad after the 106-pound fighter refused to return to the team’s training program in Colorado Springs for most of June. Campbell said Yanez also avoided contact with his national team coaches, who became concerned for his safety.

“I gave him every opportunity, and if people knew all the stuff that he has done, they would be amazed,” Campbell told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “He’s one of the biggest liars I’ve ever met.”

Yanez, who flew home to Dallas on Monday after being denied entrance to the U.S. Olympic Training Center, reacted with surprise and outrage at the decision when speaking to reporters, claiming his absence had been caused by a family emergency.

“They don’t understand that family is really important,” Yanez said. “If our family is really ill, I’m going to try to help as much as I can. ... I tried to work things out with them. They didn’t want to work things out.”

In fact, Campbell said Yanez wouldn’t be in this mess if he had been willing to answer his phone during his absence _ or if he had been even slightly specific about his sister’s apparent illness, which he blamed for his absence.