OT - Cushing loses Def Rookie of Year award - revote to happen
and raise you a Nyuk Nyuk.
As much as I hate to see someone cheat, it's becoming pretty obvious that they are trying to make an example out of him. Per the article:
Cushing's test was positive for elevated levels of hCG, the source familiar with the case told Schefter. The level that he tested positive for was so low that it would not have been considered a positive test even a year ago.
The article also says he tested positive in September and he took tests throughout the year and they all came back negative. Should he have done it? No. Does the stripping of the award seem excessive based on the evidence? Perhaps. I'm not a pharmacologist so I don't know how long-term the effects of the doping could last. But if he was clean during the season, then the award has merit.
the key thing is that he tested positive for a drug that masks. not THE drug but a masking agent. of course he's going to be punished, then, for the drug that no longer can be found.
He hasnt lost it yet, they are going to re-vote and it's possibe that he will lose it. According to Adam Schefter a lot of writers maintained their vote for Cushing, which he says they should. Schefter says Cushing should keep the award and it's possible that he will.
I don't think your going to like me when im angry... UHHHHH CUSHING SMASH!
He must not work out.
The guy on the left looks like a chunkier Napoleon Dynamite.
Why, when any individual who is caught cheating in professional sports, not immediately stripped of all awards, records, and benefits attained through them?
Say what you want about the Olympic committee and it's politics, but here is one area where they get it right. I love the fact they are doing a revote.
that Cushing used any illegal substances during the regular season where he earned the award. He tested positive in September, then didn't test positive again (after testing negative all through the season) until now. It is suspected, but there's a substantial lack of evidence. Do you really want someone stripped of all of their awards, records, and benefits when cheating is merely "suspected?"
Yes. If you are cheating in the offseason then you are cheating during the season. He got caught now he must pay the price. Obviously, I am assuming the tests were legit and no I did not personally observe the tests.
I don't know about that. You're saying because he's cheating now, he obviously cheated LAST season? If Michael Phelps was caught using banned substances at the next Olympics, would you strip him of all his medals despite him passing every test before then? I know Cushing tested positive in September, but that seems a little weird given that offseason testing is fairly frequent, seeing as he was caught recently. I think this decision was made far too hastily and the September incident should have been investigated more thoroughly.
However, if Cushing loses his award, that punishment is still more legitimate than the idea of taking Lawrence Taylor out of the Hall of Fame.
You said it yourself, he tested positive in September. Using steroids in the offseason, then going off the of them during the season, then going back on after the season ends isn't OK. It's very likely that the steroids helped him win the DROY award, so I think this is justified.
that he didn't test positive for steroids. He never did. He HAS tested positive for hcG, which is banned only because it's often used in combination with steroids. That's the only link between him and steroids, and that may be enough for some, but I think that's like convicted someone for murder SOLELY because you found gunshot residue on one of his jackets.
That's not a fair analogy. In the substance abuse policy, it says that testing positive for hcG will be treated the same way as testing positive for steroids, so don't use it.
A better analogy would be if you were caught throwing a dead body into a river. Sure, it's not proof that you killed him, but there's only so many reasons you are trying to cover up a murder, and even if you didn't really kill him, covering it up (using hcG) is still illegal.
If Cushing wasn't using steroids, why would he use a substance to cover it up, that is also illegal? I think you're giving a little too much benefit of the doubt here.
that the abuse policy itself specifically equated hcG with steroids as far as punishment goes. If that's true, than ignore everything I said. Your analogy is the better one.
I know I'm soft-pedaling on Cushing, but it's probably because I'm sick of the "guilty until proven innocent" media vibe that's been affecting sports for the past few years (e.g. Roethlisberger). I understand that most of the athletes accused of their specific wrongdoings were probably making unwise choices, but it seems that they are immediately placed in the same category as people who have been found guilty of the same crime by a jury.
Now, I don't know if steroids and hcG are exactly equal in terms of punishment, just like murder and covering up a murder are not, but I know that players and trainers are told that certain substance that are known as masking agents will be treated similarly to the substances they mask - otherwise every player who wanted to use steroids would simply mask it and get off easy.
The reality of it is he tested positive for a substance twice, nine months apart, with negatives tests in between. This shows he was using this substance over distinct periods of time. Did he use it to mask steroids, or did he use only the hcG and never steroids? We may never know, but because of that, they need to take the positive hcG tests very seriously.
Masking agents are held to the same standard. See Manny Ramirez (same hcg issue). So are some diuretics, which help flush the system and prevent fluid retention (see half the Vikings and their Star-caps are whatever the hell they were called).
That's actually the way drug tests are for most employers as well. My company drug tests all employees, and if you even test positive for a masking agent you don't get hired.
I only think they should strip cushing of the award if they strip Shawne Merriman and Julius Peppers of their DROY awards for also testing positive...
should have won it anyway. Lattimer.....errr....Cushing deserves to get stripped.
Looks like he keeps the award, it was closer but not even that close. I think most people recognized that a) he passed every test after sept., b) it wasnt actually a steroid but a possible masking agent and c) he was still a beast.
Whether you agree or not thats another matter but there you go, a slap on your wrist. Football went through its steroid issue in the 80s and their reward is that now a days people wont make too big a deal. Now had this been Jason Heyward or an up and coming MLB player, we wouldnt hear the end of it.
I personally would have voted for Cushing to keep the Defensive ROY of the year award.
Well that's just fucking lame. USC gets all the breaks.
You managed to convince me that this was a legitimately serious enough issue written in policy that Cushing should be stripped of the award, and now he fucking gets it anyway, so I'm still pissed off. At least it's for the right reasons this time.
I didn't know the Manny Ramirez deal was about hcG and not steroids directly, which, given the media coverage and the MLB's handling of the issue, only solidifies your argument. Thanks for the info.
The real losers here are the media. As much as they want to pound their chests and slay PED users with their words, they sure fell flat on their face when given a chance to do the right thing. We all know the national media is a joke, but damn!
I also feel sorry for the kids that have to see this junk. If this doesn't plaster a huge "CHEAT TO WIN KIDS!" picture for professional sports, I don't know what does.