OT: PED-palooza in American Sports
It's an exciting day in the world of Performance Enhancing Drugs, as two bombs have been dropped on major athletes in major American sports.
In Baseball, investigation into a clinic in Florida has once again linked everybody's favorite multimillionaire Alex Rodriguez, among others, with a clinic distributing PEDs. This is much more recent than his allegedly "isolated" use of them from 2001-2003.
And, leading up to Super Bowl week, SI has printed a report suggesting that Ray Lewis took Deer-Antler Spray, of all things, to help his recovery from a triceps tear--a substance that includes a substance banned by the NFL. The Ravens have issued a denial that features this argument: "Ray Lewis has never tested positive for banned substances."
If that sounds familiar, that's because it is the same defense used by Lance Armstrong for 14 years prior to his confession to Oprah of rampant PED use.
Personally, I'm not surprised; I'm a cycling fan and to be one is to understand the effectiveness and elusiveness of cheating. Years of looking into it have left me with the conviction that PEDs are widespread and widely un-caught in many sports. It is simply too easy to get away with.
Ironically, if Ray Lewis were to be nailed for this, it would be roughly analagous to catching Al Capone for tax evasion--a punishable infraction, but only a small portion of what is a much larger web of drug use in the League. Not to say that Ray Lewis is in any way unusual in what he may or may not do, because I don't think he is.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:32 PM ^
...wait, did you say that Ray Lewis was taking "deer antler spray?" Ok, that actually is a little shocking.
EDIT: For more fun with insane PED stuff from Lewis's deer antler dealer, including special holographic stickers, healing beams of light, and "negatively charged water," check THIS out.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:29 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 3:33 PM ^
I;ve heard 60% of the time it works every time
January 29th, 2013 at 3:38 PM ^
is your avatar picture actually you? it feels creepy, like you are actually looking through your computer at me, in real time.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:44 PM ^
I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought this...
January 29th, 2013 at 3:54 PM ^
HE IS NOT ANSWERING! HE IS JUST LOOKING AT ME! WHY ISN'T HE ANSWERING?!
January 29th, 2013 at 3:54 PM ^
It really is remarkable to me that my avatar can produce any reaction at all. I mean, other than, "Wow, he seems awfully young to be that bald."
January 29th, 2013 at 3:38 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 3:41 PM ^
Yet another scandal involving the Miami Hurricanes. The poor AD must be wondering what else can go wrong.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:43 PM ^
Read the article. Couldn't get past S.W.A.T.S. Why don't we just make everyone walk around inside a faraday cage. No harmful frequencies that way.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:46 PM ^
The sad thing is that it's probably better from a brand/marketing standpoint to sweep PED use under the rug and keep up the appearance of being "clean". Cycling has gone after PED use more than any other sport, and the result is that everyone thinks cycling is dirty. College and pro football are probably hothouses of steroid use (and steroids may well have contributed to some ex-players' long-term health problems), but I don't think they have the courage to take on the problem. They've seen how it's damaged the image of cycling and baseball.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:49 PM ^
I think that the most overlooked issue that relates to player safety in the NFL is PEDs. Guys wouldn't be injured quite as badly if their opponents weren't so big and fast.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:52 PM ^
I agree. I kind of made this point in a previous thread about player safety. Also un-addressed: The effect PEDs can have on the mind. Known steroid users have been known to have some pretty significant mental problems, most notably wrestler Chris Benoit's murder-suicide. It would be nice to see this honestly addressed.
Not to say that Steroids caused all of it, and in Benoit's profession it wouldn't surprise me if he had CTE problems as well. But nobody talks about it.
January 29th, 2013 at 4:17 PM ^
also have a painkiller addiction on top of everything else IIRC? It's been a long time since his death and I've forgotten some of the details.
But you may be right on the CTE, considering he probably repeatedly whacked his head, between jumping off the top rope to headbutt people and those German suplexes he'd deliver.
Roid rage is a real thing, and I'm sure a large portion of both the on and off field incidents involving many players could be traced back to it as at least a partial culprit.
This is why I root for the tiny players, because I figure they have to be clean. Steve Kerr & John Paxson are two of my all-time favorite Bulls.
January 29th, 2013 at 6:02 PM ^
You can't automatically associate mental problems with people who use steroids...the evidence is just not there whether the media says so or not. If you're looking for a decent documentary on steroids and sports, check out Bigger, Faster, Stronger. They do a pretty good job debunking a lot of the non-facts that are spouted off about steroids.
I think way too many people want to believe that most professional athletes are "clean", when in actuality, a good chunk of them aren't. It's their job to be the best they can, so I can't really blame these guys for doing what they need to do.
I can speak from close experiences that "roid rage" is completely overblown. It's comparable to a woman taking birth control in that adjusting hormone levels can cause instability in some people. However, for the most part, people are just fine. I'd love to see statistics (we never will), but I would venture to say that a small percentage of people using have "mental problems" caused by the drugs. Also, don't overlook the fact that some people are just plain dumb when they choose their "cocktail". I liken it to an ignorant person prescribing drugs for themselves..probably doesn't turn out great most of the time.
January 29th, 2013 at 6:18 PM ^
Keep in mind that your personal experiences (it sounds like you're a former user?) do not necessarily apply to everyone. Some peoples' bodies react differently to steroids than others.
January 29th, 2013 at 10:08 PM ^
No, a couple of good friends use(d). And if you read closer, you'll see that I said it will cause instability in some people. My main point was that for the most part, whether people like to hear it or not, you won't go insane.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:54 PM ^
Gio claims he is innocent. Also, none of the ingredients that were connected with his name are on the MLB banned substances list.
Hopefully he is clean, the guy is one of the best young pitchers out htere (and the A's miss him).
January 29th, 2013 at 4:06 PM ^
An absolutely wicked curveball. It's JV-class.
January 29th, 2013 at 4:34 PM ^
as I was reading this thread, "I Want a New Drug" by Huey Lewis & the News came on the radio. That's probably the theme song for the Tour de France.
January 29th, 2013 at 6:31 PM ^
Cycling is an easy punching bag for this stuff, but they're one of the few sports that is working hard to keep up with the cheating, and so they actually catch the cheaters sometimes. Most other sports haven't moved beyond the old pee-in-a-cup tests, so no one ever tests positive. I'm sure there are plenty of NFL players on roids or HGH.
January 29th, 2013 at 6:49 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 10:26 PM ^
PEDS arent necesarially Steroids..80% of the supplements in a normal GNC are banned.
January 30th, 2013 at 12:47 AM ^
That's why we've used the term "PEDs" instead of "Steroids." Because a lot of them aren't. The OP never actually used the word "steroids" to describe what was being used.