Steroids in Sports?

**tooncesthecat** · May 27th, 2009, 10:51 PM

So I might just be cynical, but I figure a great majority of athletes have done some sort of gear...whether it's full-blown like McGwire, Lyle Alzado, Bonds, etc. or just to get over an injury or extend one's career a bit longer (can you say Roger Clemens?). So which sports have at least 25% of athletes who have used a banned substance(s)?

**raijin1** · May 28th, 2009, 01:40 AM

I'm sure a lot more than we might suspect... Although we can't really condemn those who did them before they were illegal, or even looked down upon.. I remember Arnold saying something on the Pumping Iron DVD about how there was a time that steroids were an accepted and commonplace standard (at least in the bodybuilding industry).

But now, since it is such a public issue, I think the best course of action for any major athlete who did this stuff is to come out and issue a statment to the effect "yes I did this, not happy about it, but it was somewhat accepted at the time". If records get taken away because of this, tough shit. I will still have more respect for them than those who continually deny it, IE roger clements, barry bonds.

BTW, Hank Aaron is the Home Run King, and I am pretty sure no one will ever touch him.

**Insex** · May 28th, 2009, 03:51 AM

Steroids in sports?

Say it isn't so!

**ckn** · May 28th, 2009, 04:01 AM

My main sport is rugby and it really annoys me to see some formerly "normal" players bulk up, get strangely prominent chins, etc then get very anti-social when people question whether there is a steroid problem in the sport.

Admittedly the rugby authorities are trying their best to control drug use but the latest generation of steroids are damnably difficult to detect when counter-detection techniques are used. We had one player given a 2 year ban for taking cocaine, it was made clear that this was the low end of the punishment spectrum because he never tried to deny it or defend his actions once caught.

Personally, I'd go for lifetime bans for steroid abuse convictions within a sport.

Edit: I see I missed off ticks in cycling and hockey, that was a mistake, I meant to tick them all!

**Steel_UK** · May 28th, 2009, 08:26 AM

I ticked all the sports listed and also "other", as I say all sports that are played at a seriously competitive level will feature a large portion of drug abusing twats in my opinion.

People even use drugs at just regional level! We had someone who has been using gear compete in a bench press competition several months ago. He had managed to slip through the net, so avoided being detected. Now we know he's on it he's been basically told that he's not permitted to compete until he comes off it and waits twelve months.

**wil** · May 28th, 2009, 08:46 AM

Whenever someone is caught using these drugs we hear about it all over the place. Even our beloved congress feels the need to get involved (since they apparently have nothing better to do). With all the scrutiny these days, I think if the percentages were 25% or more we would be hearing A LOT MORE on the news.

Think of it this way... If we say that "at least 25%" of players are juicing, that means...

at least 424 NFL players are juicing
at least 188 MLB players are juicing
at least 180 NHL players are juicing
at least 90 NBA players are juicing

Maybe I'm just naive (or uncharacteristically optimistic on this subject), but that seems hard to believe.

Just my 2 cents.

**pliny_2001** · May 28th, 2009, 11:39 AM

I'll lawyer this up -- by saying "banned substance" you're guaranteeing that every option (other than the last, natch) will be checked. Soccer may not be worthwhile for something like dianabol, but stimulants and GH are fairly natural fits, the same as cycling (with the addition of EPO, blood doping, etc). And that's not even counting anyone smoking pot, doing coke, etc. From what I've heard the UFC testing procedure for A/AS is actually pretty good, but even it (I think) doesn't deal with testing during training, only around fight time -- and the other MMA organizations don't even go that far. The first 4, and track and field, are so obvious that I'll refrain from comment.

Phrasing it as "naive" may be looking at it from the wrong perspective, wil -- think about it this way: in every gym in America, there are at least a few guys using steroids for only personal reasons, whatever they may be. Athletes have the option of making millions of dollars by juicing - of course they would.

**tooncesthecat** · May 28th, 2009, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pliny_2001

I'll lawyer this up -- by saying "banned substance" you're guaranteeing that every option (other than the last, natch) will be checked. Soccer may not be worthwhile for something like dianabol, but stimulants and GH are fairly natural fits, the same as cycling (with the addition of EPO, blood doping, etc). And that's not even counting anyone smoking pot, doing coke, etc. From what I've heard the UFC testing procedure for A/AS is actually pretty good, but even it (I think) doesn't deal with testing during training, only around fight time -- and the other MMA organizations don't even go that far. The first 4, and track and field, are so obvious that I'll refrain from comment.

Phrasing it as "naive" may be looking at it from the wrong perspective, wil -- think about it this way: in every gym in America, there are at least a few guys using steroids for only personal reasons, whatever they may be. Athletes have the option of making millions of dollars by juicing - of course they would.

Dead on pliny! I phrased it specifically to say "banned substances" when I thought of cyclists...EPO, etc. I would say stimulants probably run rampant throughout sports.

Great point about the money thing. OK, I'm a college athlete, or even HS athlete, and I have great skills. Problem is, so do hundreds of of other kids my age. But I really want to play for a big college program or pro team. Probably ALL athletes CONSIDER the drug route at some point. Some won't do it for one reason or another, but many will do it because maybe they figure "all the rest will and I need to keep up with them" or "I need to be better to get noticed." So many will do this to elevate their performance to make the grade. Then you have the injured athlete...trainers telling you to just take a bit of this or that to help rehab quicker. Maybe you really don't want to do it on a regular basis, but you see how damn good the stuff works so you figure, "that the hell?" Just like any other job...LOTS of pressure to perform. Lots of messages that there's always someone better on your heels. MILLIONS of $$$$ on the line. Short career to make lots of $$$$. OVERWHELMING PRESSURE to do drugs. Even a morally straight athlete must be under tremendous pressure to get on the stuff. Then you have the coach/trainers telling you to do it, your teammates doing it...and there you go!

What was that dude's name? The ex-Red Sox player who ratted out their system where the trainers basically told everyone what to take, when, and how much. He could be lying, but what does he gain from doing so? I honestly believe it is a normal part of professional athletics. College, HS, and I've even heard of junior high kids doing the stuff (granted, each level you step down probably has fewer doing it thank God)

**Steel_UK** · May 28th, 2009, 05:50 PM

What annoys me, is most people just tar strength or body-building with drug use but don't do the same with any other sport!

In simple terms:
Guy1: "I compete in strength competitions"
Guy2: "Cool"
Guy1: "Why don't you give it a go?"
Guy2: "No thanks, I'd rather stick to cycling where they don't use steroids and other drugs."

**wildstang** · May 28th, 2009, 11:02 PM

i say if a person is gonna use aas products for personal use (physical apperance) were no money will be made as a result of use like in proffesional sports theres not much wrong with it other then breaking the law wich 99% of population do in one way or the other wether traffic violation or whatever it may be. its just when it comes to enhancement drugs theyve gotten such a bad rap from stupid athletes.

n10city · June 1st, 2009, 10:49 PM

Honestly, athletes have always taken supplements to improve performance. Old timer baseball players shouldn't be saying jacksh*t, even Willie Mays along with half of Major League baseball at the time is rumored to have taken amphetamines (greenies). Supplements have been a staple of competition since the beginning of sport. But society has a problem when science has become so sophisticated it literally has outpaced the sport itself.

As far as bodybuilding, I personally don't think messing with my hormones is a good idea. But I can't complain about anyone else who does it; being a lifter, we know how much work you need to do, and it really doesn't change because of what you put in your body, the effort needs to be there regardless.

**mooshue** · June 2nd, 2009, 05:14 PM

what gets me is everyone acts like these records today are somehow tainted because a player was caught using enhancement products. Enhancement drugs are not anything new man, just because no one paid any attention to them until the 60's or 70's when arnold and the like got popular doesn't mean they weren't around. The real question shouldn't be who is using now, it should have been for exactly how long have these guys really been using stuff?

I actually like the wwe's new policy they have since the eddie guerrero death and the cris benoit incident. You get 2 strikes. First one = suspension with no pay. 2nd = work without pay for a period, strike 3 you are gone, no questions. They use a 3rd party company to do random testing of all active employee's. Many have been sent packing, and many more are still on the roster with 2 strikes.
There is no real consequence of these guys getting busted other than a suspension and fine, big deal, you are taking 2 million of my 120 million. Thats like a speeding ticket to us.

**pliny_2001** · October 28th, 2009, 01:44 PM

What exactly is a PED? How far back are we willing to reach to remove records?

Andre Agassi says he used crystal meth during playing days - Busted Racquet - TEN - Yahoo! Sports

Stuff's everywhere, has been forever -- just saw this today.

**tooncesthecat** · October 28th, 2009, 03:48 PM

Yep, some people who compete will look everywhere for an edge.

**IMFREAKZILLA** · October 28th, 2009, 05:02 PM

Steroids change every thing ,point in case:when I was 32 I bench pressed 245X8 lifted
a long time to do that,at 41.5 years of age I did 405x8=ON STEROIDS,no one can tell
me it does not make a difference because it made ALL the difference ,I saw guys in the gym
getting bigger,faster,stronger than the ones NOT on the juice.

Now I am just a nobody weight lifter and look what drugs did for me,I muscled up every
cycle but my joints are gone,no more water to lubricate em up,I can not do it anymore.
I will be back to doing reps of 245x8,I can not imagine all the pro athletes and college
stars who are on the sauce and how it gets covered up,Its in all sports,all gyms,all
homes,agents,coaches etc,You can not stop it,Its so easy to get for the big name
athlete.........Its truly unreal. p.s. You don't have to be a big name star just find a
source and have the money!

**RunningMan27** · November 2nd, 2009, 06:56 PM

Golf joined the party.

It's funny that they show this guy golfing without a shirt. Based on the picture, it appears Big Macs were offsetting the gains typically associated with PEDs.

PGA Tour suspends first ever golfer for PED use - Golf News - FOX Sports on MSN

Toban · November 2nd, 2009, 07:06 PM

All sports have users, with bodybuilding being the worst.

Fitness Competitor Julie Bonnett Coram Tests Positive For Horse Steroids

**IMFREAKZILLA** · November 2nd, 2009, 07:26 PM

Steroids have def changed sports,from top to bottom,they have been
around a lot longer than people think and many athletes that you
would never think have been on them a long time,even Terry Bradshaw
admitted taking them to make him heal up quicker.TOBAN ,Julie coram
probaly was taken diff vet gear but more than likely Equipoise which is
a killer steroid for getting big =makes you eat like crazy,was originally
made for downed /sickly animals to make them eat and heal up............

**justaguy87337** · November 3rd, 2009, 11:45 AM

ok, I'll be the one to say it. Who cares? Everything in our society pushes us to excel in sports. cheating is in every type of entertainment. if athletes want to be that competitive let them use the banned products. Level the playing field. if they want to pay the price of poor health later in life for a short span of glory, let them. We engineer everything else in life to be the best for a life span of 5-10 yrs then replace it. That is our society. Bigger is better. Why should our athletes be any different?