Where have we heard that line before? It's the same old song and dance routine no matter who the athlete is. Floyd Landis said his tests were possibly the results of something ingested, Barry said he unknowingly used steroids, Raffy said he was injected with what he thought was vitamin B-12 by Tejada, and now its Merriman who is saying that his supplements were tainted.
Is it possible to have tainted supplements? Absolutely! Merriman's attorney complained about the nutrition industry because he feels the feds need to regulate them more. If only the federal government would regulate these products my clients would never get in trouble. (OOPS, then I might be out of job. Never mind.)
This is one of the reasons that several major sports franchises want you to buy your supplements from them and not from outside sources. They certify that the supplements are steroid free. That makes you wonder why any athlete would continue to buy them from sources that will not make that guarantee. Maybe they want the steroids. Maybe as long as they buy from tainted sources they can blame it on the "industry". Either way, I don't think he will win on his appeal, but stranger things have happened.
Does sound familiar. Like everyone else ever caught using steroids. Other than some has-been trying to gain attention, will anyone ever just say "Yep, I did it"?
We all realize that there is steriod use in high school up the the pro's.
There are rules in place to address the use so if one is caught then he can due his time. No big deal to me.
I don't hate guys that do it, I guess they do it for different reasons, to be competitve, stay competitive or they just want to be freakish big. Fine.
I am like shooter when will someone say "Yes I did it an here is why and I will sit for 4 games and be back after that."
I can at least respect that and not feel like someone is trying to make me believe something that is not true.
And for the one's that really are tricked into putting this stuff in their bodies, well just be more careful and don't let it happen again. Now go out there and play nice.
Socal....... I think that it's beginning to look rather farcical each time we hear the explanation coming from these players that they unwittingly ingested a substance unbeknownst to them.
I thought that in college they learnt how to read and write, also to ask questions when one's unsure of a particular entity. Merriman's excuse his as laughable as is request for an investigation as to what happened. If you're not prepared to make sure that you knowingly are sure as to what you're ingesting into your body. Then why should you feel that you're entitled to some form of leniency. Afterall the League has placed a list of banned substances that it'll not tolerate its players to take. I'm sure that the Chargers' medical staff could've made him aware as to what the NFL had posted as legal and none legal in terms of prohibitive substances.
Last edited by tophatal on October 24th at 1:31 PM.
Good post SoCal. I tend to agree, but what IF the substance was in his supplement?? I do think he, as all the rest, should read the damm list of ingrediants; hopefully they are listed correctly/ One question I do have though, and I commented on another blog about it; what if it is necessary to take steroids, I mean a condition that makes it medically necessary, does the same rule(s) apply??
fuzzboss.... A mind is a terrible thing to waste and so is a college education. Which is something I do believe Merriman had. Somehow it might've been wasted on him . If you aren't prepared to do the time then don't do the crime ! That's it in a nutshell.
The line between legal and illegal performance enhancers is very shaky. Most of these guys take these ridiclous supplements, that basically do the same thing as the illegal stuff.
In my mind, either it all needs to go, or all be allowed.
MrNFL, I agree that you need to ban most of those precursor supplements if you ban the original, but remember that Mark Macgwire was using norandrostenedione when it was a legal supplement and now it is banned by MLB.
Fuzz, if it is legally prescribed in the Olympics it is still illegal. you can not take asthma medication and then cycle or run a marathon because of the perceived advantage it gives you.
The comical part about this is how stupid these athletes think we must be to believe them.
It is one thing for me not to know all the ingredients of the Orange Soda I am drinking. It is quite another to claim ignorance on the contents of supplements where your multi million dollar profession depends on it. I promise you that if my living was contingent upon knowing the ingredients of every meal, I would be reading labels.
Spot on Norcal! Socal, I am still concerned about the use of steroids, medically necessary and prescribed. That sucks about the Olympics. Hell that means the #### I was on to control a bad dose of Poison Ivy that affected even my lungs would have banned me. I remember Jerome Bettis having close to asthma attacks at times during a game and he was on meds and then he's sucking on an inhaler & oxygen, I mean how far does one go in banning steroid usage??
socal & fuzzboss ......... I really do believe that MLB were stupid to think that by making it feasible for their players to start to use supplements that they recommended it would be a way to abate the steroid issue. Many of te supplements that they've endorsed have some of the banned stimulants they so detest. Selig is anybody's fool passing this edict without doing the necessary or required research into the subject.
Shawne Merriman may very well be a victim of foul play. Let me explain the same thing happened to that *Barry Bonds guy also. No one would belive him either! Next thing you know they will be putting one of those annoying asterisk things before his name. Like this one * ...... *Shawne Merriman, *Mark McGwire or *Rafael *Pal*meiro
Shawne Merriman is a cool cat. I met "Lights Out" once near Cally. He still is the best OLB in football and is in the mold of a young LT. He will get back on his feet, this is just a minor bump in the road.
What is a pro athlete? An individual who is at the pinnacle of his sport. They have less body fat then Paris Hilton on a PMS bloated day. For a pro athlete who is in tip-top shape, remember athletes train 365 days a year (most of them), they watch calories, intake, etc. They know what foods will give them energy, slow them down, etc. A pro athlete is the "health" genie in our country today. These guys have the "perfect" body. For them to keep throwing out this line that they don't have a clue what is in the things they are taking is just plain insulting. I know the "unknowingly" statement is just legal mumbo-jumbo but can we please grow a brain here? There is no way to have a ripped body w/o knowing what you are putting into it. Unless you are an 18 year old kid w/ great metabolism you will not be ripped. As we age we must eat right and workout with it to get the bodies these guys are walking around with. You can't eat a box of oreos everyday and expect to be chiseled. These multi-million dollar pre-madonnas should go back to school and take a course in ethics and how to pony up when you screw up.
I hate to play soothsayer, but Merriman knew what he was taking and took it for the benefit he received.
As far as taking supplements, I doubt that's how he got the steroid in his system. Remember, it was not too long ago that athletes, and entertainers, blamed everything on medication prescribed by their doctors.
