Steroid problems are nothing new in athletic competitions.  They have been an issue in the Olympics going back to the days when the East Germans were sending half male women to compete against the rest of the world’s elite women athletes.  The countries behind the Iron Curtain experimented with all sorts of hormone cocktails to give their ladies an advantage. 

 

 

Today, MLB gets a bad rap, especially Barry Bonds (who has never tested positive), while the NFL gets virtually no attention at all.  Well this is all about to change with the suspension of Shawne Merriman.  Merriman was Defensive Rookie of the Year last year and he is a formidable opponent.  The Charger’s defense will not be the same with him gone over the next four games.  His suspension could very well cost them a date with the post season.  So how did Merriman get to the point in his career where he felt it was safe to use steroids?  How did he think he could possibly get away with it?

 

To start with, the NFL keeps a tight lip on its suspensions and the players who are suspended.  Any information we get is always a press leak from someone who supposedly knows and chances are they are right to a degree.  Once the suspension is in place, we will know for sure that he was guilty of using something or the NFLPA would never stand for it.  But the way the general public views NFL player’s using steroids is vastly different than its view on MLB.  If a player uses steroids in MLB, he is labeled as a cheater whereas if an NFL player uses steroids he is often revered as a “god” if he is a great player. 

 

 

Bill Romanowski used steroids for years as did Lyle Alzado.  Alzado died of cancer that may have been linked to his steroid abuse.  He became an outspoken critic of steroids in the NFL the year before he died.  Romanowski has always had “anger” issues and many have speculated that his rage may have been “roid” induced after the incident where he punched his own team mate at a practice.

 

Today the NFL has taken a tougher stance on steroid use and for that I am glad, but I still get the feeling that the average fan really could care less if  300 pound linemen are using steroid creams or injections of testosterone prior to a game.  Where is the outrage over Merriman?  It gets one headline in the main stream media?  I just read an article while doing research for this article on the 2004 Panthers.  Three players were caught filling prescriptions for testosterone prior to the Super Bowl. 

Let me say that before anyone comes down to hard on these guys, it was all perfectly legal and this is my conundrum.  How do you prosecute these guys for obtaining steroids legally to be used for an illegal purpose?  These steroids were legally obtained, doctor prescribed, but no doubt with the intent to give these linemen an advantage in the competition.  Thankfully the Patriots won, but who knows, maybe their linemen were on steroids too.  Who is to say that Barry Bonds own physician did not prescribe him a steroid cream?  This is potentially one reason his case has gone nowhere.  The doctor’s records have been subpoenaed, but no court case for using “illegal” steroids has happened to date.  Instead the FBI wants to pursue “tax evasion” or “perjury” charges but they are not pursuing illegal steroid use. 

So where does the steroid use end?  Are football players given more of a “license” to abuse these types of drugs than baseball players?  Young high school girls are now experimenting with steroids to make themselves look more lean and muscular.  I am not sure what the solution is, but one thing appears certain, steroids are here to stay.

 

 

 

SoCalSportsFan