Athletes and steroids: they lie and you are buying it
The athletes are lying to us. They are lying and we believe their lies. Well most of us do. You see, many athletes who test positive for banned substances blame dietary supplements as the cause of the positive result. Let’s examine the following statement from Iowa State linebacker Matt Robertson, who was recently kicked off the Iowa State football team for testing positive for a banned substance.
“I take full responsibility for taking an over-the-counter supplement that is prohibited by the NCAA,” Robertson said in a statement released Monday. “I am paying a heavy price for a very poor decision as I will never wear an Iowa State uniform again. I hope my example serves as a warning to others contemplating the use of dietary supplements.”
Statements like these are causing unnecessary hysteria among the general public regarding dietary supplements. In Mr. Robertson’s quote, note specifically the term “dietary supplements.” Dietary supplement is a very broad term, literally covering thousands of different types of products. There is only one type of dietary supplement that will cause a positive steroid test result. These supplements are called pro-hormones. Did a prohormone cause Mr. Robertson’s positive test? Possibly, but we will never know the truth.
Prohormones are used to raise the body’s testosterone levels, just like steroids, but to a much lesser effect. Any athlete who takes a pro-hormone knows what they do. They know that prohormones are designed to raise testosterone, which results in more muscle mass and increased athletic performance. On top of that, the pro-hormones say on the bottle something like “Professional and amateur athletes subject to testing for performance-enhancing substances should consult with their sanctioning body before using this product, as use of such product may cause a reactive drug test. “Pretty clear right? You can’t tell me that Mr. Robertson can’t read, he’s “a Big 12 academic actor who was as good in the classroom as he was on the field,” according to his trainer Dan McCarney.
Blaming one of these products for a positive test may be true because they can cause a positive steroid test. However, it would also be very easy to blame a dietary supplement for a positive test when the athlete was actually using a steroid. Since actual supplements are rarely made public, it’s easy to blame a dietary supplement for a positive test.
It doesn’t make a difference because a positive test is a positive test, right? Wrong. By blaming these athletes for their positive test on dietary supplements rather than steroids, they are actually “passing the buck.” . This is not okay, not only because it creates false beliefs among the public about supplements, but also because it gives the federal government a reason to further restrict what you can buy without a prescription.
Would you like to have to go to your doctor to get a prescription for a multivitamin? What if you wanted to buy a protein supplement? Would you like to have to go to your doctor for that? I do not think so. These athletes and their organizations are being grossly irresponsible by using broad terms like dietary supplements when describing positive drug tests.
The NCAA and other government organizations should be forced to disclose the exact substance these athletes test positive for. By not doing so, these organizations are allowing athletes to save face at the expense of an entire multi-billion dollar industry. By forcing the NCAA and other governing bodies to name the specific substance that tested positive for them, it would remove any confusion about what is and is not the cause of the positive tests. Either that or the governing bodies, including the NCAA and the press, need to be educated in the proper terminology of the dietary supplement industry. Painting reactive tests with the term “dietary supplements” is inaccurate, unfair and irresponsible.
Take, for example, Rafael Palmeiro, everyone remembers his too convincing testimony from the hill in the capital. How ironic that just a few weeks later Rafael tested positive for Stanozolol, a steroid. Palmeiro made an effort to pass the blame. He blamed “tainted” dietary supplements, and when that didn’t work, he blamed a vitamin B12 shot. Well Stanozol is a very specific and popular steroid. There is no possible way that a positive result for stanazolol could come from dietary supplements or B12. After people began to realize this, Palmeiro began to plead ignorance, saying that he never knowingly took steroids. Well, I guess Rafael will make a good living after baseball considering he’s the only person on earth who knows where to find pills that jump off the table into your mouth on their own. What a great idea, the little blue pill could become the little blue jumping pill. That would be great to see.
There must be some accountability among athletes for their positive tests. Those who test positive should not be allowed to blame the dietary supplement industry. These athletes need to be shown for what they really did. Did they take a prohormone because they were too stupid to read the label? Or did they take steroids? Knowing that if they were caught they could plead ignorance and blame it on “tainted” supplements. We will never know until the governing bodies start naming specific substances responsible for the positive tests.