Sports Illustrated Reports AROD Tested Positive for Steroids

[Invader3K]

Steroids can speed up recovery, but they can actually have quite a few long term negative health consequences. While I have no idea if Ripken used steroids or not, I think the fact that he's never been mentioned in connection with the drug should at least give him some defense. Also, doing steroids isn't automatically going to make you an iron man, either.

[TheCrew07]

I'm not sure why people think that football gets a free pass for it's issues?

Probably because Shawne Merriman tested positive and was somehow still elected to the Pro Bowl in the same year. Can you imagine the same scenario playing out in MLB?

The difference being the all-star game is during the middle of the season, it could have happened in MLB depending on when the suspension occured, but generally speaking the NFL's policy and the all star game (pro bowl) being after the season lent itself to that scenario playing out. The NFL has since added a ruling that no player who tests positive for steroids may be voted to the pro bowl in the same year.

 

As far as the Merriman test goes, I was skeptical of athletes like him that claimed their supplements were tainted until last year when an independent test found out that they were actually telling the truth. The scariest part for me was..

"We didn't go after products that appeared to be dubious," Hall said. "We wanted to test products that were standard and mainstream, something a high school kid would be attracted to."

I don't see how baseball is being unfairly singled out here, management and the players have created this circus themselves. In the NFL even though I know for a fact that team doctors were administrating steriod cycles in the early 80s the league eventually took a stand and the players were accountable. NFL took it's publicity hit and moved on, but I think people were more lienent on the NFL because they were the first sports league to do Olympic style testing. MLB (both the owners and the player's union) dragged it's feet for years on this, long enough for the home run chase to reinvigorate enthusiam in the game.

 

The public isn't going to be as sympathetic with MLB because on the whole we're much more educated on the subject than we were in the 80s, we see ownership turning a blind eye and players juicing because of profiteering, The HR record was the most hallowed record in sports, broken by those who cheated to get there, which also adds fuel to the fire. Finally, old ball players, while being somewhat hypocritical on the subject continue to rip on the current generation of players. Had the baseball players who got caught juicing just admitted to it the frenzy would have settled down long ago. Instead they lied to everyone including Congress (does an oath mean anything, did it ever?) and continue to lie about it to this day... which just keeps people talking about it, because sooner or later the truth will come out. Every time more hard evidence is found, the wirlwind just picks right back up, and we'll be in this cycle until circumstances change.

 

As far as Canseco goes I have no problem with people hating on him. I have no love for Canseco, he's spilling his guts for profit, it's not like he came clean because he felt remorse. It's not like he was an honest employee who blew the whistle on corruption and lost his job, he was as guilty as the rest and tattled on his "friends" for money. He came clean because he was jaded and bitter as he felt he was blackballed at the end of his career. He profited from juicing during his career and he continues to profit from them in retirement.

[Darnell Junior]

Another reason steroids in football is sort of glossed over is that there isn't really any tangible results of doing it in football. In baseball you see the home runs and the change in physique. In football, the guys who take them are offensive and defensive lineman for the most part, whose main stats are nothing, and sacks, respectively. Plus wearing pads and helmets, it's pretty hard to say "Wow, that guy has really beefed up since his younger days.." When a guy goes out and gets 15 sacks nobody is going to ask whether he did it clean, but if somebody hits 50 the question will be asked non-stop.

 

As far as A-Rod goes I was actually pretty surprised he was named. He was mashing from the second he came up when he was wire-thin. No sympathy for the guy, but it is a little bogus how it was found out. A supposed confidential test where his name among hundreds is found out? Pretty fishy to me. The guy is a scumbag, though, so I guess I'm not that upset.

[RU Rah Rah]

Now I'm wondering how long he used. He put up especially good numbers over '01-'03, but it wasn't exactly Brady Andersonesque; he's been in that 35-55 HR range for his entire career.

[T B0NE 10]

I read Cal Ripken's book a couple years ago.....

 

I recall him saying how he never really got into weightlifting while he was in baseball, and thought how strong you were wasn't really a big deal.

[T B0NE 10]

Remember this?

 

 

"For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance?" Couric asked.

 

"No," Rodriguez replied.

 

Asked if he had ever been tempted to use any of those things, Rodriguez told Couric, "No."

 

"You never felt like, 'This guy's doing it, maybe I should look into this, too? He's getting better numbers, playing better ball,'" Couric asked.

 

"I've never felt overmatched on the baseball field. I've always been a very strong, dominant position. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. So, no," he replied.

[Invader3K]

Maybe he can take the Rafael Palmeiro route and turn invisible.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'm not a fan of A-Rod at all, but.......

 

Until they "out" the other names, I simply don't care about this. You can't punish him (by suspension or exclusion from the Hall) if his or only a few other names from that group come out.

 

I personally think that the witch-hunt has gotten to the point where it's hurting the integrity of the game more than the guys that are cheating.

 

I'm dead set 100% against players using performance enhancing drugs, but this has just gotten to the point of ludicrousness.

[RickieDROPSbombs]

Honestly, this might be the worst news in baseball since the whole steriod scandal began. Arod was suppose to be the clean player who broke the records with pure talent and hard work. This kills me especially since I am a big Alex Rodriguez fan and I love the way he plays the game. I dont care if people liked him or not he is the best player of this era besides maybe Bonds and Griffey and to now hear that he is accused to have taken steriods, it is a shot in the heart to many baseball fans across America.

[logan82]

They should have had an amnesty and buried this whole mess when they had the chance. Has anybody mentioned that the Union could have and was supposed to have shredded the list. It shouldn't even exist. So much for anonymous testing.

[Patrick425]

I'm not getting the whole argument that Ripken probably used steroids because it helps with quick recovery. Does it help prevent injuries too? Also, what about McGwire. That guy battled injuries his whole career and I'm pretty sure that not too many people would disagree that he was a user of peds.

[PeaveyFury]

Does it help prevent injuries too?

 

No.... actually, use tends to lead to more 'nicked-up' type injuries, I believe.

[endaround]

I'm not getting the whole argument that Ripken probably used steroids because it helps with quick recovery. Does it help prevent injuries too? Also, what about McGwire. That guy battled injuries his whole career and I'm pretty sure that not too many people would disagree that he was a user of peds.

 

Different steroids do different things. Up until the early 90s, steroid use wasn't meant for adding huge muscle mass since teams really didn't want large muscular guys. Instead it was used to help with healing. Basically steroids help the body recover faster. Its the main reason we know that pitchers started taking steroids back in the 1960s.

[Bernman23]

Anybody who saw A-Rod on Letterman a couple years ago getting his ample man bosom rubbed down by Biff Henderson, knew he was juiced.

[MessiahRp]

As far as Canseco goes I have no problem with people hating on him. I have no love for Canseco, he's spilling his guts for profit, it's not like he came clean because he felt remorse. It's not like he was an honest employee who blew the whistle on corruption and lost his job, he was as guilty as the rest and tattled on his "friends" for money. He came clean because he was jaded and bitter as he felt he was blackballed at the end of his career. He profited from juicing during his career and he continues to profit from them in retirement.

I honestly don't care one way or another about the making a profit thing. Profit goes all the way around here... from the players taking the roids to make more money, to the teams who want these stats to draw audiences and then raise ticket prices and to MLB in general who garners better ratings from them. Canseco is no more guilty here than anyone else.

 

Frankly the guy called out A-Rod as being a user a couple of years back and the media basically spat at him for it. Now he's 100% vindicated and every guy he's called out has been proven guilty thusfar with the exception being Pudge Rodriguez (whom I believe is probably guilty as well).

 

And I'm surprised no one else has mentioned that if this touches A-Rod, this likely touches Pujols. Everyone who has spent time with Canseco or McGwire has found themselves with access to this and the list at this point is ridiculously huge because it trickles down from their direct contacts to people they had contact with. Not to mention the same can be said for those who contacted Radomski, etc.

 

It's like the Kevin Bacon 6 Degrees game at this point.

 

Rp

[TheCrew07]

Does it help prevent injuries too?

 

No.... actually, use tends to lead to more 'nicked-up' type injuries, I believe.

 <font size="2" face="arial,helvetica">[b] Health consequences associated with anabolic steroid abuse include:[/b] </font> 

• In boys and men, reduced sperm production, shrinking of the testicles, impotence, difficulty or pain in urinating, baldness, and irreversible breast enlargement (gynecomastia).
• In girls and women, development of more masculine characteristics, such as decreased body fat and breast size, deepening of the voice, excessive growth of body hair, and loss of scalp hair, as well as clitoral enlargement.
• In adolescents of both sexes, premature termination of the adolescent growth spurt, so that for the rest of their lives, abusers remain shorter than they would have been without the drugs.
• In males and females of all ages, potentially fatal liver cysts and liver cancer; blood clotting, cholesterol changes, and hypertension, each of which can promote heart attack and stroke; and acne. Although not all scientists agree, some interpret available evidence to show that anabolic steroid abuse-particularly in high doses-promotes aggression that can manifest itself as fighting, physical and sexual abuse, armed robbery, and property crimes such as burglary and vandalism. Upon stopping anabolic steroids, some abusers experience symptoms of depressed mood, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive, headache, muscle and joint pain, and the desire to take more anabolic steroids.
• In injectors, infections resulting from the use of shared needles or nonsterile equipment, including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and infective endocarditis, a potentially fatal inflammation of the inner lining of the heart. Bacterial infections can develop at the injection site, causing pain and abscess.
  

[logan82]

A-Rod is on ESPN right now admitting to using steroids. Link

 

He did an interview with Peter Gammons. It should be on ESPN at 6:00 PM Eastern.

[Mr QL]

I agree with Schilling, they should release names of all 104 players who test positive. Not fair to the clean players.

[milwaukeesportsfan]

So does A-Rod get into the Hall of Fame now?

[Fatter than Joey]

So does A-Rod get into the Hall of Fame now?

 

Yes.

[azcheesehead]

So does A-Rod get into the Hall of Fame now?

Absolutely. From what we can tell, he had used them for a 3 year period. His body of work minust those 3 years are good enough to get him into the Hall. He will probably play about another 7-10 years if he stays in the AL, which will allow him to rack up some pretty impressive numbers.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, as long as nothing more comes of this, I don't think there's any way he doesn't get into the Hall at this rate.

 

How ironic if he's the one to someday break Bonds' home run record.

 

Anyway, I heard his apology in the interview, and I guess I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

[craigharmann]

I just heard on the radio that he actually admitted it! WOW! I'm stunned! How far have we come from a few years ago when Jason Giambi apologized for whatever it was he did that he wouldn't specifically say, while everyone knew what he was apologizing for and now, Mr. Perception, A-Rod ADMITS taking steroids? Wow. And do you really think he took them for only 3 years? How do we know? Do we take him at his word? What worth does his word have now? It's refreshing to hear Michael Phelps and now A-Rod to take the blame for stupid decisions, but considering everyone who hasn't stood up and took their blame (I'm looking squarely at YOU Barroid and BIG Mac), it's about time.

[iluvlamp]

Yay, he admitted it! He also stopped taking it when the league was going to implement testing in the near future. Thank goodness we have HGH testing in MLB...wait...

[milwaukeesportsfan]

This is pretty convenient timing considering that AROD recently signed a ten year contract extension. How much less money would he have received had this info been leaked a couple years ago? This type of thing really grinds my gears. Basically, pro athletes are telling children, "If you take steroids, you'll make more money than if you don't." He should volunteer to give back some or all of the money he just got paid. Or give it to charity. Then I'll be willing to forgive him. Otherwise, this is an empty apology.