THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2007
Special Morning Meeting: The Steroid Scandal
Today's big news is the Mitchell Report on steroids. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig hired former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to conduct what became a 20-month investigation into the use of steroids in pro baseball.
AP says among those players named as users were seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens, plus Andy Pettitte, who just re-signed with the Yankees.
The list also includes Mike Stanton, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Grimsley, Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts and Yankees and Braves postseason hero David Justice.
Other players include: Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Rick Ankiel, Jay Gibbons, Mo Vaughn, Paul Lo Duca, Eric Gagne, Glenallen Hill, Gregg Zaun, Rondell White, Hal Morris, Todd Hundley, Larry Bigbie, Lenny Dykstra, David Segui, Matt Herges, Kevin Brown, Mike Lansing, Wally Joyner, Nook Logan, Jeremy Giambi, Benito Santiago, Denny Neagle, Ron Villone, Fernando Vina, Todd Pratt, Jack Cust, Matt Williams, John Rocker, Paul Byrd, F.P. Santangelo and Randy Velarde.
Some were linked to human growth hormone, others to steroids.
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Slideshow by Ellyn Angelotti/ Poynter
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A slideshow of the home pages of various news sites before the Mitchell Report press conference. (Loads best in Safari and Firefox Web browsers)
There Will Be More
SI says other names will follow:
There are also other large-scale, ongoing probes Sen. George Mitchell was clearly unable to access. For instance, there's an international DEA operation, code named "Raw Deal," that traces the movement of raw steroid and HGH powder from manufacturing labs in China to the basements and garages of American dealers. Raids have unearthed lengthy client lists and hard drive evidence that sources tell SI.com may well lead directly to the clubhouses and locker rooms of pro sports teams.
Athletes have been using steroids for decades. Click here for a summary of steroid scandals through the decades, including the roots of steroid cheating in Olympic events. Recently, the drugs have become more sophisticated, and athletes say there is growing pressure on them to take the drugs to perform for their teams. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. pulled together a list of some of the most notable doping scandals:
- E. German athletes & government sponsored cheating
- 1983 Pan Am Games: Dawn of drug testing
- The U.S. Track & Field coverups
- Canada's shame: Ben Johnson
- Last to first: Irish swimmer Michelle Smith
- Fake dynasty: Chinese swim team
- Tour de France: Whatever it takes
- Baseball: Home runs in bulk
- Cross country skiing and doping: a Nordic tradition
- Nandrolone goes for the Grand Slam
The (Baltimore) Sun has a nice archive on doping stories. (registration required)
Major League Baseball has posted a timeline of drug policy in baseball.
And check out this graphical timeline on the site Baseball's Steroid Era. It also includes names of players linked to steroids and human growth hormone.
How Widely are Steroids Used?
The
Office of National Drug Control Policy says (for citations, go to the agency's Web site)
:
Results from the 2006 Monitoring the Future Study, which surveys students in eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades, show that 1.6 percent of eighth graders, 1.8 percent of tenth graders, and 2.7 percent of twelfth graders reported using steroids at least once in their lifetimes.
Percent of Students Reporting Steroid Drug Use, 2005-2006
|
8th Grade |
10th Grade |
12th Grade |
|
2005 |
2006 |
2005 |
2006 |
2005 |
2006 |
|
Past month |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.6% |
0.6% |
0.9% |
1.1% |
|
Past year |
1.1 |
0.9 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
1.5 |
1.8 |
|
Lifetime |
1.7 |
1.6 |
2.0 |
1.8 |
2.6 |
2.7 |
Regarding the ease by which one can obtain steroids, 17.1 percent of eighth graders, 30.2 percent of tenth graders, and 41.1 percent of twelfth graders surveyed in 2006 reported that steroids were "fairly easy" or "very easy" to obtain. Furthermore, 60.2 percent of twelfth graders surveyed reported that using steroids was a "great risk" during 2006.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also conducts a survey of high school students throughout the United States, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Nearly 5 percent of all high school students surveyed by CDC in 2005 reported lifetime use of steroid pills/shots without a doctor's prescription.
How Steroids Work
The Drug Control Policy Office explains:
Anabolic steroids were developed in the late 1930s primarily to treat hypogonadism, a condition in which the testes do not produce sufficient testosterone for normal growth, development, and sexual functioning. The primary medical uses of these compounds are to treat delayed puberty, some types of impotence, and wasting of the body caused by HIV infection or other diseases.
During the 1930s, scientists discovered that anabolic steroids could facilitate the growth of skeletal muscle in laboratory animals. This led to abuse of these compounds by bodybuilders and weightlifters and then by athletes in other sports.
Anabolic steroids can be taken orally, injected intramuscularly, or rubbed on the skin when in the form of gels or creams. These drugs are often used in patterns called cycling, which involves taking multiple doses of steroids over a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and starting again. Users also frequently combine several different types of steroids in a process known as stacking. By doing this, users believe that the different steroids will interact to produce an effect on muscle size that is greater than the effects of using each drug individually.
Another mode of steroid use is "pyramiding." This is a process in which users slowly escalate steroid use (increasing the number of drugs used at one time and/or the dose and frequency of one or more steroids) reaching a peak amount at mid-cycle and gradually tapering the dose toward the end of the cycle.
From the University of Minnesota, here's a summary of the side effects of steroids.
Potential side effects include high blood pressure, strokes, nausea, sleep problems, increased aggressiveness, and severe mood swings. In men, steroids can reduce sperm count and cause impotence, breast growth, and shrunken testicles. In women, side effects can include reduced breast size, increased body and facial hair, a deepened voice, and menstrual problems.
Do Steroids Help Pitchers or Just Batters?
The Washington Post raised this question last year:
Whether the source is injectable steroids or over-the-counter products, there is no dispute that steroids help athletes build strength and muscle. Several sports medicine experts, however, said it's unknown whether such drugs can make pitchers markedly better because of the complexity of the arm and shoulder and the strange science involved in throwing a baseball.
"It's an absolutely fascinating question," said Don Catlin, the director of the Los Angeles laboratory that carries out the testing for minor league baseball. "The knee-jerk response is they will help you throw faster. We all know if you throw 93 [miles per hour] today and 98 tomorrow, that will make a big difference in your career. But the information we have doesn't really support that."
Medical experts say that the muscle growth promoted by steroids does not include a corresponding growth in the tendons, ligaments and other connective tissue that effectively hold the arm together when it is catapulted violently during a pitch. A side effect of steroids, in fact, is a weakening of that connective tissue, which can lead to a variety of injuries when artificially strengthened muscles apply too much force.
The side effect is dangerous for a pitcher, who puts more stress on his arm hurling a baseball than a hitter does with the more natural motion involved in swinging a bat. Ohio University physiology professor Fritz Hagerman, a former Cincinnati Reds team doctor, called pitching "an unhealthy, unusual and unnatural act . . . [that] is terrible for the shoulder."
While drug experts largely agree that steroids can enhance any hitter's power and likely fueled the unprecedented home run surge in the 1990s, the only evidence to suggest that steroids have significantly affected pitching during the same time period is the injuries that have occurred.
It's Not Just Baseball
The New York Times points out that the National Football League's drug testing program is full of holes. Players know they won't be tested on game day.
Instead, 10 players per team per week are randomly chosen and tested, with at least one day of testing almost always taking place the day after a game. In any given week, 320 tests are conducted from a pool of roughly 1,700 NFL players. So far this season, seven players have been caught and suspended for positive tests, the same number that were caught last season.
While NFL officials are proud of their program, antidoping experts say the framework and timing of NFL testing allows players ample room to outmaneuver the tests, particularly if they are using amphetamines and fast-acting steroids that can be quickly flushed from the body.
In recent years, Major League Baseball has taken the brunt of the criticism in the United States over the issue of performance-enhancing drugs. But even as baseball awaits the release this week of its internal investigation into drug use -- an investigation that is being overseen by George J. Mitchell -- the antidoping experts say that the N.F.L.’s program is far from foolproof.
"Testing catches the careless and the stupid," said Charles E. Yesalis, a professor of sports science at Penn State University. "If you believe only 1 to 2 percent use drugs, that is incredibly naïve. Drug use is the greatest problem facing elite sports, and testing creates the facade that everyone is clean."
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Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.
Posted at 6:06:46 PM
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