Teenage bodybuilder Matthew Dear died on April 20, 2009 reportedly from an overdose of anabolic steroids. The parents of Matthew Dear were the first to attribute their son’s death to anabolic steroids.  The news of Matthew Dear’s “steroid death” was initially reported by “The Daily Mirror”, a British tabloid but was soon picked up and legitimized by mainstream UK media outlets such as BBC News, the Daily Mail, and the Sunday Times. Could the steroid-attributed death of Matt Dear spread steroid hysteria throughout the United Kingdom much like the death of Taylor Hooton affected the steroid discussion in the United States?

The assertions that anabolic steroids were responsible for causing enlarged pupils, blindness, intoxication, severe abdominal pains, convulsions, brain swelling and kidney failure are pretty outrageous. These side effects are not medically substantiated adverse effects of anabolic steroids. Matthew Dear’s doctor even told the parents that he never witness any such reaction to anabolic steroids. The parents of Matthew Dear nonethless felt compelled to blame anabolic steroids.

Chris and Tina Dear unbelievably solicited the “anabolic steroids are responsible for killing my son” story along with a picture of their son on his death bead to the British tabloid “The Daily Mirror” prior to the death of their son. Journalists should recognize that the grieving parents of a dying child are rarely reliable sources for the medical causes of a suspicious death. The parents are not medical experts and would not have more insight that the attending physician. While we sympathize with the family of Matthew Dear and recognize that individuals deal with unexpected loss and grief in different ways, we can not condone the unsubstantiated allegations that anabolic steroids caused the unusual death of Matthew Dear (”Parents’ warning over steroid death of marine cadet teen Matt Death,” April 21).

Mum Tina, 41, said: “He was my baby. and I can’t believe this has happened. We just hope that by sharing our pain over his tragic death we can help save someone else’s life and make them think twice about taking steroids.”

Dad Chris, 43, added sadly: “He was such a good kid – pure gold. He lived for joining the armed forces. But our healthy, strong son fell to pieces before our eyes because he took steroids.” 

Chris and Tina Dear and the British press have exploited the death of Matthew Dear in an almost deliberate attempt to manufacture steroid hysteria in the United Kingdom. The message heard around the world was “anabolic steroids caused Matthew Dear to die.” But a few days later, father Chris Dear backed away from that assertion by acknowledging that it may not have been the anabolic steroids themselves responsible for his son’s death, but perhaps a “rogue batch” presumably contaminated with some toxic substance (”Parents of steroid death teen fear he was killed by ‘rogue batch’,” April 22).

 “The doctors told us they have never seen anyone react like that to steroids. We believe they were a rogue batch.”

Chris Dear still desperately wants to blame anabolic steroids and appears prepared to crusade for their further criminalization under UK law as Class B substances like amphetamines; anabolic steroids are currently categorized as Class C drugs in the United Kingdom. Chris Dear’s legislative qualifications and medical expertise on anabolic steroids are based on suffering the death of a son. In other words, his expertise can not be questioned (”Matthew Dear’s dad wants steroids reclassified as class B drugs,” April 22).

“These people don’t realise how many lives they wreck. I don’t think anyone can understand the loss of a child, unless they’ve lost one themselves.”

Chris Dear is convinced anabolic steroids are dangerous. He is convinced that anabolic steroids killed his son.

It doesn’t matter that a contaminant may ultimately be the cause of Matt Dear’s tragic death. When milk products were contaminated with melamine, no one proposed banning and/or criminalizing the sale or use of milk. When spinach was contaminated with salmonella, no one proposed banning and/or criminalizing the sale or consumption of spinach. The irrationality of contemporary steroid hysteria is apparent when possible contaminated batches of anabolic steroids justify the call for criminalizing steroid use.

Rather than demonize anabolic steroids, it would be much more productive to campaign against the risks inherent in the underground markets created by the criminalization of steroids. William Llewellyn, steroid expert and author of Anabolics 9th Edition, explains the risk of obtaining anabolic steroids from the black market in a recent position statement posted on the Body of Science website (”Position: Underground Steroids,” April 27).

The VAST MAJORITY of bulk steroids coming from China are produced in chemical companies. Imagine if you will a company that makes pesticides, synthetic dyes, or other manufacturing-level chemicals, and one day said, “You know what, we can make steroids in here if we want”. These chemical companies are not licensed to produce drugs, and do not have to comply with even the minimal of GMP guidelines. They are not inspected. Rarely do they have the capacity to produce very pure products. Still, they very often do produce drugs. In fact, it is estimated that HALF of all drugs sold in China come from this illegal chemical market. This number is significantly higher with anabolic steroids.  [...]

So, in short, it is my opinion now, as it as been for a very long time, that consumers:

SHOULD NOT KNOWINGLY USE UNDERGROUND ANABOLIC STEROIDS

The real story is that it is not necessarily the anabolic steroids themselves that are dangerous but the unregulated nature of the black market that results from their criminalization. By desperately trying to blame steroids for the death of Matt Dear, the most important and likely indicators are often overlooked.

Steroid scare tactics that try to convince people that anabolic steroids will cause blindness, intoxication, abdominal pains, convulsions and brain swelling will be no more effective than the masturbation scare tactics attributing hairy palms, insanity, epilepsy, heart murmurs and asthma to sexual self-stimulation. An honest approach to education is usually more effective.

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Anabolic steroids are demonized in case materials used for the 23rd Annual Oregon High School Mock Trial Competition on March 13-14, 2009. The competition is intended to enhance proficiency in “critical thinking skills such as analyzing and reasoning.” However, high students participating in the mock trial contest were not allowed to critically and honestly examine anabolic steroids and their side effects. Challenging the inaccurate steroid information within the case materials was prohibited. The goal of the mock trial was to argue the assignment of fault in the fictitious death of Jordan Simon. Was the defendant responsible for Jordan’s death due to negligence or misconduct? Or was the deceased responsible for voluntarily assuming the risks? The assignment of fault may be in dispute, but one thing was certain – steroids caused Jordan Simon’s death.

The wrongful death case of Simon v. Swift and Eastside High School involves a high school track sprinter who died from a heart attack presumably caused by an anabolic steroid overdose. Student mock trial participants are told that erythropoeitin (EPO) is an anabolic steroid in the case materials. This is false. But the students are not permitted to question this false assumption by calling for information outside the scope of the case materials. EPO is repeatedly identified, albeit erroneously, as an anabolic steroid throughout the case material, exhibits, and expert testimony.

Participants are told that an anabolic steroid overdose can cause heart attacks. Anabolic steroids can NOT cause an acute fatal overdose. There is no direct association between anabolic steroids and heart attacks. While long-term abuse of anabolic steroids can result in serious adverse cardiovascular consequences, an isolated cycle of anabolic steroids is unlikely to cause anything other than transient changes in cardiovascular indicators, and certainly not a heart attack. Yet, the case materials in Simon v. Swift and Eastside High School suggest that anabolic steroids caused the heart attack. The autopsy report lists the cause of death as “heart attack due to accidental drug overdose” noting extremely elevated post-mortem levels of serum erythropoeitin (EPO). EPO has been directly associated with heart attacks in competitive athletes (particularly cyclists). Steroid have not.

Jordan Simon was a 17-year old senior in high school who unexpectedly died of a heart attack. Jordan began running as a youngster, and had real promise. Jordan joined Eastside High School’s track team as a freshman, and quickly developed into a star sprinter. At the time of Jordan’s death, Jordan was competing for a track scholarship to a Division I university.

The autopsy revealed that Jordan’s bloodstream contained the steroid Erythropoietin. EPO is used medically to treat certain forms of anemia. Athletes use EPO to improve performance, because it increases the oxygen carrying capacity of blood. EPO also increases the blood viscosity, which can cause the blood to sludge and clog capillaries, resulting in a heart attack.

Kelly Simon, Jordan’s surviving parent, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Eastside High School and Terry Swift, the track coach. Specifically, Kelly claims that Terry and the school’s athletic department: (i) encouraged Jordan to use steroids; and (ii) should have known that Jordan was using steroids and taken steps to stop Jordan’s steroid use. Terry and Eastside deny Kelly’s claims, and contend that: (i) Jordan assumed the risk of using steroids; and (ii) Kelly was comparatively negligent in not (a) discovering that Jordan was using steroids, and (b) taking steps to stop Jordan’s steroid use. This is a bifurcated trial on the issue of liability only; damages are not at issue.

The plaintiff’s witnesses are: (i) Kelly Simon, Jordan’s surviving parent; (ii) Morgan Pearce, another student on the track team and Jordan’s close friend; and (iii) Lynn Roper, Ph.D., an expert on the effects of steroid abuse and the use of steroids by young athletes. The defendants’ witnesses are: (i) Terry Swift, Eastside’s track coach; (ii) Jamie Hagar, Ed.D, Eastside’s assistant principal and athletic director; and (iii) Aubrey Brady, a consultant to coaches and athletic departments.

Lynn Roper, PhD., a fictitious scientific expert on performance-enhancing drugs and anabolic steroids, testified on behalf of the plaintiff; the plaintiff’s witness testified that steroid abuse caused Jordan Swift’s death and ignorantly assumed erythropoeitin was an anabolic steroids. Lynn Roper testified that “Jordan was abusing steroids”, that there was “clear evidence of steroid abuse”, and that “Jordan’s use of steroids… ultimately caused Jordan’s death.” The case materials provided no information to contradict the Roper’s misstatements of fact about EPO being classified as an anabolic steroid thereby leaving assertions about steroids causing Jordan Simon unchallenged; the defendant did not have an expert witness to rebute this erroneous assertion.

Roper testified that Winstrol (stanozolol) caused her son to have a heart attack. Roper’s doctoral dissertation at Oregon State University focused on her son’s death and was entitled “Juice Isn’t Just for Breakfast Anymore: The Use of Anabolic Steroids by Amateur Athletes.”

The unsupported assertions were given credence by Roper’s expert qualifications from prestigious academic institutions and post-doctoral employment. The fictitious Roper had been employed as an exercise physiology researcher at the Human Performance Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin and as the executive director of the Midwest Institute for Exercise Physiology in Michigan.

High school students competing in the Oregon High School Mock Trial Competition were not allowed to dispute the “fact pattern which contains statement of fact, witness statements, exhibits, etc.” Student attorneys were not allowed to “ask questions calling for information outside the scope of the case materials or requesting unfair extrapolations” nor “raise any new facts.” In other, participants must accept that (1) erythropoeitin is an anabolic steroid; and (2) anabolic steroids cause heart attacks due to accidental drug overdose. Apparently, critical thinking is encouraged as long as it does not challenge the popular anti-steroid propaganda in contemporary society.

Who should be given credit for disseminating misinformation and propaganda regarding anabolic steroids? The 23rd Annual Oregon High School Mock Trial Competition was sponsored by Classroom Law Project and co-sponsored by the Oregon State Bar, Lewis & Clark Law School, and the Oregon Law Foundation. The case materials were based on a related case created by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education and the Young Lawyers of Arizona and vetted in mock high school trials in Arizona and Arkansas. Steroid misinformation and steroid hysteria does not appear to concern any of the legal organizations sponsoring the high school mock trial competition.

Photo credit: Pete Erickson / The Bulletin 

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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson admitted to using anabolic steroids in an interview with MTV Movies Editor Josh Horowitz. The former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar admitted using anabolic steroids along with his friends around the time he played collegiate football as a defensive tackle for the 1991 NCAA Division I-A national champion Miami Hurricanes. The admission of steroid use has almost become a rite of passage for athletes and entertainers with very muscular physiques during the contemporary era of steroid hysteria. The personable Johnson had fun with the admission in an entertaining discussion of steroid use with MTV News; the revelation of steroid use happened while promoting his latest Disney movie “Race to Witch Mountain” in the back of a New York City yellow cab (”Dwayne Johnson Admits To Steroid Use Years Ago,” March 12).

Horowitz: Another thing that is going on right now all over the culture, particular sports… I’m a Yankees fan, this whole A-Rod thing is bumming me out, the injury and this steroid stuff. You must have an interesting perspective on this coming from professional wrestling where steroid use is something that is out there. What is your perspective on what you are seeing with A-Rod and

The Rock: I think what’s happening is that we have to realize that a culture was created and it’s not as prevalent today in our sports as it was 10 years ago. But we have to recognize that a culture was created where it was OK to do that, and a lot of team managers, owners, players who didn’t do it would turn the other cheek. We recognize that, and now we have to institute stronger penalties, which we are doing. And A-Rod is an example of a lot of guys – and women, for that matter – of that era in all athletics.

I also believe in education. It’s a bad example that you set for kids, and at the same time it’s a good example for kids to follow, not in terms of the use, but in terms of the repercussions of what can happen because there is no substitute for hard work. None.

Horowitz: Were you tempted back in the day? I have to ask.

The Rock: Well, you know… I tried it. Me and my buddies tried it back in the day when I was 18 or 19. Didn’t know what we were doing… You remember those days?

Horowitz: Obviously. I’m still on them!

The Rock: They’re working!

Horowitz: They’re not taking.

The Rock: They’re not taking for some reason.

Horowitz: I think I’m taking the wrong ones, frankly. If you could hook a guy up?

The Rock: You were taking the muscle softeners. Look, you have to take the muscle builders.

Horowitz: I take it from Duncan Hines. It’s delicious.

The Rock: Duncan Hines! That’s so good! Those chocolate steroids!

Dwayne Johnson plays taxi cab driver Jack Bruno who protects and transports two siblings with parnormal powers in the “Race to Witch Mountain.” The Rock’s latest Disney movie had its cinematic release on Friday, March 13, 2009.

Photo credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images North America

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Nicolas Cage was first offered and accepted the role of Randy “The Ram” Robinson in the movie “The Wrestler” before finally rejecting the lead role of the steroid-using grappler. The highly-regarded method actor implied that he quit the role because he was not willing to use anabolic steroids and make the physical transformation necessary for a believable performance as a professional wrestler. Director Darren Aronofsky gave the role to Mickey Rourke whose stunning performance (and physique) earned him a Golden Globe award and Oscar nomination (”Nicolas Cage: I Wasn’t ‘Dropped’ From ‘The Wrestler’,” March 11).

Access Hollywood caught up with Nicolas at the premiere of his new movie, “Knowing,” Monday night in New York, where the actor cleared up recent rumors that he was let go from the Darren Aronofsky-directed project.

“I wasn’t quote ‘dropped’ from the movie,” the 45-year-old actor told Access. “I resigned from the movie because I didn’t think I had enough time to achieve the look of the wrestler who was on steroids, which I would never do.”

Nicolas Cage was once known for an intense passion for method acting that took the technique to an entirely new level. His adamant refusal to use steroids for a movie role may suggest that Nicolas Cage’s method acting madness is part of his past. 

To be a good actor you have to be something like a criminal,” Cage once remarked, “to be willing to break the rules to strive for something new…”

Nicolas Cage’s statements on steroids imply, purposefully or not, that Mickey Rourke must have used steroids for the role.

Mickey Rourke gained 43 lbs to play Randy “The Ram” Robinson. The rapid weight gain from 192 lb to very muscular 235lbs over a six month period already leading to speculation that Mickey Rourke used anabolic steroids. Rourke didn’t help matters with several ambigous statements regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Men’s Journal asked Rourke if he used anabolic steroids to prepare for his role in “The Wrestler” and he replied, “When I’m a wrestler, I behave like a wrestler.” This was interpreted as an affirmative response prompting Rourke to issue an equally ambiguous denial, “”I did some stuff. You wouldn’t classify it as steroids, but I did some heavy duty supplements… but not the regular stuff.”

The rumored steroid use by Mickey Rourke has largely been overlooked given the spectacular portrayal of Randy “The Ram” Robinson. If anything, Rourke, as an actor, has been applauded for his devotion to method acting which may or may not have included steroid use. This is in sharp contrast to public perception of professional athletes’ devotion to maximizing sports performance.

Photo credit: Flickr/Tostie14

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Actor Scott Siegel was the target of an investigation into the trafficking of illegal anabolic steroids by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Westchester County Drug Enforcement Task Force. Siegel discovered an unmarked DEA car in the parking lot of his parents’ townhome in the Lake Isle gated community in Eastchester, New York on February 18, 2009. Siegel walked around the DEA vehicle and looked in all four windows and the front windshield, all of which were tinted, and told the four undercover agents inside, “Nice fucking car.” Siegel then drove away. After realizing their surveillance was blown, it appears that the DEA called backup including officers from the Eastchester Police Department and the Tuckahoe Police Department. Law enforcement officers approached Siegel upon his return to the Lake Isle Townhouse. Siegel fled in his car and intentionally hit several vehicles belonging to local and federal law enforcement agencies before being arrested.

Law enforcement agents obtained search warrants the next day for the Lake Isle Townhouse and Siegel’s residence and seized significant quantities of anabolic steroids and cash according to the criminal complaint (”Scott Siegel, “The Wrestler” Actor, Arrested On Steroid Charges,” February 20).

Lake Isle Townhouse

1. approximately 1,500 bottles, which appear, based on the labeling and packaging for the bottles, to be predominantly anabolic steroids; and
2. apporximately $30,000 to $70,000 in cash.

Siegel Residence

1. approximately $70,000 in cash; and
2. packaging materials which are consistent with packaging materials for steroids.

Scott Siegel played a steroid dealer in the film “The Wrestler” after being hand-picked for the role when Mickey Rourke and “The Wrestler” director Darren Aronofsky discovered Siegel at a Miami night club. Mickey Rourke told Jimmy Kimmel that he was impressed by Siegel’s appearance on the January14, 2009 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. “You’re the only dude that’s ever stolen a scene from me,” Rourke said he told Siegel.

John P. Gilbride, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Field Division, commented on Scott Siegel’s role in “The Wrestler” as art imitating life during a press conference announcing charges against Siegel of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute anabolic steroids as well as assaulting federal officers. Gilbride re-affirmed the DEA’s commitment to the war on steroids as comparable to that of cocaine and heroin distribution (”New Rochelle Man Charged with Possession of Steroids and Assault on Federal Authorities,” February 20).

“They say when you watch a movie, the characters come to life. The role the defendant played in the movie “The Wrestler” was the role he played in daily life. Law enforcement is committed to identifying those responsible for any drug distribution, be it cocaine, heroin or steroids.”

Scott Siegel escalated the seriousness of his case with the decision to recklessly lead law enforcment on a car chase. Siegel faces up to 20 years in prison solely from his actions on February 18, 2009 involving the “assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, and interfering with officers and employees of an agency of the United States Government while engaged in and on account of the performance of official duties.”

Siegel only faced up to 5 years in prison involving the “distributing and possessing with intent to distribute anabolic steroids” which was the subject of the DEA task force investigation steroid trafficking.

Scott Siegel was imprisoned for four year from 1999-2003 resulting from an arrest involving the distributing MDMA, ketamine, and anabolic steroids according to published reports.

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Anabolic steroids generally improve the level of athletic performance. Improved performance is, by most accounts, good for sport. MLB umpire Tim McClelland recently questioned how one could fault an athlete for doing something that makes him a better player. Sidney Gendin, professor of philosophy of law at Eastern Michigan University, has even suggested that we should only ban those athletes who refuse to use steroids.

Janean Marti argues in an editorial that professional athletes have an obligation to their fans to use steroids to improve their performance. After all, how else can an athlete like Alex Rodriguez plausibly begin to justify his $275 million baseball contract to his employers and/or to his fans? Furthermore, Marti highlights the utter hypocrisy of society’s condemnation of the unacceptable dangers of steroids and criticism of the wrong message it sends to young people (”A-Rod Owes Us More Steroids,” February 17).

If athletes like Alex Rodriguez want to use performance enhancing drugs to hit more home runs and validate the unearthly amount of dollars major league baseball owners heap on him, we, as fans, should welcome that.

Should society worry about the long-term affects steroids have on A-Rod’s body? Hell, we don’t even worry about U.S. soldiers in Iraq who must rumble the killing fields with inadequate armor and protection.

Do we care about how Black Lung Disease affects the coal-miners who provide some of the electricity you are using to read this? Are there many news articles complaining about that every day?

Oh, A-Rod using steroids will send our youth the wrong message. But sending young men to kill or be killed in Iraq for $50,000 a year while A-Rod earns $27.5 million that same year doesn’t?

 Society has completely lost perspective with its hysteria over steroids in sports. To many people, the use of steroids represents one of the worst moral failures an athlete could commit. When videographic evidence of Michael Phelps smoking marijuana surfaced, everyone was relieved that at least it wasn’t steroids. Public perceptions of marijuana have gradually changed over time, but the present-day steroid hysteria makes reefer madness seem innocuous.

Steroids are so demonized that their use to improve athletic performance is considered worse than endangering the lives of other individuals (and children) while driving under the influence of alcohol or reckless driving and speeding. NBA Phoenix Suns basketball star Jason Richardson was arrested for child endangerment, reckless driving, excessive speed, and failure to use a car seat while driving his 2008 Mercedes Benz 90-mph in a 35-mph speed zone – just 55-mph over the posted speed limit – with his 3-year old son unrestrained in the backseat of the vehicle. He was suspended for ONE game and lost $111,111 in salary. But at least he wasn’t using steroids. IF he were arrested for a steroid-related crime, he would have been suspend for at least 10-games and $1.2 million but, according the NBA anti-drug policy, could have been kicked out of the NBA forfeiting his entire $12.2 million annual salary.

Society’s priorities are clearly awry.

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John Cena was sickened by MLB player Alex Rodriguez’ admission that he used anabolic steroids according to a recent interview. The actor and rapper is employed by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) which has experienced its share of steroid-related controversy including a recent Congressional investigation into steroid use in professional wrestling and the apparent widespread use of steroids in pro wrestling. Nonetheless, John Cena believes that steroid users should go to jail (”Cena works hard on his rags to riches story,” February 16).

What happened with Alex Rodriguez and the steroids revelations sickened him. He thinks if everyone really wants to get serious about cleaning up the game, “they should send the guys to jail.”

Cena is about as cut as they come, but he said he’s not steroid enhanced.

“I’m not only a guy who will say I’m clean, but I’ll beat my chest to the world that I’m clean,” he said. “I have very, very strong opinions on that.”

John Cena’s belief that individual steroid use should be criminalize is somewhat surprising since Cena appeared to share director Chris Bell’s disdain for the hypocrisy of steroid laws. Cena asked Bell about anabolic steroids when compared and contrasted with legal, acceptable drugs that are more addictive and harmful than steroids. Chris Bell, the director of the steroid documentary ‘Bigger Stronger Faster*’, offered an excellent response criticizing the demonization of steroids suggesting that society has “deemed steroids immoral simply because they are illegal.”

But any assumption that John Cena was on the same page as Chris Bell was clearly erroneous. Most people who have worked at Gold’s Gym Venice and have had the chance to interact with steroid users on a regular basis tend to be more critical of steroid laws that put otherwise law-abiding citizens in jail. But not John Cena.

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President Barrack Obama commented on anabolic steroids during his first presidential press conference in response to a question by Washington Post reporter Michael A. Fletcher. Fletcher surprisingly asked President Obama about Alex Rodriguez’ admission of anabolic steroid use during his Major League Baseball career, “What is your reaction to Alex Rodriguez’s admission that he used steroids as a member of the Texas Rangers?” (”Obama’s First News Conference Covers A Range Of Issues,” February 9)

“I think it’s depressing news on top of what’s been a flurry of depressing items when it comes to Major League Baseball. And if you’re a fan of Major League Baseball, I think it tarnishes an entire era to some degree. And it’s unfortunate, because I think there are a lot of ball players who played it straight.

“And the thing I’m probably most concerned about is the message that it sends to our kids. What I’m pleased about is Major League Baseball seems to finally be taking this seriously, to recognize how big of a problem this is for the sport, and that our kids, hopefully, are watching and saying ‘You know what? There are no short cuts.’ That when you try to take short cuts, you may end up tarnishing your entire career. And your integrity’s not worth it. That’s the message I hope is communicated.”

The Washington Post asked the only question that did not involve domestic or foreign policy and was widely criticized as being inappropriate given the importance of other issues discussed during the prime-time presidential press conference. President Obama has previously stated that the government spends too much time on the steroid issue and would have probably liked to have completely dismissed the question. Instead, Obama provided an obligatory condemnation of steroids in baseball.

Obama found the news of steroid use by Alex Rodriguez “depressing.” Steroids “tarnished” the sport. Obama concerned about the “message” steroid-using athletes send to “kid”. Steroid use apparently destroys “integrity”. Steroids represent unacceptable “shortcuts”.

President Barrack Obama is not the first U.S. President to discuss steroids in baseball. His predecessor, George W. Bush, made depressingly similar comments about steroids during the 2004 Presidential State of the Union Address making steroids a top priority of his administration.

“The use of performance-enhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football, and other sports is dangerous, and it sends the wrong message — that there are shortcuts to accomplishment, and that performance is more important than character. So tonight I call on team owners, union representatives, coaches, and players to take the lead, to send the right signal, to get tough, and to get rid of steroids now.”

Former President George W. Bush was also worried about the “message” conveyed by steroid use in baseball. Steroid use represents unacceptable “shortcut”. Steroid use reflects lack of “character”. Steroid use is “dangerous”.

Fortunately, President Obama recognizes that there are more important issues facing the country and identifying steroid users in sports does not represent the best use of government resources.

“I gotta admit that seeing a lot of congressional hearings around steroid use is not probably the best use of congressional time [...]

“It’s a serious problem, but it’s one that you want to see the leagues themselves handle in a more appropriate way. We’ve got nuclear weapons and a financial meltdown to worry about. We shouldn’t be worrying about steroids as much as I think sometimes we do.”

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The steroid witch-hunt has expanded beyond athletes in professional sports to include performers in the entertainment industry. The recent government investigation into the pervasive use of anabolic steroids in the scripted entertainment of professional wrestling marks a departure from their focus on steroids in sports. The results of the investigation into steroid use in professional wrestling were conveniently released immediately prior to the nationwide theatrical release of “The Wrestler” promising to capitalize on the heightened media attention given to steroids in wrestling.

A movie about a professional wrestler who uses anabolic steroids that is played by an actor (Mickey Rourke) suspected of steroid use (with a history, marked by multiple physical altercations along with arrests for spousal abuse and resisting arrest, that lends itself to a roid rage interpretation) provides the perfect opportunity for anti-steroid crusaders to target the use of steroids in the entertainment industry.

There will certainly be much discussion about the parallels between Mickey Rourke and his character, Randy “The Ram” Robinson especially when it comes to steroid use. The discussion about Rourke’s physical transformation will remain in the news with every accolade awarded to “The Wrestler” from the recent Golden Globe awards to possible Oscar awards.

Everyone suspects that Mickey Rourke used steroids to obtain the physique seen in “The Wrestler.” The New York Daily News and Men’s Journal does (”Celebrity Side Dish,” January 11).

Mickey Rourke really did those backflips and rope dives in “The Wrestler,” but probably not without a little help. Though he doubled his daily 80-minute workouts with an Israeli cage fighter and ate seven meals a day, Men’s Journal reports that he most likely took steroids.

When asked, Rourke said: “When I’m a wrestler, I behave like a wrestler.”

Roger Ebert does (”The Wrestler,” December 23, 2008).

This is Rourke doing astonishing physical acting. He has the physique of a body builder, perhaps thanks to some steroid use, which would also be true of Randy.

Mickey Rourke has already admitted to using anabolic steroids beginning as early as 1995 under the supervision of a physician for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) (”The Rourke’s Progress,” April 10, 2005).

I never took steroids till I was finished fighting. After I was done boxing. Afterwards I took testosterone shots, because after 34 your testosterone level goes down, and if you’re monitored by a doctor and get a testosterone shot, it’s fine.

Mickey Rourke’s 43 lbs weight gain from 192 lb to very muscular 235lbs over a six month period for the role of Randy “The Ram” Robinson would be suggestive of steroid use for most people as well. But Rourke explains that he has considerable muscle memory from decades of hardcore training at the bodybuilding mecca of Gold’s Venice; his bodybuilding connections and experience were largely responsible for his ability to make such a physical transformation for the movie role (”Mickey Rourke shares how training helped him make a comeback in ‘The Wrestler’,” December 16, 2008). 

The bodybuilding of course helped but what a lot of people don’t know and understand is you can’t look like the way I do in 6 months. I have been bodybuilding for 20 years and muscle has memory.

It’s just a matter of how big you want to get or how cut you want to get, and this all depends on the amount of cardio or the diet you are on. We were on a high protein, low carb diet that included 3-4 protein shakes a day. The cardio was very important as well as my ab work during this period of training.

The use of performance enhancing drugs in professional football and baseball focused primarily on the ethical issue of using anabolic steroids, against the rules of the sport, to gain an unfair advantage on the competition. However, the issue of cheating with steroids is irrelevant when it comes to the entertainment industry since it is not a zero-sum game. The justification for a steroid witch-hunt in the entertainment industry will focus on saving the children rather than the issue of cheating. Representative Henry Waxman, in a letter to the Office of the National Drug Control Policy requesting further action by the nation’s drug czar, explains why steroids in professional wrestling (and conceivably the entire entertainment industry) is a national priority.

Over 3 million children and teenagers watch professional wrestling each week. The apparently widespread use of steroids in professional wrestling sends the wrong message to youth.

The government’s investigation into steroids in professional wrestling clearly represents the first attack on the use of anabolic steroids in the entertainment industry. If the feds believe that steroid use in wrestling sends the wrong message to young people, I wonder what type of message the government feels is being sent by actors who use steroids to prepare for roles in Hollywood movie productions? But I can’t imagine the government demanding that Hollywood studios implement steroid testing for actors and actresses?!

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Written by: Millard Baker | Twitter | FriendFeed | Facebook | E-mail

Dan Clark, best know as “Nitro” from the original American Gladiator television series, was inspired by Jose Canseco to write an autobiographical book about the evils of anabolic steroids. Nitro claims that his “steroid addiction” led to “a life of pissing blood, smuggling drugs, destroying hotel rooms, getting arrested, growing breasts, and lying bloodied in the street after a vicious fight with his best friend.” Dan Clark tells TMZ he was inspired by Jose Canseco to write a book about the dangers of steroids (”Nitro: I Juiced, Therefore I Am … Pissed at Jose,” October 23, 2008).

The book is called “Gladiator: A True Story of ‘Roids, Rage, and Redemption.”  And the whole reason I wrote this damn book is because I read Canseco’s friggin’ book and it pissed me off, you know. Canseco was telling mother fuckers out there – Canseco was telling people out there – you know, like steroids are good, take steroids. And he’s leading the wrong message. I took steroids for 20 years. I went to the first steroid doctor in America when it was legal. I know what it is and it fucked my body up. It fucked my body up. It ravaged my body. I had roid rage. I was laying in the street fighting with my best friend, and then you got a guy like Jose Canseco telling people ‘oh yeah, I think they will be prescribed for everyone’. He’s an idiot. He’s an idiot. And it’s wrong. [...]

Look, I took steroids for 20 years, it was a love affair and they’re bad. I mean I had to have surgery to remove breast tissue growing from my chest. My thing is this.. If steroids make you into such a man, then how come I had to have surgery to remove breast tissue from my chest?

The book “Gladiator: A True Story of ‘Roids, Rage, and Redemption” is scheduled to be released by Simon and Schuster on February 10, 2009. The New York Post recently posted excerpts from the Nitro’s account of the dangers of steroids (”Steroids Made Sex Life Hell,” January 5).

“Bitch t- -s, man boobs, breast-chesticles is what they’re called on the street. Gynecomastia is the scientific name. No matter what you call it, I [had] it,” Clark, who was “Nitro” on the smash reality series, reveals in his memoir, “Gladiator: A True Story of ‘Roids, Rage and Redemption,” out next month. “I hate[d] taking off my shirt. For photo shoots, [I'd] wet my nipple with spit . . . [to] look firm instead of hanging down.” [...]

Clark, a former LA Rams defensive lineman, used steroids for 20 years. They also took their toll on his private parts, so much so that he embarrassingly had to explain to women what was going on. “My b- – -s never really regained their size. They’re kind of shriveled,” he sadly told one bedmate. In addition, steroids subjected him to a “dull throbbing pain” every time he had sex.

A book about bitch tits, nipple wetting, shriveled balls, and painful sex that was inspired by Jose Canseco and steroids allegedly actually written by Dan “Nitro” Clark and NOT a ghostwriter. Not exactly bestseller material.

Post from: MESO-Rx Blog

Written by: Millard Baker | Twitter | FriendFeed | Facebook | E-mail