Former NFL running back Femi Ayanbadejo settled his lawsuit against ALR Industries in a confidential agreement. ALR Industries (ALRI) has NOT admitted wrongdoing. ALRI is proceeding with its defamation lawsuit seeking punitive damages against Ayanbadejo for his irresponsible and false statements alleging that ALRI spiked its supplements. Ayanbadejo tested positive for an ingredient clearly listed on the label of ALRI Max LMG during a doping test conducted by the National Football League (NFL) (”Ex-Aztec, company settle dispute over supplement’s label,” May 20).
“Sometimes athletes have a valid claim against these companies, and sometimes they don’t,” said Charles Weller, attorney for ALR Industries. “This was a perfect example of a situation where we don’t have a valid claim. Ayanbadejo tested positive for exactly what was on the label of Max LMG. In trying to save his career, he chose to point fingers at the supplement company. He took a dietary supplement without doing his due diligence.”
Ayanbadejo publicly told reporters that ALR Industries knowingly added a banned substance and intentionally failed to disclose it on the label of Max LMG. Jim Miller, Ayanbadejo’s attorney, blamed Ayanbadejo’s failed steroid test on either a cross-contaminated or intentionally spiked supplement. However, Ayanbadejo and his lawyer never submitted any evidence to support allegations that Max LMG was cross-contaminated or spiked.
An evaluation of the Max LMG label easily proves the LISTED ingredient(s) account for the failed test. Read more
The Oklahoma City Police Department will implement random drug testing next year but will not test for anabolic steroid use by police officers. Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty, while acknowledging “isolated incidents” of steroid use, rejects the notion that steroid use by cops is “rampant” or a “systemic problem” (”Steroids not on Oklahoma City Police Department radar,” November 29).
The Oklahoma City Police Department and its officers’ union, the Fraternal Order of Police, are in negotiations to implement random drug testing in 2009, but steroids are not on the list of drugs to be tested for.
Police Chief Citty listened to Phoenix Police Commander Kim Humphrey sing the praises of steroid testing as the solution to “roid rage” in law enforcement at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in San Diego. But Citty is not convinced the use of anabolic steroids by police officers will cause the type of violent and aggressive roid rage that would threaten the lives of the public in Oklahoma City. Read more
The manufacturers of the Whizzinator, a male prosthetic urinary device used to pass anti-doping steroid testing and employer drug testing, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia. United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan prosecuted Gerald Wills and Robert D. Catalano of Puck Technology as part of Operation True Test that targeted companies who manufacturer products intended to “mask” illegal drug use and/or anabolic steroid use in athletes (”Men who sold ‘Whizzinator’ admit to federal charges,” November 26).
Mary Beth Buchanan is the “porn and bongs” prosecutor who spent $12 million to put Tommy Chong in prison for nine months for selling pipes and bongs as part of Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Head Hunter, has turned her attention to anti-doping detection devices even though federal law does not explicitly prohibit the use of such “masking products.”
The federal anti-doping law entitled Drug Testing Integrity Act of 2005 was introduced in response to Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith’s detention by airport police due to the discovery of the Whizzinator. The bill specifically criminalized the use of such items but failed to gather momentum (”Whitfield, Engel Introduce National Drug Testing Integrity Act,” May 9, 2006).
The devastating effects of drug and steroid use are well known and we should not allow companies to sell products like the Whizzinator to falsify their tests with impunity. These devices should not be sold legally in the United States and this legislation will make our nation a safer place to live.
Even though the legislation did not pass, Mary Beth Buchanan, the aggressive obscenity prosecutor and vice hunter, nonetheless decided to pursue Puck Technology and Whizzinator under the rarely enforced federal drug paraphernalia laws much as she did with the case against Tomy Chong and Nice Dream Enterprises; many critics (and federal prosecutors) regard the pursuit of obscenity and paraphernalia cases as a waste of money that diverts significant resources away from other more serious crimes. Read more
Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), asserts that there is a “virtual absence” of steroid use by soccer players in the Premier League . The head of the players’ union cites this as one of his reasons behind his objections to the introduction of WADA drug testing to the popular professional soccer league in the United Kingdom. While there are several reasonable objections to increased steroid testing in soccer, the assertion that soccer players do not use anabolic steroids is not one of them (”Home drugs test idea upsets PFA,” November 11).
“If we complain about anything to do with drug-testing people think we might have something to hide, but football’s record is extremely good and there has been a virtual absence of any performance-enhancing drugs over decades.
“We do appreciate that football is a major spectator sport and we wish to co-operate, but football should not be treated in the same way as individual sports that do have a problem with drugs, such as athletics, cycling and weightlifting. (emphasis added)
United Manchester boss Sir Alex Ferguson made defensible objections to the more stringent anti-doping rules based on cost, convenience and privacy. But the PFA’s assertion of drug-free football (soccer) is contradicted by extensive evidence to the contrary (and basic common sense regarding performance enhancing drug use at the elite level).
Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United boss and hall of fame football (soccer) manager, has criticized the implementation of new steroid testing rules in the Premier League as a “real nuisance.” Barclay’s Premier League is the world’s most lucrative professional football league. The implementation of more vigilant steroid testing protocols comes as UK Sports, the United Kingdom’s anti-doping agency, incorporates “in-competition” anti-doping testing that is more consistent with that of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code (”Fergie Slams Drug Testing Reforms,” November 14).
“The procedures are becoming a real nuisance to us.”
Sir Alex Ferguson is particularly critical of the “whereabouts ruling.” The “whereabouts ruling” requires tested players to provide anti-doping officials with advance notification of their whereabouts for a particular hour each day year round. Read more
Preston Williams, Washington Post high school sports columnist, recommends steroid education involving coaches, parents and truthful steroid documentaries like “Bigger Stronger Faster*” as the best way to address teen steroid use in high schools. Williams questions the effectiveness of costly high school steroid testing programs “whose merits are spotty” with “swing-and-miss results.”
In his weekly column about high school sports, Williams applauds the sensible efforts by physician Ben Pearl (Arlington Foot & Ankle Center), physical education teacher and former NFL player Rocky Belk (Arlington Public Schools), and physical therapy and sports medicine instructor Sheila Napala (Arlington Career Center) to combat anabolic steroid use in high schools (”Straight Talk Is the Best Deterrent to Steroid Use,” November 6).
So the best way, financially and otherwise, to ward off steroid use among teen athletes is probably through parents and coaches — and the old-fashioned approach that Arlington County physical education teacher Rocky Belk and Arlington physician Ben Pearl took last week.
They met with about 60 high school students from Sheila Napala’s physical therapy and sports medicine classes at the Arlington Career Center to discuss steroids and the 2008 documentary the students had watched, “Bigger Stronger Faster*.”
Steroid education approaches involving scare tactics, steroid hysteria and steroid demonization have been largely ineffective. It is refreshing to see prominent educators in the community taking an honest and straightforward approach to the topic of anabolic steroid use by providing truthful information to students. Read more
Anabolic steroids have been banned in sports (and criminalized in society), in large part, due to the belief that anabolic steroids are extremely harmful to an athlete’s health. The recent deaths at the 2008 New York City Marathon suggest that often sport itself may be inherently more dangerous than the non-medical use of anabolic steroids.
Two runners, Carlos Jose Gomes and Joseph Marotta, died from heart attacks after finishing the 2008 New York City Marathon. The New York Fire Department revived two other runners who collapsed after suffering heart attacks during the race; one is apparently still unconscious. Dr. William Cole was not surprised by the cardiac incidents at the NYC Marathon Read more
Phoenix Police Commander Kim Humphrey will advise police leaders around the country on ways to reduce “roid rage” in law enforcement at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in San Diego on November 9, 2008. It seems that the use of anabolic steroids by police officers could threaten the lives of the public at large presumably due to violent aggression of roid rage (”Police Dept. leads way on steroid testing,” October 9).
“Steroids can be a life-safety issue, not only for the user, but for the public,” said Humphrey, who is speaking at a national conference in November alongside Dr. Gary Green, a UCLA sports medicine expert and adviser to Major League Baseball on anabolic steroids.
The Phoenix Police Department, the Phoenix Fire Department and the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association joined forces to create the Phoenix Steroids Task Force after the widespread steroid use was exposed by local media, a DEA probe and an internal investigation. It appears that police officers were trying to gain an unfair advantage over criminals (”Phoenix a pioneer in steroid-testing policy,” October 19).
Like athletes who ignore testosterone-induced side effects to gain a competitive edge on the field, a handful of Valley law-enforcement officers were investigated because authorities believed they were using anabolic steroids to gain an edge on the streets.
Of course such “cheating” was unacceptable and the lack of a “level playing field” between police and criminals would not be tolerated. Read more
William Llewellyn and Ronny Tuber recently tested 14 anabolic steroid products from various underground labs (UGLs) for toxic heavy metals and quantification of steroid dosing. Twenty-one percent of the steroid products were contaminated with lead, tin, mercury, and/or arsenic; 64% were significantly underdosed or overdosed. Most notably, the names of the UGLs that “failed” the quality control testing analysis were omitted.
MESO-Rx has uncovered the identities of the labs that failed the tests based on a February 28, 2007 Body of Science forum post by Ronny Tober. We contacted William Llewellyn alerting him to this publicly posted information. He wanted readers to realize that there are serious “chain of custody” issues involved in the testing of such underground anabolic steroid products. This is the reason that he is unable to reveal and/or confirm the identities of the products that failed the testing.
The steroid samples tested were tested at the request of a popular Scandinavian board and obtained on the European black market. As such, there are no guarantees that the chain of custody has been preserved. In the underground androgen black market, it is not uncommon for counterfeit products of other underground products to be distributed. The products tested may or may not be original products produced by the company on the label. It is with this understanding that MESO-Rx is releasing the following information.
The $6 million University Interscholastic League (UIL) anabolic steroid testing program in Texas high schools has been besieged with criticism lately. The steroid testing program only found two positive results in 10,117 samples tested during the first semester. Furthermore, Texas UIL misled the general public about the scope of the testing program. Texas UIL lists 36 banned steroids in their steroid testing program. UIL spokeswoman Kim Rogers revealed last month that, in reality, the program only tests for 10 banned steroids. We have previously listed the numerous shortcomings of the Texas high school steroid testing program and explained in detail why the steroid testing would be ineffective. Today, we learned about another problem with steroid testing…
A Texas high school was caught cheating in the administration of the random steroid testing to their student athletes. Officials at Pecos High School apparently gave advance notification to athletes subject to steroid testing. The UIL publicly reprimanded Pecos High School and placed them on probation for one year for violating the State’s steroid testing policy Read more
Bruce Douthit, MD of the Baylor Medical Center at Frisco revealed himself as a secret weapon in the fight against steroid use by teenagers in high schools and steroid use in sports at the Texas Steroid Summit. He guaranteed that he could simply look at an athlete and determine whether they are using banned or illegal anabolic steroids (”Summit in Frisco to address dangers of steroids,” August 10).
But I guarantee you, if I could walk through the school and pick the athletes there to be tested, my positive rate would be a whole lot higher, because I can look at them and tell whether they’ve been doing it.
The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) announced that the 2010 Cologne Gay Games VIII will implement testing for anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in all sporting events. The testing at the 2010 Cologne Gay Games will be based on the stingent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) doping protocols. The 2006 Chicago Gay Games introduced drug testing to athletes in powerlifting, bodybuilding and wrestling for the first time.
Steroid testing at the Gay Games highlights the problem of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) that allow the use of banned substances for legitimate medical indications; anabolic-androgenic steroids are routinely used in HIV patients. The WADA protocols allow for TUEs but do not address the acceptability of exemptions for the use of anabolic steroids for HIV. The Federation of Gay Games hopes to redefine and improve the WADA protocols by encouraging “mainstream sports become not just more accepting of gay athletes, but more accommodating of athletes with chronic medical concerns - especially HIV Read more
The Florida Legislature refused to continue funding a pilot program for steroid testing of high school athletes. State budget problems did not allow legislators to justify spending $175 to $200 per student on random testing for anabolic steroids. Out of 700 tests costing approximately $100,000, one high school student tested positive for anabolic steroid use (”Prep drug testing runs out of juice,” May 19).
The Florida High School Athletic Association will present the results to the legislature in October, Llorente said, but the FHSAA already has a good idea of what they are.
FHSAA spokeswoman Cristina Alvarez confirmed Monday that more than 700 student-athletes have been randomly tested this school year, and only one test came back positive. The positive test was from a football player, Alvarez said, and no athletes from the winter or spring seasons have tested positive.
Rep. Marcelo Llorente, the bill sponsor, feels that $100,000 is a small price to pay to catch a single steroid user.
“It shows that the program deterred young high school athletes from using steroids,” Llorente said. “If we deter one young person in the state from doing steroids and intervene in a positive fashion, I think it becomes a worthwhile endeavor.”
Fortunately, at least one athletic director is a little more reasonable when addressing the issue of steroid testing in high school.
Not everyone agrees. Boca Raton Athletic Director Bill Massey pointed out that it “cost us $100,000 to find that one student.”
“It was a nice idea, probably a more politically correct thing to do,” Massey said of the testing. “To test 1 percent of the state is not a significant number that the student-athletes modified their behavior, and I don’t think it’s as widespread as we would like to say among athletes.”
USA Today recently asked the the “top” presidential campaigns about their positions on anabolic steroids and anabolic steroids in sports (”Where the candidates stand on sports issues,” May 8).
Senator Hillary Clinton supports federal efforts to eliminate steroids from professional sports:
Senator Clinton sees our sports leagues as public trusts and our sports heroes as key public role models for our children, and believes in the importance of promoting clean, drug-free professional sports. In her view, leagues should take the lead in vigorously enforcing their own strict drug policies, but if we were to see frequent and flagrant continued abuse of performance-enhancing drugs by professional athletes, she would certainly speak out against it as president and consider appropriate federal action.
Senator Barack Obama supports spending additional federal funds to enforce existing steroid laws:
As a father and an avid sports fan, I understand the dangers that performance enhancing drugs pose for athletes, as well as the teenagers who seek to emulate them, not to mention the effect that these drugs have on the integrity of sports. As president, I would use the bully pulpit of my office to warn Americans about the dangers of performance enhancing drugs, and I would put greater resources into enforcement of existing drug laws. I would also convene a summit of the commissioners of the professional sports leagues, as well as university presidents, to explore options for decreasing the use of these drugs.
Senator John McCain supports federal steroid education efforts promoting “devastating” and “destructive” side effects of steroids, aggressive prosecution of steroid-related cases, enforcement of DSHEA to keep anabolic steroids out of dietary supplements, and “necessary support” to help anti-doping agencies detect undetectable designer anabolic steroids:
Since the beginning of the steroids scandals John McCain has consistently said that the important aspect of the issue is not the well-being of the multi-milliondollar professional athletes who choose to use banned substances to cheat themselves and their sport, but rather the effects these substances are having on our youth. In a simple point and click, our children today are able to obtain illegal performance-enhancing substances on the Internet in just a few days. The use of these substances among adolescents in the U.S. has reached epidemic proportions and the health effects of usage are devastating — leading to depression, suicide, stunted growth, and the deterioration of the liver, kidneys, bones, and reproductive organs. We have every reason to believe that what kids are doing indubitably will show up in doctor’s offices 15 years from now, so John McCain believes it is imperative that we act now.
A McCain administration would continue an aggressive prosecutorial approach, and will focus more on educating our youth about the destructive effects of these substances. And it’s not just performance-enhancing drugs. Our kids are obtaining prescription drugs over the Internet at an alarming rate. His administration would encourage schools to include lessons concerning the adverse health effects of these substances as part of physical education, and disseminate these educational messages at the grassroots level. In addition, my administration would ensure that dietary supplement manufacturers are in compliance with the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act (DSHEA) and not seeking shelter for substances that were never intended to be protected under the Act. A McCain administration would continue to pressure professional sports leagues to adopt zero-tolerance doping policies, and ensure that the Olympic athletes that represent our Nation do so with honor. Also, A McCain administration will provide the necessary support to research laboratories that are working to outpace the science developed by those who seek substances undetectable to testing.
USA Today did not ask the campaign of Representative Ron Paul for his position on anabolic steroids in sports, but his campaign has unapologetically gone on record as being completely against the war on drugs which would logically include the war on steroids:
For the first 140 years of our history, we had essentially no Federal war on drugs, and far fewer problems with drug addiction and related crimes was a consequence. In the past 30 years, even with the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on the drug war, little good has come of it. We have vacillated from efforts to stop the drugs at the source to severely punishing the users, yet nothing has improved. This war has been behind most big government policy powers of the last 30 years, with continual undermining of our civil liberties and personal privacy.
The lack of sensitivity exhibited by the companies and organizations that administer doping and steroid testing is upsetting a lot of people. I understand certain protocol must be followed but the invasive nature of such procedures will inevitably have a negative backlash. The latest instance of drug testers invading events of personal significance comes from Cuero High School in Texas (”Steroid testing interrupts award ceremony,” May 12).
Thirty random student-athletes were tested at Cuero on Thursday for the first time since the UIL adopted the testing program. The testing was scheduled from 8-11:30 a.m. and interfered with the awards which started at 9 a.m. The time conflict forced student-athletes to miss parts of the ceremony.
The UIL refused to change the testing times when requested by school officials.
“We talked to the UIL about changing the time, but they would not change it,” Reeve said. “The school doesn’t have any control over when we’re going to be tested. This is the first year for testing and we were chosen by lottery. We couldn’t let anybody know about the testing.”
While it may not seem like a big deal to most people. The family of students affected are quite upset. Grandmother Mary Kahlich shared her frustration about the incidence in her recent comments on steroid testing in high schools at the MESO-Rx Blog.
As a result of this, my grandson missed his award presentations. just because he could not pee in and fill a cup. This child has worked very hard and achieved a lot. He has finished High School in 3 years and will be going to Texas A&M this fall in the ROTC progran with paid scholarship. He received many awards of which he was not present to accept. He now has on pictures to put in his school album to show his hard work. His other grandparents and aunt and uncle drove from elsewhere to support him but never got to see him reeive not one award. I believe the testing could have taken place just after the ceremony. They knew which kids that they were going to test. They could have done this after the ceremony. Where were the kids going to go? They were all marched into the gymn y class with all teachers, principles, aides, etc. I am writing so that no other child will have to go thru this. No wonder good kids go bad. All sports activities were over with. This should have been done earlier in the year.
Kahlich’s comments highlight another problem with steroid testing in Texas high schools. Why would steroid testing be conducted on graduating seniors when all of their high school extracurricular sporting activities have been concluded?
While this is not quite as bad as the cyclist who was ordered to submit a sample for a doping test while he was arranging for the funeral of his infant son who died shortly after birth, it is still troubling.
Belgian cyclist Kevin Van Impe was taken for a routine drugs test just as he was at the crematorium filling in papers following the death of his baby son, media reported Saturday.
The Quick Step rider was at Lochristi crematorium when a drugs tester turned up and demanded he provide a sample, warning that otherwise he could face a two-year suspension.
“He wouldn’t even come back later in the day. It was either do it right on the spot or it would be taken as if I had refused,” Van Impe told Web site www.sport.be.
Van Impe was arranging the funeral of son Jayden, born prematurely on Monday and who died just six hours later.
After all, in some instances, doping testers allow some flexibility in exactly when athletes can submit their sample. For example, it seems that allowing two hours for an athlete to conclude a sexual liaison with his girlfriend before submitting a doping sample is permissible.
Florian Busch remains eligible to play for Germany at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.
The World Anti-Doping Agency had requested that he be suspended from the event after refusing a doping test two months ago but the IIHF decided Wednesday that it would not take that action.
The German Ice Hockey Association cleared Busch to play before the start of the world championship and the IIHF says it is not in a position to interfere with decisions made by its member nations.
