HGH Testing-Congress could get involved

[fearsomefour]

Our government should not in any way be involved in it, but the league needs to test for it. This crap is outta control in sports and it'll never change until they punish the F out of the guys cheating.

Couple of issues with that last sentence. Punishing the F out the guys using it and there by forcing it out of the game will be bad for the brand (the NFL will never admit this, but, Im sure they believe it). Trianing techniques and legal supplementation have evolved greatly in the last couple of decades, but, do you think the NFL really wants to go back to 265lb o lineman and 170 lb LBs as the norm? Hell no. Part of the marketing of the league is these guys are supermen. The public appeal is undeniable. This is why someone like Brock Lesnar was a huge draw in a sport in which had no real skill level, most of the general public always believes bigger is better (insert joke here).
So, I expect the NFL and players Union to reach a wink and nod kind of deal. Im sure the NFL doesnt want it in the game but the reality is they dont fully want it out of the game either.
Personally, I could care less. The regulations around these things are determined by special interest/marketing groups as much as any concern for public safety.

An awful lot of players are itching to get the cheaters out of the sports world in every sport. This recent crap with Lance Armstrong and Biogenesis seems to have been the last straw so to speak. It'll help "the brand" to eliminate cheaters not hurt it.

When asked that is what they say, because what else are they supposed to say? Who knows? I think most dont care (I am basing this on knowing several pro athletes resonablely well) because most are riding that line anyway. The term "cheating" I find comical in this context. Cheating defined how?
I will go back to my example I have used before....if taking a chemical is cheating because it allows the body to perform or recover better or faster than it normally would, how is laser surgery to fix someones naturally faulty eyes (many times fixed beyond 20/20) any different? How is the use of pain pills different if it is masking pain therefore allowing performance or recovery that would not be happening if the body was in its natural state?
In reality, there is NO difference. We have been conditioned that "medicine" is good and "drugs" are bad....that is social stigma and marketing and nothing more. Most of the things that will get a player in trouble are used as treatments in other instinces. So, at the end of the day, we will be left with a different version of what we have now, a short sighted, hypocritical policy full of loop holes and unfair snags.
As for the privacy issue, companies have the ability to drug test employees if them not being sober has a possible effect on public safety, truck driver for example. What the NFL and all major sports leagues are being forced to do is implement a failed policy based on some sort of faulty moral code. It is just stupidity in my humble opinion.

 

[LesBaker]

I have a different take on HGH.

I think the players should be allowed to use it under the supervision of a doctor. It helps these players heal better and faster from what I understand. They are face rough injuries in this, injuries that most people would never expose themselves to purposely. Medically speaking, I think these players should be able to take advantage of HGH. If controlled by doctors, the players would be much better off. The benefits of it are real, and I think a player should be able to use science to help his beat up body. Their careers only last a short time.

As it stands now,,, players are going to use it without proper medical advice and control. I have no doubt that a large percentage of NFL players are using it now in secret... not knowing how to use it properly.

The players using it know exactly what they are doing with it, they are already doing it under supervision for the most part. They are buying it illegally from Docs and clinics all over the nation. The problem isn't who is giving it to them it's the dosages they are taking.

They aren't taking the amount they need to heal faster, even if they are using it to recover from an injury, they are taking it in huge amounts to add tons of muscle. Did you ever read the article about the Steelers team Doc (during their recent excellent run that ended a short time after he got fired) that got nailed with enough HGH to treat over 1000 patients in proper doses. He had a dozen or so actual clients at his private practice that he was treating and the rest of what he was buying went right into the veins of players of course. The article might still be out thee.....it's really informative and I was shocked that it didn't blow up more than it did. Essentially they had their own in house Biogenesis LOL.

Until the NFL can conduct proper tests to monitor the amounts Docs are giving them they won't make it legal for them under NFL rules because they know then that everyone would cheat and cheat even more. Yeah it could help for sure, and I wish I could afford to take the shit myself, but if they are not monitored via testing it'll get worse. And the long term effects of abusing this stuff aren't pretty.

 

[Selassie I]

Any "Docs" who are supplying the players with it now certainly aren't concerned with proper dosages and player health. Since it's all underground, the cash is the only motivator.

If on the other hand Docs were allowed to prescribe HGH to pro football players who were going through a healing process... and the process had to be monitored by the Doc,,, I believe misuse and health risks could be minimized. Testing of course would be part of the monitoring process to make sure abuses were stopped.

Like I said, I have a different take on it. I believe these pro athletes should be able to take advantage of the added healing effects. Everyone would be on the same playing field that way.

 

[bluecoconuts]

Any company can do a drug test, and anyone can refuse to take one. However that gives the company the right to dismiss said employee. The players can refuse to take a test but the NFL can then ban them from the league.

Please explain to me why this is. I mean, why does the company or the NFL possess this power to terminate an individual if they do not comply with this privacy invasion?

Where does this power come from? And why is the situation not reversed - for example, why is company or NFL not liable when they try to force individuals to submit themselves to privacy invasions?

I think we all know the answer to these questions. So, if we're going to comply, the least we could do is at least not do it so willingly and submissively. It's damn embarrassing.

Army used to piss test us once a month, it was annoying sure but Its their right to do so.

The Army is a US government entity, at least it used to be. So, where does the government get the power to force individuals to comply with this kind of requirement?

We've become so conditioned to all of these intrusions that we've lost sight of just how egregious they are, and that the institutions, claiming that they have the power to force the peon-public to comply, actually have no power to do so. We just acquiesce.

If you have to operate a vehicle or any safety-sensitive operations then it's required by law because public safety. Otherwise it's strictly up to the company, but they do it because they get discounts for insurance premiums from the state if they can show their employees aren't using drugs, if the employee injures themselves or someone on the job the company can be liable if they are on drugs, and drug/alcohol abuse costs private companies about 80 billion dollars a year in lost productivity. As for the military, they don't want drug addicts in their ranks because it severely reduces readiness, and having someone who is high handle expensive and powerful weapons is just dangerous.

Nobody forces anything, nobody can physically force you to stand and pee into a cup. Similar to nobody can physically force you not to speed in your car. However if you don't comply to the rules that they set up they are allowed to dismiss you from work. In the military they will just chapter you out of the service with an other than honorable (or dishonorable, depending) discharge.

A company should be able to protect themselves from liability though. In the NFL's case if a player was injured because other players were using PED's were so juiced up they hit him too hard, they would be open to be sued. Players getting out of the NFL after having their bodies torn up from the drugs would also sue and the NFL would be liable for allowing it to happen. It would also cheapen the game to fans and send a poor message to the community.