Steroids hit the NBA

By John McMullen

(The Phanatic Magazine) - It wasn't exactly David Ortiz getting ensnared in the performance-enhancing drug dragnet but the NBA finally got bitten by the steroid bug Thursday when Orlando All-Star forward Rashard Lewis was suspended for the first 10 games of next season after violating the league's Anti-Drug Program.

Lewis, who tested positive for an elevated testosterone level, went to the time-tested excuse of the "tainted supplement," claiming he took an over-the-counter product late last season that included a substance he did not realize was banned by the NBA. The Orlando Sentinel first reported the positive, saying that the "supplement" contained DHEA, a steroids precursor.

It's certainly a plausible scenario and a much better roll of the dice than the infamous Floyd Landis whiskey defense.

I hate to question Lewis but the "tainted supplement" argument has been wearing on me for months so I delved in and did the research. Surprisingly, Lewis' story has legs.

The recent StarCaps debacle in the NFL has proven that certain supplements really are "tainted." But, if the problem is really that widespread, where is the government when it comes to GNC? As far as I can tell, if GNC is really selling as many "tainted" supplements as alleged, it's a bigger drug dealer than Tony Montana.

The answer is simple, "tainted supplements" as defined by the various sports leagues aren't really tainted at all as far as the law is concerned.

DHEA or dehydroepiandrosterone, a metabolic predecessor of the hormones testosterone and estrogen that has been called the "youth hormone" after several studies have correlated increased levels in the blood to vigor, health and well-being, isn't illegal.

If fact, how DHEA came to enjoy legal protections in our steroid-obsessed culture is a study in skillful political shenanigans. Powerful Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, who represents a state where many dietary supplements are produced, has always pushed that DHEA should be kept legal and available as an "anti-aging" pill. Hatch, whose son Scott just happens to be a lobbyist for the National Nutritional Foods Association, also managed to put together the rarest thing in all of Washington D.C., non-partisan support for DHEA. He was joined in fighting for DHEA by Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat.

Despite the fact DHEA remains legal for you and I to possess and ingest, every major sports league, with the exception of Major League Baseball, favored a ban and did place DHEA on their respective restricted lists.

Hamstrung against its powerful union, MLB was more pragmatic.

"It is difficult, from a collective bargaining perspective, to explain to people why they should ban a substance that the federal government says you can buy at a nutrition center," Rob Manfred, executive vice president for labor relations at Major League Baseball, said in 2005.

For once, I agree with MLB. If it's legal, why can't Rashard Lewis use it?

The NBA has largely gotten a free pass on the steroids issue. Lewis is just the sixth player to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs since the league began testing in 1999.

Most assume the NBA is relatively clean and the league's waltz through the issue stems from lack of education. After all, "steroids" are just a narrow part of the performance-enhancing drugs trade.

When most people think steroids, they picture a thickly muscled bodybuilder or pro wrestler. But, understand that athletes use different performance-enhancers for different reasons. In the predetermined world of professional wrestling, guys are training for a look. In cycling, perhaps the most tainted sport of them all, they are training for endurance. In Mixed Martial Arts,
it's both. Heck, Human Growth Hormone, which is all the rage among Hollywood's elite and the sports world's highest-paid, isn't even a steroid.

People just don't understand how a skinny guy like Landis or an obese blob like NFL defensive tackle Grady Jackson could be using performance-enhancers, never mind NBA players.

To his credit, Lewis took full responsibility for his actions and toed the company line.

"First and foremost I take full responsibility for the situation and accept the corresponding penalty," Lewis said. "I apologize to Magic fans, my teammates and this organization for not doing the research that should come with good judgment.

"I hope every athlete can learn from my mistake that supplements, no matter how innocent they seem, should only be taken after consulting an expert in the field."

He shouldn't have had too.

There are certainly NBA players abusing illegal performance-enhancing drugs. The spotlight needs to be shined on them, not law-abiding citizens like Rashard Lewis.