Curious about the boards view on the following subject.

This bit of information came from an ESPN article presented today; -- "Indianapolis Colts tight end Weslye Saunders has been suspended eight games without pay after violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances."

I will state emphatically that I've had enough of the PED problem in sports. I support LIFETIME bans for any athlete caught using steroids. Being a professional athlete is not a right, it's a privilege.

How do you guys feel?

frank like you im fed up with the cheaters.i do believe in a second chance based on circumstances or evidence but a first strike it opens the door for your exit..braun the baseball player won a appeal based on mishandling the chain of the sample.that doesn't mean hes innocent.surely no one put peds in the urine sample after it was given.now hes under investigation by baseball with that peds clininc in Miami..no 100 game suspendtion.your done.clowns like McGuire finaly admitted he took roids and did it for his WHOLE career.yet hes a hitting coach.pete rose is banned from baseball because he bet on his own team and games not involving his team.he finaly admitted that but the real reason pete is banned because hes a huge asshole.
arob claimed he used lol for only 3 years.realy.i got a few Brooklyn bridges for sale...some idiots called fans think bonds was clean.thats why his trainer spent a year and a half in jail for comtempt of court not testifying because he knew the government had the goods to convict him of purgery. like you I feel its one and your done for the most part unless circumstances reveal or merit a rare second chance.there are no more babe ruths joe dimaggios stan musials willie mays marcianos Robinsons pep or grebs or jim browns gino marchettis dick butkus etc etc just fucking frauds and the sad part a big chunk of the fans think its ok.

frank I just read this is the guys second offense...last year he was suspended for 4 games.i agree.your out of here.

I agree. It's rampant throughout sports and it's not going to change anytime soon. New PEDs will always be ahead of the test to find them. A very large amount of NFL and NBA players have been on PED's since high school and they're not going to stop anytime soon. Players do it to get any advantage they can get. Team owners don't care because it keeps their star players healthy and on the field/court. Players unions vigorously fight any new PED testing from being implemented. And most importantly fans don't really care. They see the bigger, faster, stronger athletes and think its more entertaining.

Richard Sherman from the seahawks is another guy who won an appeal to get off a suspension.

The only reason I disagree on a lifetime ban is because pro sports is not a privilege, it's a job. The players association arbitrates these punishments because it is the players livelihood. Imagine if you were fired from your job & then were prevented from ever getting another job in your field...

flapanther2001 wrote:The only reason I disagree on a lifetime ban is because pro sports is not a privilege, it's a job. The players association arbitrates these punishments because it is the players livelihood. Imagine if you were fired from your job & then were prevented from ever getting another job in your field...

One would never be fired for taking something that makes them do their job better, they'd be promoted in any other field.

amazing the excuses to condone a illegal activity.there are tens of thousands of folks that lose there job with no fault of there own yearly and have to find new work in a different field.so don't give a lifetime ban because its taking away there livelyhood.total nonsense sorry.what do players that are clean do after they no longer can play.they find a job.so what do we do.give them 1 yearsuspension but say next year you can play.violate the rules and do a illegal activity and you can play the next year.no ban for life just a penalty every other year...no there not banned for life and prevented from getting a job in your field.theres high school coaching like farve does colledge and pro coaching.
theres phys ed jobs all over the place.what did willie davis do when he retired.he started a business because he had a business degree.some become play by play announchers for collage and pro football..plenty of jobs in there so called field.
what realy is there field.how many make pro football after colledge.very few.did they not get a degree in a field that was going to be there main field...what ever happened to jail time by the way.
hardcores excuse is pathetic.they should get promoted for taking something illegal that violates the contract that the union signed off on.there are several jobs in the medical field government work and in industry that requires you to pass drug test before hiring.you fail you don't get the job in that field.your field but gee that drug makes me calm so I can work under stress easier or that drug makes me more alert thus more efficient or better.so I deserve to be hired ..
sorry guys its attitudes like this that folks don't give a shit about integrity that's killing the sport game a lot..hey don't penalize the cheats.reward them.reward them for a illegal activity.against the law activity.unbeliveable excuses.

They are cheating. Worse yet, cheating in sports where a person can be permanently injured.

If you are in cycling or track and field and you are dirty, I don't like it. Cheating is cheating. But their cheating isn't physically hurting someone else.

In football, boxing (and other combat sports), cheating is serious. Football is a series of violent collisions which are harmful for their health. Boxing/mma is punching or kicking your opponent in the head. These sports are violent and dangerous. Cheating in these sports should mean you are gone by the 2nd violation (and 1st should be a really harsh penalty). People's health is at risk.

The guys that choose to fight in boxing or mma or play football accept that the game is violent and dangerous. They are not accepting that someone can cheat all to hell. getting hurt by someone who is cheating is possible and not acceptable.

i agree with the premise because just like any job, if you do something illegal or against the job policy then you will get major penalties. for example, lets say im a physician and decide to take some prescription meds and give them to a friend to abuse. that right there will probably get your license to practice taken away. if not, then a second offense surely will and i would agree with that fully. so as with professional sports, if you do something that is illegal and against the rules then i would definitely say after the second offense your "license" or whatever you want to call it should be taken away.

so lets say you play in the NBA and are a repeated offender. you get banned for life from the NBA. you can still go and play in another country if they will let you. so you may not be totally our of a job. i just feel like sports is like any other job. if you violate the rules too many times, you should be gone.

the only problem i have with it is if by some chance somebody took something that made them fail the drug test when they shouldnt have (like the whole poppy seed muffins thing). there are other things too. its just hard to take away somebodys right to play if there is a legit excuse but we just dont know. although the argument to that would be that those circumstances are few and far between so for the better of the sport you might as well get rid of the rest of the cheaters even if by some chance a non guilty person gets punished once in a while.

In Virginia (where I'm licensed as an attorney), the bar is offered twice a year. In February, the passage rate is usually around 55%. In july (when most people take it), the passage rate is usually around 75%.

Many people who have an undergrad degree and made it through 3 years of law school will not be granted a license in this state. A license is a privilege and not a right.

Same for doctors and other professions.

If you commit malpractice or are convicted of certain crimes, you can lose these licenses. If you take client funds from a trust account, the bar will be pissed off. You have not kept separate client funds (funds of people you are supposed to represent).

Fighters are licensed as well. Use of PEDs is a sort of malpractice. There is an implicit agreement you sign with the guy you are going to fight. You are both going to not operate outside the rules during the fight and you are going to be clean of performance enhancers. Violating that should get someone's license pulled by the 2nd violation and they shouldn't be able to fight for a while after the first violation.

captain good post.the past 15 years ive been a nurse now the last 8 since I retired I do very part time.yep devert meds etc etc see how fast they take away your license to practice in your field.PP were basically talking peds not weed.you got to eat a ton of poppy seed to have a false positive for weed.

dmar5143 wrote:captain good post.the past 15 years ive been a nurse now the last 8 since I retired I do very part time.yep devert meds etc etc see how fast they take away your license to practice in your field.PP were basically talking peds not weed.you got to eat a ton of poppy seed to have a false positive for weed.

good point but im just saying that sometimes something can raise your testosterone level which isnt illegal which causes a red flag. they are pretty good at deciphering what things are but again, i guarantee there would be some rare circumstances that an athlete gets banned for something that wasnt their fault.

i guess it may make athletes really doubt their nutritionist. like when pac said that he just eats and drinks whatever is given to him. some athletes may do the same thing and then end up being banned for life.

powerpuncher wrote:

dmar5143 wrote:captain good post.the past 15 years ive been a nurse now the last 8 since I retired I do very part time.yep devert meds etc etc see how fast they take away your license to practice in your field.PP were basically talking peds not weed.you got to eat a ton of poppy seed to have a false positive for weed.

good point but im just saying that sometimes something can raise your testosterone level which isnt illegal which causes a red flag. they are pretty good at deciphering what things are but again, i guarantee there would be some rare circumstances that an athlete gets banned for something that wasnt their fault.

i guess it may make athletes really doubt their nutritionist. like when pac said that he just eats and drinks whatever is given to him. some athletes may do the same thing and then end up being banned for life.

Good point Power, however if they knew they'd be banned for life, you can bet your ass they'd be aware of what they were taking.

In some situations, we're talking about the difference between a 100 million dollar contract or going back to living in a wooden shack. Those guys would hire somebody to check their food out to make damn sure there were no PEDs in it.

To be reasonable, I'd give them some time to get off PEDs in the event they were addicted. For example, NFL players would be warned about the new PED rules the day following the Super Bowl. That's enough time to get off of something they never should've been on in the first place.

Here's another article from ESPN based on illegal PED use by NFL players;




RICHMOND, Va. -- Washington Redskins defensive end Jarvis Jenkins was suspended for four games without pay Friday for violating the NFL's drugs policy.

Jenkins released a statement saying he was "shocked and confused" to learn that he had tested positive for a banned performance enhancing substance.

"It's an obscure substance that I've never even heard of, and I still don't know how it got into my body," the statement said. "My only guess is that it came from one of the supplements I was taking around the time of the test, even though none of them listed anything banned."

Jenkins remains eligible to practice at training camp and play in preseason games. He was on the field working with the first-string unit during the afternoon practice when the suspension was announced.

Jenkins will be eligible to return to the active roster on Sept. 30 following the team's Week 4 game against the Oakland Raiders.

A second-round pick in 2011, Jenkins missed his rookie season with a right knee injury. He returned last year to start 14 games.

Jenkins is the eighth Redskins player to receive a drugs-related suspension in less than three seasons. Left tackle Trent Williams, tight end Fred Davis and cornerback Phillip Buchanon served four-game sanctions in 2011. Cornerback Cedric Griffin and tackle Jordan Black were docked four games last year.

Linebacker Rob Jackson, like Jenkins, is suspended for the first four games this year. Safety Tanard Jackson is serving an indefinite suspension and could be reinstated this year.

The governing bodies in all sorts need to conduct more vigorous training on a much more frequent basis. Blood testing should be compulsory along with urine samples. A hair sample can show anything that has been in your system for upto 4-6 months, but at a greater cos. in the UK the British boxing board of control carry out random blood and urine tests all year round and a failed test results in a hefty fine and a 2 year ban. This should be the standard practice for all sports and all the state athletic commissions in the USA. People using PEDs in a boxing ring is as bad as Margaritos illegal hand wraps in my opinion and it needs to be stopped. The best deterrent is to improve the testing procedures and employ harsher sentences for those found guilty

maybe its time to go old fashioned and just do things natural and stop taking supplements. then everyone can be smaller and there is no more disadvantage. sounds good.