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NFLer: It would be "very naive and foolish" to think players aren't on HGH

nwfdailynews.com — Washington Redskins tackle Jon Jansen said it would be "very naive and foolish" to think NFL players aren't using human growth hormone. On Thursday, he backed down from his statement that "maybe 15, 20 percent" of the league's players use illegal performance-enhancing substances.

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  • imreal, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6i'm apt to say they should let everybody take whatever they want just to stop this madness, but that's not very reasonable. it's a tough situation for players b/c they want to perform above and beyond everyone else, these guys have a lot of pressure. so i can understand WHY they do it, but they're killing their bodies.
    • russizm, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3Besides destroying their own testicles sending the message to kids that it's worth it to destroy their testicles is worse.
    • elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4I don't care if they destroy their testicles ( In fact, I would be GLAD if they did ), nor do I care that some kids will see them as role models and likewise destroy their own testicles. It's a CHOICE, people. Things should not be illegal ' for your own good. '

      (Plus, it would be a great day for natural selection)
      (Double plus, it would make football more interesting)
    • billyboobs34, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3HGH doesn't "destroy" testicles and anabolic/androgenic steroids shrink the testicles temporarily (for maybe a few weeks) until post cycle therapy kicks in.
    • OMGWTFROFLMAO, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3with the kind of money they make, I'm sure they could buy new ones.
    • zatrix, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4a lot of pressure? That's got to be a joke. With the money they make for the work that they do, I'd say they got it easy.
    • Clemson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The message to kids we have to stay away from isn't

      "It's ok to take harmful performance enhancing drugs."

      It's

      "Sorry, Johnny, if you don't take harmful performance enhancing drugs you'll never grow up to be a ball player"
    • jmhacc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6@elnerdo

      Football players in the NFL are prohibited from using HGH because it is against the NFL's rules not because they are illegal. When a person or group of people enters into competition with another group of people they agree on the rules before hand so that no team has an unfair chance of winning. If you think that football players in the NFL should be allowed to use steroids then Id like you to come over my house to play a game of poker and im not going to warn you that I am the only one with the extra advantage of going around the table and looking at everyone elses cards.
    • def1, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1digg down
    • aspec, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Two words: Natural Selection
    • IMnotCIA, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"They're killing their bodies"

      Yeah, because it's the HGH that really messes their bodies up, not, you know, playing the game of football and having grown men hit them for a living...

      The game of football itself is more dangerous to your long-term physical health than any performance enhancing drug out there.
  • Paladin27, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Anybody stupid enough to take synthetic hormones and other performance enhancing drugs, shouldn't have use of their testicles anyway.
  • bleonard, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I don't care what pro-atheletes take nearly as much as I care about a level playing field.
  • nwily, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I don't understand why most people discuss this in the context of "purity of the game." How about "Purity of the justice system?" If these substances are illegal, then THEY SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE THEM. I don't care about fine and penalties in the game, I want to see some of these guys taken down by the DEA.

    If they have legitimate uses, they should be legalized. Personally, I think they should be legalized, but what really blows my mind is how much this entire discussion hinges on people believing athletes are not subject to the law. Maybe if the government started enforcing laws like this uniformly, and we saw our athletes cuffed like thugs, people would start to reevaluate our societies priorities.

    • ryno35, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Yes bring out the drug warriors, maybe if you're a professional athlete you should just not have access to your fourth amendment rights and be subject to search at any time for HGH.

      We really need to devote more of our law enforcement resources to cleaning up pro sports. Who cares about the child predators, murderers, organized gangs of shop lifters or terrorists anyways. Drugs - that's the real problem. Roll on prohibition roll on...
  • billyboobs34, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Of course they are on HGH have you seen the size of some of these players' hands. The first things to get bigger are the hands, feet, and jaw.
  • bemenaker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4We fans should revolt against those who do this. Like whenever Barry Bonds steps up to the plate and the whole stadium mocks him calling him juice. I know it's not a big thing, but its a start, and it should go further.

    I have never held any respect for steriod users. I know HGH isn't steriods, but the effects are the same. Let's bring credibility back to sports. If you are doping to get that performance, then you don't deserve to be there. Maybe this will bring down the level of play all across the board, but if it balances back out, then what's the problem.

    Integrity matters
    • autorock, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Rather than a chant, I think the most effective demonstration for everyone in the stadium to stand, turn their backs to the field and go completely silent. Tough to coordinate, since not everyone agrees, but it would make a statement. Too bad you would have already had to buy the ticket to do this, though.
  • wilf_brim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2For a lineman, Jansen is pretty smart. I would support his initial estimate of 15-20% of the league taking HGH. Although it is very expensive, it is impossible (currently) to detect. The players in the NFL have access to money, and I expect that access to HGH (one way or another) isn't that hard. It is effective (builds mass and strength), probably improves performance (especially in linemen, where anaerobic burst strength is very important) and is impossible to detect. Why wouldn't they use it?
    • nopointinnames, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They do infact have a test for HGH, although it is not the most reliable (gives false positives) and sometimes it may not even detect the abnormal amounts of HGH in the body.
    • fjvwing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"and I expect that access to HGH (one way or another) isn't that hard."

      Not hard? Probably dead easy for someone rich enough to have real medical / hospital access, either in the US or in countries that do not care that much about drugs. Once it was available from large vats of genetically engineered microbes instead of having to be harvested from cadavers, the production and use of it exploded in pediatric endocrinology practices. I am unaware exactly of the current situation, but HGH in the late eighties and early nineties was grossly overprescribed to young teens whose parents were /terrified/ little Johnny would be 5'6 instead of 6'2.

      Right now you can go to 'Medical Anti-Aging Spa Retreats' in the South to have it injected under clinical supervision for a couple of weeks if you are over 50. It will put a spring in your step, make your dick work better, burn fat, pack on muscle, and all without having to lift weights, and will do so twice as much if you do exercise.

      http://www.decadencedayspa.com/hgh_antiaging/index.html

      Yes, the stuff is regulated, but it is far from inaccessible.
  • billyboobs34, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Many pro-athletes have all their drugs regulated by physicians. There is too much money riding on their ability to screw themselves up. The problem comes about when college players and high school players get into the drug scene unsupervised.

    I think controlled drug enhancement should be studied for the benefit of humankind instead of shunned as it is now.
  • Phearce, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2To clarify the legal status of hGH, it's not illegal per se, but the law prohibits the distribution or possession with intent to distribute hGH for any use in humans other than for recognized medical reasons and pursuant to a valid prescription

    See http://www.steroid.com/growthhormonelaws.php for a full explanation.
  • sixarmedgod, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0How hard is it to find people who failed a drug test and trying to play in publized event? Not to mention how many less pro athletes there are then rapists murders, etc.
  • tribalredfox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This has been an issue for years. No easy answer, of course. On the one hand, it makes the game really interesting and players have been doing this for a really long time. On the other, the playing field isn't entirely level and players who refuse to take 'roids (or HGHs) are at a disadvantage.

    It's a choice though, they can benefit through steroids but they'll be trading off other aspects of their lives to do it.
  • def1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2duh
  • danduke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Aside from the should be legal / shouldn't be legal arguments, this quote from the article is priceless:

    "Being a football player, I'm not real good at math."
  • sp1keNARF, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1let the players take whatever they want, this will only elevate the sport of football. everyone wants to see harder hits, longer passes, longer kicks, etc. why not? we could even genetically engineer a race of quasi-humans specifically for football!
  • tinygibbles, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1You can't fight it. Let it go. Barry Bonds was the most exciting hitter I ever watched and I enjoyed every minute of it. His swing was superhuman. I say 'was' because he's on his way to becoming a cripple from the cream and the clear, but I think he would tell you it was worth it.
  • jpeicott, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The reason the NFL doesn't allow the players to take dangerous performance-enhancing drugs is that if they did, then any player who did not want to put his body in danger by taking the drugs is at a disadvantage, even though he is making the "right" choice.

    That wouldn't be fair.
  • HanSolo69, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2football is a little girl sport these days anyways.
  • ranxerox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1mmmmm ... meaty
  • miamibest, on 02/25/2008, -0/+0It's kind of a joke this HGH thing, it's always going to be around because it started as a "fountain of youth" for older people and has since been genetically enhanced to provide athletes with an edge on the competition, might as well put everyone on it to even out the playing field :) kind of like what http://learnhgh.com said in there post.
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