The NBA & PED's

One sport that is under the radar regarding PED's is pro basketball. Most of the NBA drug issues relate to marijuana and are shrugged off by most of the media. The most serious and recent drug offense occurred several years ago and involved a player who is currently playing in the postseason. The charismatic Chris "Birdman" Andersen of the Denver Nuggets served a two-year ban for violating the league's anti-drug policy, using a "drug of abuse." Marijuana does not fall under this category.

In Kirk Radomski's book about how he became the central figure in the Mitchell Report, Bases Loaded, he writes that he supplied PED's to a NBA player for several years. The player told Radomski that other players were using as well. Specifically, he provided anabolic steroids. He does not name the player.

I'm surprised Radomski supplied anabolic steroids rather than HGH. After learning about all the benefits of HGH, I'm shocked more NBA players aren't using it to recover from injuries. After all, that was the MLB player's association repeated line when all the names came regarding the Mitchell Report: "I only used HGH and it was only to help my teammates. I used it to recover from an injury and get back on the field quicker." It's a great line, sounds noble, but if it was a legit form of recovery, it wouldn't be banned by the World Anti-Doping Authority. It's still looking to get an edge that other competitors don't have.

Since there's no test, who is to say that everyone or most injured NBA players aren't using HGH? In baseball, it's safe to assume that players are still using and will continue to use HGH until there is a test or a stiffer penalties, but that will be the day.

You Know Roids Are Prevalent When...

This guy admitted to roiding up in the early 80's.

Chuck Nevitt, who was a NBA player from the 80's, admitted in a Sports Illustrated column to experimenting with roids after graduating from college. He stopped juicing after he didn't see any of the benefits that were advertised.

Nevitt was known more for his height at 7'5" rather than for his basketball ability. He didn't set the league on fire with blocked shots or scoring. Yet, he still felt the need to roid up. Granted this was during a time when the NBA did not ban the use of PED's, but why did a 7'5" giant feel the need to cut a corner?

If he was willing to juice, how many others have and are doing so? There are many athletes in their quest to make it to the big time who are looking for any edge to get them over the hump. It's this greed and unchecked ambition that comprise an individual's morals and they will pay for their short term decisions in the long term.