Steroids

An old friend played for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the USFL in the early 80’s. He was a customer at the store where I worked and would spend hours just hanging around killing time. Middle mannered in every respect for a guy who stood about 6’6” and had the physique of a Greek statue.

Imagine my surprise when after months of visits one day he showed up in a rage. He later apologized for his outburst. Blamed it on the “Roid Rage”. The USFL folded and so did our friendship. I hope he did well in life.

Back in those days I dabbled a little in wrestling on television. No I didn’t pull on the tights or get the glamour assignment o being a manager. I was just an on air talent for a local retail store. I loved it. It wasn’t 15 minutes of fame but it wasn’t bad. I was Mr. Hi Fi, for Mobile Hi Fi “Where the deals are better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick”.

There were a lot of guys who shot up to bulk up. A lot of them are dead now. Long after I left that scene I kept hearing about OD’s among people I either knew or knew of. That hasn’t changed in over 25 years. There are still deaths occurring among young people trying to be the next Hulk Hogan.

I thought that once people learned how a guy like Lyle Alzado died of brain tumors from steroid use they would never use them. Alzado is still one of the most admired warriors in the history of the NFL’s Oakland Raider’s football team.

But the steroids keep flowing. As do the lies of those who have used them.

Rafael Palmero whose big fat lie to Congress was the equivalent of a hitting a 500 foot home with a corked bat and then the bat breaks. Palmero didn’t get prosecuted for lying to Congress but Miguel Tejeda did. Come on, everybody knows Palmero didn’t really start using them until after he testified in front of Congress.

I like Roger Clemens. In 1996 I played on the winning Pro Am Team at the Texas Open. This was and remains in 2009 the only time Tiger Woods ever played in San Antonio. Our pro was long ball hitting John Adams. The week before he was the only player who out drove Tiger in Las Vegas. Our team won by a single stroke over the team headed up by U.S. Ryder Cup member and later Captain, Corey Pavin.

Excited wouldn’t describe how I felt. Once inside the club house I couldn’t contain my myself and started recounting the round stroke by stroke to an acquaintance. Seated next to them was Roger Clemens who listened to each and every detail. I didn’t know him personally then and still don’t. He could have and probably should have turned away. But I guess he could see how pumped up I was and he just listened. Later I felt that was as cool as winning. I wish Roger the best.

Now along comes Human Growth Hormone. This magic elixir is a medical necessity for many, my own son included. It has great benefits to even a guy like me who reluctantly sees his best days behind him. Am I tempted to “experiment”? Hell yes. I’m falling apart. I watched the CBS show 60 Minutes and saw how older lives were improved dramatically by HGH.

So if the allure, the attraction to someone who isn’t going to earn millions upon millions of dollars is great imagine the power thee performance enhancing drugs have on athletes. I can’t condemn them. I understand them all too well.

Testing of 100% of all middle school, high school and college athletes, male and female must be mandatory and part of the costs need to be placed on the shoulders of drug manufacturers foreign and domestic. Unrealistic? Maybe? Unworkable? Likely.

I read somewhere that a proposal to drop state wide testing of Texas high school students had been floated because only a handful of kids tested positive in the previous year. Well, no duh! A handful is still too many but better results may not be achievable no matter what. Is testing a deterrent? Must be.

Think the pressures of being a pro athlete are great? Imagine the amateur’s thought process. For them it’s all about the future and getting to the next level. I watched a father scream at his kid like a mad man to perform better during a middle school game. You’ve all seen the same thing. The kid probably doesn’t like getting screamed at. Is his decision making process going to be altered because of the pressure from a parent? Hell yeah it will. KEEP TESTING THE KIDS.