Ray Lewis Recovered Using Banned Substance

[Luv_ya_blue]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Its from New Zealand which means red stag which are native to Europe.

I couldn't remember what I had heard about the origin of the species in question, and didn't have time to look it up. Thank you for that.

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

Even if it turns out to be true, there are lots of PED users already in the HoF. I suppose the caveat is that it was legal when they were playing, but the end result is still the same: PED users in the HoF.

I can't really argue with that. Except to say that I see guys of different sports (ie: Clemens, Bonds, Sosa, McGuire, etc) being kept out of the hall because of PED use. I can't argue with the fact that there are people in the HOF that have used--clearly there are. But I think that in the years to come it will hinder many because of these sorts of accusations.

[Double Barrel]

Originally Posted by Luv_ya_blue

I can't really argue with that. Except to say that I see guys of different sports (ie: Clemens, Bonds, Sosa, McGuire, etc) being kept out of the hall because of PED use. I can't argue with the fact that there are people in the HOF that have used--clearly there are. But I think that in the years to come it will hinder many because of these sorts of accusations.

Two different hall of fames. Baseball HoF is notorious for using off-field issues to deny players entry, even having years when nobody enters (like this year).

Football HoF, on the other hand, normally focuses only on careers. Guys like Lawrence Taylor were widely known to have some serious off-field issues, but that did not keep them out of the HoF. I'm not 100% positive, but I think the football HoF has a requirement for minimum number of players inducted every year. As you know, the annual HoF induction is a big part of kicking off the NFL season in August, so they would look pretty bad from a PR perspective if nobody was getting in.

[Luv_ya_blue]

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

Two different hall of fames. Baseball HoF is notorious for using off-field issues to deny players entry, even having years when nobody enters (like this year).

Football HoF, on the other hand, normally focuses only on careers. Guys like Lawrence Taylor were widely known to have some serious off-field issues, but that did not keep them out of the HoF. I'm not 100% positive, but I think the football HoF has a requirement for minimum number of players inducted every year. As you know, the annual HoF induction is a big part of kicking off the NFL season in August, so they would look pretty bad from a PR perspective if nobody was getting in.

I don't disagree, from a PR standpoint.
But LT wasn't really outed for being a drug head until years later, isn't that right? Could be wrong on that one.

Knowing someone was doing drugs years after they're out of the league isn't really the same thing as knowing they were doing drugs while they're still playing the game. JMO.

[Double Barrel]

Originally Posted by Luv_ya_blue

I don't disagree, from a PR standpoint.
But LT wasn't really outed for being a drug head until years later, isn't that right? Could be wrong on that one.

Knowing someone was doing drugs years after they're out of the league isn't really the same thing as knowing they were doing drugs while they're still playing the game. JMO.

I remember the debate when he was on the HoF ballot, and the reasoning given that it did not matter was because of his football career.

Here's some info about his use during his career:

Taylor has lived a controversial lifestyle, during and after his playing career. He admitted to using drugs such as cocaine as early as his second year in the NFL, and was suspended several times by the league for failing drug tests.

Source

Now this was for cocaine abuse, but it's still on the banned list as a PED.

The HoF never considered it an issue to prevent his entry.

[Luv_ya_blue]

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

I remember the debate when he was on the HoF ballot, and the reasoning given that it did not matter was because of his football career.

Here's some info about his use during his career:

Now this was for cocaine abuse, but it's still on the banned list as a PED.

The HoF never considered it an issue to prevent his entry.

I just couldn't remember when it came out that he was abusing cocaine. I thought it was after he was done.

Your points are well taken.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Lewis cannot claim "ignorance"..........just of being plain ignorant. Note the date that NFL teams/coaches/players were placed on notice about avoiding this specific company's product under PED Banned Substance Policy.

NFL Orders Players To Cut Ties With Company Touting Deer Antler Supplement
Thursday, February 3, 2011 1:13 am
Written by: Eric Adelson and Adam Watson

The NFL has sent letters to several players ordering them to cut ties with S.W.A.T.S., the company at the center of sports’ latest performance-enhancing substance controversy, ThePostGame.com has learned.

“We recently sent letters to players who may have had an affiliation with the company which is now claiming its products include a banned substance,” wrote NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy in an email to ThePostGame.com. “We are investigating the matter, as we have been for awhile now."

A relationship between S.W.A.T.S. owner Mitch Ross (pictured below) and several NFL players and coaches was first revealed in a Jan. 19 story on ThePostGame.com. One of the S.W.A.T.S. products, called “The Ultimate Spray,” is promoted by the company as containing deer antler velvet and IGF-1, short for Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1. IGF-1 is banned by the NFL and other major sports leagues as well as the Olympics.

“You use HGH in part to help stimulate IGF-1, which helps aid in recovery and the building of lean muscle mass,” said Travis Tygart, the CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency. “A lot of athletes want to go to IGF-1 directly to get the benefit.”

On Jan. 14, the league ordered Raiders coach Hue Jackson to sever ties with S.W.A.T.S., saying that coaches were not allowed to endorse supplements. Now the league wants players to disassociate themselves from S.W.A.T.S.

“Despite the company’s claims, it is not clear at all that the product actually contains IGF-1,” McCarthy wrote. “The fact that the company is claiming that its product contains a banned substance is enough to preclude players from associating with the company.”

[Playoffs]

IGF-1 is “just like giving someone human growth hormone,” said Don Catlin, the former head of U.C.L.A.’s Olympic Analytical Lab, best known for breaking the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative doping ring. “It goes to the same kinds of receptors and turns them on.”

Wow, I didn't realize it's straight up HGH effects/cheating.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by Playoffs

Wow, I didn't realize it's straight up HGH effects/cheating.

I tried to explain this relationship a while back in a past post in another thread. I don't exactly remember where though.

EDIT: Just found it (from the Re: HGH testing part of new CBA; testing expected to begin this season thread (08/04/11)

Originally Posted by CloakNNNdagger

HGH does seem to help healing of damaged tissue. One mechanism is explained by HGH binding to injured cells and stimulating them to multiply faster than normal. Next, it stimulates the body’s release of a substance known as IGF-1 which in turn stimulates synthesis of individual amino acids as well as protein, both mandatory for tissues to grow and heal. Furthermore, it positively regulates the transport of amino acids so that more enters the cells than exits. This then leads to faster protein synthesis and quicker healing. Then again, this same process is hastened even more since HGH drives the body to increase and optimize glucose utilization which is necessary for protein synthesis.

The same Igf-1 that was mentioned above also increases the stimulation of collagen, which is the raw material for connective tissue. With increased collagen, wounds increase in tensile strength and cause them to hold together and heal faster. With this mechanism, bone healing in fractures is positively affected, as well as tendons and ligaments

Keep in mind that most of these findings have been shown in laboratory animals rather than humans. Unfortunately, all too often they do not transfer to the human model or in significant effect.

To date, the only truly accepted confirmation of benefit in humans has come from studies on the brain following head trauma, and in the case of the healing of burns and skin grafts.

Studies on HGH have revealed that, indeed, there is substantial increase in muscle mass, but surprisingly there has been no evidence of increase in muscle strength.

HGH deficiency as may be expected has been linked to athletes’ slower healing following injury.

Keep in mind that some studies such as one coming out of Stanford demonstrated no benefit in sports injuries when compared to athletes taking a placebo.

For those interested in HGH, you may find this sports article interesting.:
The Case For HGH