In December of 2008, a surprising news hit the world of the National Football League as well as several fans of the Minnesota Vikings. Two of its best defense linemen had failed the drug test done. Pat and Kevin Williams were tested positive for a diuretic. Diuretics are banned from football mainly because they can mask the effect of steroids. Although the two have not been proven to have used anabolic steroids, they were given a four-game suspension. Pat and Kevin Williams addressed the issue by suing the NFL. According to the athletes, they didn’t know that the supplement Starcaps which they were taking had a diuretic component and that component was not even listed in on the bottle. Starcaps is not banned from the NFL. The two will be facing trial this coming June 2009.

From NFL Fanhouse:

The NFL doesn’t even claim that they were using steroids, but to them, rules are rules. If the Williamses win, they will avoid a four-game suspension and possibly collect a hefty amount of damages (they are suing for $10 million in damages). If they lose, the Vikings playoff hopes will take a significant hit before the season even begins.

Whatever happens, the lawsuit has managed to put the NFL on the defensive. If the Williamses had not sued, they would have been slapped with the suspension last season which likely would have kept Minnesota out of the playoffs. Now, even if they are suspended Minnesota will have some time to prepare some backup plans. There is no way to really replace one of the best defensive tackles in the league (Kevin Williams) and one of the best run-stuffers (Pat Williams), but with time to prepare, it’s a little easier to get the backups ready during the preseason.

The pair is known as the “Williams Wall” of the Minnesota Vikings. They are not blood related but they can set up one great defense— probably the best rush defense the NFL has ever seen. In fact, other athletes have a hard time getting past these two and their absence in games will be a thorn in the Vikings’ foot.

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Just when the police departments in different areas appear to have more and more officers testing positive for steroid use, the Broward Sheriff’s Office of Palm Beach has yet another steroid hurdle to overcome. Recently, sixteen of its members– fifteen deputies and one civilian employee– have been under investigations for suspected steroid use. The sixteen were taken off their duties in the road and were assigned to office and paperwork while investigations on them are still ongoing. The sixteen were also asked to take a drug test last Friday. The results of which are still being processed.

From New Times:

The sixteen BSO employees were rounded up Friday and ordered to take a drug test, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Leljedal told me this afternoon. They were placed on administrative assignment until the results of those tests come in and an internal affairs investigation is completed.

“I can’t tell you much because it’s an internal affairs investigation,” Leljedal said. “We have sixteen people that may have been using steroids. I don’t know if they had a prescription or not.”

Back in 2004, the same office faced a scandal when one of their deputies by the name of Todd Fatta was shown to have anabolic steroids in his system after the toxicology section tested him after he was shot during a raid. The next scandal was when eight of BSO’s employees were found to have used anabolic steroids which were all bought from a company known as PowerMedica. The eight were not punished because they were able to produce prescriptions from their physicians. Unfortunately, the lack of further investigations during that incident might have also meant a go signal for other members to take these illegal prescription substances. Sheriff Al Lamberti shouldn’t show such leniency to his deputies because it might give the wrong signal of tolerance to such practice.

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The name Dan Hooton is not new in news about steroids. No, he is not an athlete who was found using steroids nor is he a drug dealer who was recently busted by the cops. He is not related to baseball or wrestling or the NFL. Dan Hooton is a father and he could have been just your regular dad except that six years ago, his son died from steroid use. Taylor Hooton was a pitcher for his high school baseball team back when he was 17. Because he wanted to become bigger and stronger, Taylor took anabolic steroids and was found by his mom hanging in his room after seven months of use. The suicide was caused by the side effects of the steroids and Dan Hooton has never forgotten that since. Dan Hooton has been an anti-steroid advocate ever since Taylor died. He established the Taylor Hooton Foundation addressed to informing the youth of the negative effects of these performance enhancing drugs and hopefully, prevent future “Taylors”. Recently, he had contacted Alex Rodriguez in hopes that the baseball superstar, who had lately been in the news for his steroid use, would join them in their advocacy.

From Kansascity.com:

Drugs have cost Rodriguez credibility and fans, maybe even a spot in the Hall of Fame. But it didn’t cost Rodriguez what it cost Taylor Hooton, and that’s why Rodriguez called Don Hooton last week and said he wanted to shake Don’s hand, sign up and spread the word.

Don told him to join the train; these days they need as many voices as they can get. And in some ways, Hooton said Friday, it’s good for the foundation’s target demographic — high school athletes — that Rodriguez messed up, got caught and came clean.

“It’s good for us when this is in the headlines,” Hooton said, nursing a cup of water and living the last week out of his leather briefcase. “When it’s in the headlines, we get to talk to people. As long as it’s on the front pages, the public has some appetite for talking about this. As soon as it’s not on the front pages, nobody wants to talk about it anymore.

“It’s painful for the public, but this is reality.”

Dan Hooton goes around the country telling everyone the different forgotten stories of the youth that had used steroids and the story of his son, Taylor. Dan Hooton doesn’t really care about the professional athletes that take steroids, as a matter of fact. But he cares about the youth and the young ones who look up to their idols and see those using steroids and start thinking that it’s okay when it’s not.

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While nobody really knows exactly when he used anabolic steroids, everybody knows that then-bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger had used these performance enhancing drugs at one point in his career. This is a fact that he has not hidden although back in those days, steroids were still legal and that is why the actor turned governor has not been reprimanded. Arnold is viewed by many as the man who has the perfect body. He did this by working out, sticking to his diet and, of course, using steroids. The actor claimed that he used the drugs to help him maintain his gain and not to produce the muscle gains per se. At present though, Arnold is starting his advocacy against steroid use.

From Daily News:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says super star athletes worshipped by young fans have no choice but to be role models and understand that steroid use is the wrong message for kids.

The former world champion body-builder made the comment on CNN’s Sunday news and talk show, “State of the Union,” though he opted not to single out Yankees star Alex Rodriquez, or address the use of steroids among competitors during the “Pumping Iron” era that put Schwarzenegger on Hollywood’s radar screen.

“I think it’s important to get the message out that we should not use drugs. I think we have a certain obligation as athletes to inspire young people. When someone wins an Olympic championship or a boxing championship, whatever it may be, you’re not only a champion, but you’re also an inspirational vehicle for young kids and for people in general to stay fit, to lose weight and all of this,” he said.

As ironic and borderline hypocritical as it may seem to some, the reasons this man has are within normal boundaries. Who wouldn’t go to such lengths for the youth, right? It seems like Arnold understands that the youth look up to professional athletes as their idols. It is these athletes responsibility to direct the youth towards a better, healthier path by acting like the proper role models they should be.

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After the scandal involving Alex Rodriguez’s steroid use, several other names have come out. One of these is Angel Presinal who used to be the athlete’s trainer. David Ortiz of the Houston Red Sox is presently being questioned due to his ties with Presinal. Presinal is a trainer who has been banned from any of the Major League Baseball teams since he was indicated in an incident back in 2001 where an unmarked gym bag filled with anabolic steroids. According to Ortiz, he has known Presinal for several years at a professional basis. They had worked with each other in a training facility near his house and Ortiz claimed that the trainer did not suggest that he use steroids ever.

From The Boston Globe:

Asked whether he knew about any involvement Presinal had with steroids, Ortiz said, “Those are things that are at another level.

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to know what can cause you problems and you have to deal with that.”

Presinal served as Rodriguez’s personal trainer when A-Rod was a member of the Texas Rangers from 2001-03, a time when Rodriguez has admitted taking a performance-enhancing substance.

Rodriguez contends that his cousin supplied the drugs he used and that he stopped using them after leaving Texas. The New York Daily News reported that Presinal traveled with Rodriguez during the superstar’s MVP season in 2007 with the Yankees, and that Presinal shared hotel rooms with the cousin in question.

According to Ortiz, Presinal trains a variety of athletes ranging from marathon runners to baseball players to basketball players. He doesn’t know if Presinal has been advising his clients to use steroids. Still, the trainer teaches them how to work out and do exercises properly.

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It seems like the ghost of steroid use enjoys plaguing the New York Yankees. This time, it wasn’t involving an athlete. While Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees baseball superstar is still cleaning his name from the steroid scandal that is just a few weeks old, another shocking revelation has come out. The New York Post reported that Felipe Lopez III was involved in drug trafficking back in 2002. Who is this person? Lopez III happens to be the son of Yankees Vice President Felipe Lopez Junior. Lopez Jr. happens to be married to Jessica Steinbrenner, daughter of George Steinbrenner, the principle owner of the New York Yankees. Lopez III was charged with possession of prescription anabolic steroids and trafficking of a date-rape drug that athletes also use to recover from muscle injuries. He pleaded guilty to the charges and served 19 months of probation.

From AFP:

Lopez III was arrested at his Tampa home in 2002 as part of a US Drug Enforcement Administration operation for trafficking in GBL - a chemical related to the date rape drug GHB, the Post reported.

Also in that raid, police found vials of anabolic steroids, a shotgun and papers referring to chemicals used to make the drug Ecstasy, according to the newspaper.

According to reports, Lopez III also served as a strength trainer for the team’s training facility in Tampa. Although his father and several officials have already denied this, it was also reported that Lopez III was asked to lay low and keep away from the facility soon after his drug scandal was released by the press. To make things worse, this isn’t the only brush with the law the Yankees’ official’s son has faced. He was also arrested for punching his ex-girlfriend in 2005 although the case was later dropped.

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A recent survey done on the use of anabolic steroids in the athletes of the National Football League revealed that the drugs are correlated with various injuries and medical problems later on in life. The survey was sent to 3,693 members of the NFL Retired Players Association and about 20.3% of the players from the 1980’s admitted to having used steroids during their careers. That time, it was still accepted to take steroids since testing for performance enhancing drugs in the NFL started only in 1987. Most of those who used steroids were offensive linemen and defensive linemen, and they also registered with the highest rate of injuries including problems with joint ligaments and cartilage.

From CBC Sports:

The injury patterns suggest that joint ligaments and cartilage, rather than tendons, might not adapt to muscle changes brought about by steroids, making them “weakest link in the chain,” said lead author Dr. Scott Horn of the UNC School of Medicine.

The survey indicated no steroid related increase in the risk of injury to the muscle (biceps and triceps) and no increase of injury to shoulders and tendons.

Based on previous studies, the researchers suspected that tendons might be at increased risk to cope with a rapid increase in muscle size and strength.

While there is no information on the type, duration and dosage of steroids these athletes used, researchers claim the finding to be a “snowball effect”. This means that after the joint problems have occurred, other disease entities developed directly or indirectly due to the injuries. These include inactivity, osteoarthritis, depression, obesity and diabetes. Indeed, if you look at the natural history of these diseases, they are related to one another. Many respondents claimed that they have also suffered from these effects after they had been injured due to steroid use.

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The Iowa City Police department recently raided a house in S. Johnson street after receiving criminal complaints against the resident, Salomon Aragon, Jr. Police reported that Aragon, a 22-year old, was found smoking marijuana, an illegal substance. After the report, a warrant was made in order to search the residence. Aragon did not hesitate in letting the police into his house to do the search. What they found was an astounding collection of prescription drugs that Aragon did not have any reason to be possessing. Further details on why Aragon had these are still unknown.

From Press Citizen:

Police reports state that officers found occupants of the residence smoking marijuana. Police said Aragon consented to a search, during which police found numerous pills that were later sent to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation for testing. Police said Aragon had 100 pills of Tamoxifen, 101 pills of Clomiphene, four tablets of methylphenidate, five vials of testosterone, 51 pills of oxandrolone and 38 pills of stanozolol.

Police said Aragon didn’t have any prescriptions for the pills.

Most of the drugs seized are used in the medical world although one would need a prescription in order to obtain them legally. Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator used as an anti-cancer. Clomiphene is used to treat infertility in females. So why would Aragon have these? The steroids seized are also all used as performance enhancing drugs in the world of bodybuilding and sports. Among the bunch are anabolic androgenic steroids such as testosterone, clomiphene, stanozolol and oxandrolone. Aragon was easy to post bail after he was arrested and charged of several counts of illegal possession of prescription drugs, of controlled substances and violation of the Iowa Drug Tax Stamp. After he posted bond, he can’t be found or reached to for interview on the issue.

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During his first media appearance after he had admitted to steroid use, Alex Rodriguez managed to reveal the person who had provided him with the drugs from 2001 to 2003. He mentioned a mysterious “cousin” who was the one providing him with Primobolan and was also the one injecting him with the steroids. This person is Yuri Sucart from Dominican Republic who is also one of Rodriguez’s friends. The identity of Sucart was first revealed in ESPN.com and Carmen Sucart, his wife, confirmed the claim. She said that her husband gave “boli” to the athlete. That was the street name for Primobolan, a highly effective and heavy anabolic steroid.

From Daily News:

Sucart, according to ESPN, has been Rodriguez’s friend and confidante for several years, and followed him from Seattle to Texas, often traveling with him on the road. Sucart’s wife said Wednesday night that her husband would have no comment.

“I told you my husband has nothing to say,” she said when reached by a reporter. “What A-Rod said at the press conference is what happened and that is all. And if you want to talk to my husband, why don’t you talk to his lawyer?”

According to the report, people who know Sucart - his first name often pronounced Judy - say it is unlikely he would procure drugs on his own for Rodriguez, which A-Rod confirmed in his press conference. “He basically took an instruction from me and felt he was doing something that was going to be helpful, not hurtful,” Rodriguez said.

While some question Rodriguez’s intentions for sharing the blame with Sucart, some are more worried about the issue that anabolic steroids might have been smuggled from the Dominican Republic to the United States. If this were the case, it would prove to be a bigger scandal for both Rodriguez and Sucart. Fortunately, Primobolan and other performance enhancing drugs are rather easy to acquire in the Southern country and DEA agents don’t plan on prosecuting either Rodriguez or Sucart for this issue or for the issue of using anabolic steroids.

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One of the popular movies today is “The Wrestler” which is mainly about the struggles of a professional wrestler in a competitive era. It has become famous not only because of its Academy Award nomination but also because it has been involved in several scandals. Some time ago, there were speculations that the movie’s main actor, Mickey Rourke, had used steroids when he said that he did everything a wrestler would do while preparing for the movie. Now, the most recent issue it faces is the involvement of another of its actors with the law. Scott Siegel was arrested on charges of illegal drug dealing just this week. Was this the secret to why Siegel fit his movie role so perfectly? In the movie, Siegel is the steroid dealer that had provided Rourke’s character with the performance enhancing drugs. While Rourke was not really proven to have used steroids while shooting the film, Siegel seems to have stepped beyond “living” his character. In fact, his character might have just mirrored his lifestyle.

From Daily News:

An actor who played a steroid dealer in “The Wrestler” was arrested on steroid charges Wednesday night after rumbling with agents on a drug task force, officials said.

Drug Enforcement Administration officials had Scott Siegel, 34, under surveillance in New Rochelle, Westchester County, when they spotted him picking up a package. Agents in four cars then tried to box in Siegel’s vehicle, but he rammed three of the vehicles before jumping out of his car and fleeing. He was grabbed after a brief chase.

Siegel was arrested with the charges of illegal anabolic steroid distribution and also with assault of a federal officer while he was struggling to escape DEA agents before he was able to be taken into custody. Unfortunately, this is not Siegel’s first time to be arrested. He had served some prison time from 1999 to 2003 after he was caught distributing anabolic steroids, ecstasy and hallucinogenic animal tranquilizers a few years ago.

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