The NFL has a problem

by Dave Halprin on Sep 7, 2006 11:14 PM CDT in Dallas Cowboys News

Paul Tagliabue left behind a juggernaut of a league, one that dwarves the other professional sports leagues. There's no doubt who is the king of the mountain on the American sports landscape. The broadcast networks fall all over themselves to break into the vaults and hand astronomical sums of money to the NFL to televise the games. The NFL even has its own network that will broadcast some games this year. And last years near escape in the labor wars should provide some breathing room for the next couple of seasons.

So it all looks promising for new commissioner Roger Goodell. He was handed the keys to the kingdom with a bright future on the horizon. Underneath, though, there's trouble brewing. An undercurrent of danger that is just beginning to bubble to the surface. This potential disaster has already done damage to another professional sports league, hurting its reputation and calling into question the integrity of the games. Now, the NFL is facing the same problem. Steroids.

Major League Baseball is still trying to recover from the problems of performance-enhancing drugs. What should be the glorious run of Barry Bonds chasing down the all-time home run record is something that most people don't want to touch. Once the thought of Bonds passing Aaron would've been an occasion to celebrate, a time for the nation to watch a magnificent singular achievement. Now, it's tainted. I'm pretty sure the baseball establishment doesn't even want it to happen, because it will only elevate the problem of steroids to a higher level of national questioning. Does Bonds deserve it? Do Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa deserve the record seasons they put up? For years, possibly decades after Bonds breaks the record - if he does - the public will be staring at a name in the records books, one that will hold the most sacred mark in baseball, and wonder if it's legitimate.

The NFL hasn't reached that kind of problem yet, but they better get a handle on it, quickly. Roger Goodell needs to draft some draconian measures to stop the burgeoning questions dead in their tracks. The NFL also needs to spend a piece of their massive treasure chest on developing the science needed to keep up with the cheaters.

It wasn't until this week that I realized that steroids could blind-side the sport I love. The NFL has long been admired as the best run league in professional sports. Now, they have the opportunity to prove once again that they are just that.

Why has this issue just pierced my consciousness?

The Mercury News:

The federal steroids case involving former Carolina Panthers players is ``the tip of the iceberg'' of what might be going on in the NFL, the chairman of a congressional committee probing sports doping said Wednesday.

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said there will be more inquiries by the House Committee on Government Reform into the matter after he read a report in Sunday's Charlotte Observer detailing six NFL players' involvement with Dr. James Shortt, formerly of West Columbia, S.C. The players included three starting offensive linemen from Carolina's 2004 Super Bowl team and two other ex-Panthers.

MSNBC:

Washington Redskins offensive lineman Jon Jansen said that "maybe 15, 20 percent" of NFL players use performance-enhancing drugs and that their use is "on the rise now" because of human growth hormone treatments that are undetectable by the NFL's testing method.

"You know guys that are doing it," Jansen said on the HBO program "Costas Now" that aired Wednesday night. "You know that they're cheating and you know that they're trying to get by with something."

NFL.com

Kansas City Chiefs tackle John Welbourn, who unexpectedly retired in June, was suspended for six weeks for violating the league's drug policy.

Welbourn, who was also suspended for the first four games in 2005 under the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, had asked to be reinstated, said Chiefs president Carl Peterson.

Tweet Comment 7 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

elected representatives

One problem that I have is our elected representatives butting their heads in where they are not needed. Ok, steroid use is illegal. But is it really necessary for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va. to investigate steroid use in professional sports. I thought we had a myriad of problems in this country and the world, but apparently, those will have to take a back seat so Mr Davis can be in the spotlight on a high profile congressional investigation of the NFL. Now I could be wrong, but I believe the American public isn't too concerned with steroid use in pro sports. We all have serious problems to deal with than to worry about some overpaid jock. I have been on the minority side of public opinion many times before, so perhaps the American public does want our tax dollars to be spent investigating and prosecuting pro sports. Anyhow, I don't see this as big a problem as the media is making it out to be, as the media usually does(see TO).

by osa1011 on Sep 8, 2006 3:23 AM CDT reply actions

amen brother...

by Tuna Helper on Sep 8, 2006 3:38 AM CDT up reply actions

Agree

Couldn't have said it better myself. This has been a part of all sports for years, the majority do and have done it for a long time. Unfortunate, but true. My question is...since when did professional athletes that "cheat" become such a priority that the US government is shifting some of it's resources to "crack down" on this issue, from resources that could be used on things such as national security?

Cowboy fan since I was conceived!

by airtyme on Sep 8, 2006 7:16 AM CDT reply actions

the less they do on important things the better

Considering how badly they manage to screw up important things. I would much rather them spending their time on unimportant things.
The best government is the one that does the least.

by burmafrd1944 on Sep 8, 2006 7:41 AM CDT reply actions

Agree

Well said. Nobody cares what millionare athletes do to their bodies. There are performance enhancing drugs in every sport. Cycling, Track and Field, Baseball, Hockey, Football etc. They are only hurting themselves, their name and their reputation.
The sport will live on no matter what.

by OCBoysfan on Sep 8, 2006 9:58 AM CDT reply actions

Not to pick a fight with any of the above comments

but I think the sentiment expressed that nobody cares about this, that athletes can do what they want, and that it's been going on in all leagues is hopelessly naive. No matter what our personal opinions on the matter are, the fact remains there are numerous legal issues associated with the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, as well as league rules on it.

The last thing I want to see are stars of the NFL being suspended, arrested or dragged before the country in congressional panels like the sorry spectacle that was MLB. I would also like to believe that the NFL is doing everything possible to keep the playing field as level as possible. Maybe I'm hopelessly naive in hoping that the NFL can remain an instution that I can trust to do the correct thing and that players in the NFL will respect the integrity of the game. They should at least make every possible effort to do so.

Ask yourselves this question. What if some running back in the next 5 or 10 years is on the verge of or does break Emmit Smith's all-time rushing record. Then we find out that the running back has been using steroids to extend a career that should've been over a few years before, except for the steroids. Would you feel cheated, would Emmit Smith feel cheated?

If you're reading this, you could be commenting, too. Sign up for a free account on Blogging The Boys.

by Dave Halprin on Sep 8, 2006 10:56 AM CDT reply actions

Congress has its priorities so bassakwards

I agree with all the above posters. There's not enough legitimate issues for congressman to try to take on????

Does the fact that athletes take performance enhancing drugs rate anywhere near broader issues like education, poverty, health care, homeland security, campaign reform, the environment, etc.

Hell no it doesn't!

Its an issue because the people behind the idiots in power tell them its a "glamourous issue to tackle" and its an easy way to grab national attention in the media by sponsoring these ridiculous, frivolent, and, in the end, incompetant regulations of professional sports. Science will always remain 2 steps ahead of regulation. Anything that can be tested for can also be hidden in screening, or worked around screening, or be too cutting edge to be screened for.

Let the professional sports regulate themselves and government should keep its mind on more important things. The occasional player/athlete will be caught and receive a "punishment" from the league. And life goes on.

by APerfectStar on Sep 8, 2006 4:42 PM CDT reply actions