Anti-doping? Let’s start by trashing testing

An established neighborhood of sports

The Alex Rodriguez saga continues, America’s latest morality play over a doping superstar athlete, and the predictable result is more asinine talk—besides the baseball player’s so-called confession—regarding what should be done.

Naturally, a congressman tops the list of clueless quotes. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., sought to co-opt media spotlight on A-Clod and summon him to Washington. Cummings blathered about “integrity of the testing process” in light of the allegation a union official tipped the Stainkees slugger to an upcoming urinalysis.

Within the big picture of doping’s scourge, the question is largely irrelevant of whether an athlete is illicitly forewarned about a test. So what. That happens regularly in college athletic departments, and one case was reported last year among high schools in Texas.

There are better ways than a tipoff for beating “anti-doping” as it stands—and that’s the sorry reality to concern critics who truly want to make a difference.

Cummings must realize there can be no integrity in steroid testing that is invalid to start. He has to know urinalysis is inept and will assuredly remain so. The Internet alone provides access to a mountain of evidence on the fact, along with simple how-to lessons for beating testing.

Moreover, critics like me, Dr. Charles E. Yesalis and the late Steve Courson have repeatedly apprised politicians of information that debunks steroid testing, replete with references to experts and data worldwide. Heck, Yesalis and Courson detailed major loopholes in testing decades ago on Capitol Hill.

In 1989, Courson told a congressional committee led by then-Senator Joe Biden that testing was easily defeated through undetectable substances, including human growth hormone, low-dose testosterone, and designer steroids.

Nothing’s changed. The dilemma has only worsened, with more ghostly substances and techniques for beating urinalysis.

Therefore, the most destructive lie surrounding sport doping isn’t some goofy athlete. It isn’t even a thousand juicing jocks who lie.

The worst falsehood is official BS purporting that urinalysis, blood testing or whatever else is effective prevention against muscle doping. Politicians, sport organizers, athletes, drug testers and media parrot the talk, en masse and groundless in their claim.

Bottom line, we take our first step toward real prevention by trashing testing as it stands. Forget this false hope, a proven failure at its court mandate to ensure safety and fairness for athletes. Let’s go back to the proverbial drawing board and start with honest, open discussion on the reality of sport doping. Let’s explore real possibilities for immediate prevention, however limited, such as imposing size restrictions on football players.

And if anyone thinks testing still has potential, then get real by pushing for start-up funds in research and development, big money, likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars and with no guarantee for success. Also remember that even if testing were to close gaping loopholes, it would remain cost-prohibitive for proper implementation among millions of American athletes at thousands of schools and colleges.

Just shut up for the foreseeable future about valid testing, or “integrity” of anti-doping, which is utter nonsense.

To order Matt Chaney’s book Spiral of Denial: Muscle Doping in American Football, visit:

http://shop.4wallspublishing.com/