Probably just one of many who are using PEDs in basketball.
The Orlando Magic’s Rashard Lewis tested positive for elevated testosterone levels yesterday and was suspended by the league for 10 games. Lewis claims it was from an over the counter supplement that he took, which must have had a banned substance in it. It seems pretty believable, and it does happen. But are we just being naive when it come to PEDs in basketball compared to other sports? What if we heard that statement from a baseball player? Would we believe them? Shouldn’t we be looking further into this issue?
Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse employee who was wrapped up in PED distribution for years, alleged that there are NBA players taking HGH, and he doesn’t know why that wasn’t being looked into. Well, someone did look into it. In this column fromFebruary 2009, Mark Woods of the UKs Guardian (probably the most respected newspaper on Earth) goes on to explain the loopholes in the NBA’s testing system, the lighter penalties for infractions than in other sports, and the naivete of the argument that steroids and HGH wouldn’t benefit NBA players. Basically, this positive test is just the tip of the NBA/PED iceberg. But is anyone going to seriously look under the surface of the water to see how big the rest of that iceberg is? I seriously doubt it. I think, just like baseball, it will take a major BALCO-like scandal to get the ball rolling.
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