Ray Rice is in the news. Again. The heretofore unseen video (released by TMZ) of his assault on his fiancée Janay Palmer in the elevator of an Atlantic City, New Jersey hotel in February has everyone in an uproar. Again.
The first time everyone got into an uproar following the assault was when the NFL suspended Rice for TWO games for the assault. Everything was Roger Goodell's fault that Rice only got suspended for two games. It was idiotic, to say the least.
The action taken by Rice was a CRIMINAL ASSAULT taken against a woman (his fiancée) in a hotel elevator. This is clearly a case for the police and the district attorney to take the lead on, not the man's employer.
What did the DA decide on the case? The DA decided that Rice should be allowed to enter a "pre-trial" intervention program instead of facing criminal charges. According to CNN, the charges against Rice will be expunged in one year. Where is all the outrage at the DA?
When the new footage was released by TMZ, Rice was immediately released by the Baltimore Ravens and indefinitely suspended by the NFL. The leadership at the NFL did the right thing. When the the assault was suspected several months ago, the NFL followed the lead of the criminal justice system and then suspended Rice.
Now, when the video was released that actually confirmed the assault, the NFL did what the DA in Atlantic City needs to do. It needs to re-open the criminal assault investigation and put Ray Rice in jail. No more can he hide behind the fact that the woman is now his wife and cannot be made to testify against him. The video should be enough to convict Rice even without any testimony from her whatsoever.
But all the anger and accusations being thrown around need to be redirected at the New Jersey and Atlantic City criminal justice systems. Roger Goodell needs to do his job running the NFL, and the cops and DA need to prosecute crimes in Atlantic City.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Is the NFL Strung Out on Drug Testing?
Drugs are a serious problem in the NFL. Not so much in the players, but certainly in the offices. Under current Commissioner Roger Goodell, the league policy on Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's) has taken on an aggressive, antagonistic and "holier than thou" tone reminiscent of the Salem witch hunts or the Spanish Inquisition.
The definition of PED's is a "substance used by at athletes to improve their performance" -- Common PED's, according to Wikipedia are:
Lean Mass Builders include anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, which over time will allow an athlete to become bigger, stronger and faster. These give athletes an edge in the competition to not only win on the field of play, but to be given the opportunity to play a game for millions of dollars a year. Along with the fortune of being a professional athlete also comes the fame associated with being a player in the NFL.
It is easy to see why the NFL works hard to keep an eye out for these kinds of drugs. They take months to take full effectiveness and their results can carry forward long after the drug is no longer being actively administered.
Stimulants are drugs that focus energy and aggression. These include caffeine, amphetamines, ephedrine and methamphetamines (AKA- "Meth"). Both Meth and amphetamines have long been called "Speed" in American culture.
Meth was developed in Japan in 1919 and was commonly administered by governments to their soldiers during wartime to keep them awake. This includes the United States during World War II. The effect time of drugs known as Speed is quite short, and must be re-administered to maintain the desired results.
Two types of amphetamines are commonly used for Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the United States. Ritalin and Adderall are the "study drugs" that so many students in the US receive from their doctor and pharmacy to help them concentrate in school. According to current sales figures from Drugs.com, Ritalin is #38 in sales and Adderall is #99 for sales of all prescription drugs in the United States.
Adderall use in the NFL was the subject of a story in USA TODAY in November of 2012. It takes an excellent look at the subject. The Huffington Post also ran a story the same month about Adderall and amphetamines in the NFL. The league's own NFL.com had story called "Adderall remains drug of choice for many NFL players" which outlined the problems the NFL has faced with the prescription drug.
Technically, the substance is banned by the NFL, but players can apply for an exemption. Players who have been suspended in the past have had valid, legal prescriptions, but have been unaware that for some prescriptions they have to apply for an exemption from the league or face suspension if those drugs show up in drug tests.
The use of amphetamines was first banned for safety reasons in 1971, after players in previous seasons were so hopped up on speed that they risked a heart attack. Despite that, testing did not start for years to come.
Painkillers are drugs (also known as analgesics) that work on the central nervous system to relieve pain. Common over the counter analgesics include Tylenol (acetaminophen) and the array of brands known as Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's).
One category of painkillers that require a prescription is Opioids such as morphine and oxycodone. Another category is Narcotics, which generally are used do induce sleep to aid recovery.
Diuretics are drugs to induce the creation of urine. Some athletes competing in sports with weight classes such as boxing or wrestling use diuretics to help them lose excess water before their official weigh-in. Since there are no weight classes in NFL football, one would think that there would not be a need to test players for diuretics, but several players have been suspended for their use.
The most famous Blood Booster is Erythropoietin (known as EPO). It is used to increase the number of red blood cells. More red blood cells in the body allows more oxygen to be carried to the muscles. EPO came to be known in public discourse primarily though never ending doping scandals in cycling, most famously the Tour de France. Experts on blood doping say there may be as many as 100 similar drugs to EPO that current tests cannot detect, according to a Reuters article.
Masking Drugs are those used to hide evidence of performance enhancing drugs, most usually those that impact the body for long periods of time such as blood boosters and steriods.
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The suspension of Wes Welker today for testing positive for Adderall following a Kentucky Derby party is absolutely asinine. Here's why:
Welker denies knowingly ingesting this banned substance.
It is an amphetamine, yes. But it is also one of the most highly prescribed drugs in the United States. It would be very easy to have food or drinks tainted by someone looking to add a little "pizazz" to the drinks being served to a large group of people. Are we now to demand that NFL players further separate themselves from the general public so that there is never a "chance" that someone could add something to their cocktail that would cost them dearly?
Wes Welker will lose 1/4 of his $6 Million salary due to this suspension. In addition to the $1.5 Million lost, he will also likely lose his contract bonus of $150K for catching 90 passes in a season.
Legal, Illegal and Fantasy Football Gambling is BIG business.
Most people think that the National Football League is BIG business. According to Forbes Magazine, the average NFL team is worth $1.43 Billion. Multiply that by 32 and you get nearly 46 Billion Dollars. That's a lot of money.
In Nevada, more than a Billion dollars a year is legally bet on football. But the Daily Beast reports that $380 BILLION a year is gambled on football through illegal venues. That means that each year that more than EIGHT TIMES the collective value of the NFL is bet on football in the United States.
When it comes to money changing hands, the NFL itself is only a very small tip of a much larger iceberg.
Everybody knows about the 1919 World Series in which eight Chicago White Sox players were accused of losing the series on purpose after accepting bribes from gamblers. Although each of the players was cleared in a court of law, they were all banned from baseball for life.
Why is the NFL randomly testing their players for stimulants in May?
Stimulants like these last 4-6 HOURS. The time to test players for use of stimulants is right after a game. They are out of your bloodstream in 12 hours and out of your urine in 1-3 days.
Even if an NFL player took a stimulant in May, how could it ever be considered to be performance enhancing since the NFL season training camp doesn't begin for another 10 WEEKS?
What is the impetus of the random test? Are they getting anonymous tips about specific players? Or, do they just say to themselves "It's a beautiful 3rd of May, maybe we should test Wes Welker for Adderall! (even though it's months before football season)?
Shouldn't off-season testing be focused on lean muscle builders like anabolic steroids whose effects will last into the season?
It could be said that testing for EPO would be good in the off-season as well, but chances are that the testing technology has not caught up to the newer drugs, so the tests won't work anyway.
Of course, to make up for that shortcoming, the testing Nazi's instead test for marijuana. It does not enhance performance in any way, but it's easy to test for and stays in the body a lot longer than amphetamines. And then they get to announce their latest "Perps" that they caught cheating.
There are only 5 months of the year devoted to football in the minds of gamblers.
Technically, you can forget August. Only a sucker would bet on a preseason game. What you have left is September through January (and the Super Bowl). Those five months average more than 75 billion dollars of football betting. In fact, the first month of the season is big as far as bookies are concerned. The gamblers who bet on football have been waiting for a long time and they are anxious. The beginning of the season is great, because every betting fan still thinks their team is going to go all the way to the championship this year.
Lots of big gamblers would prefer to keep top performers off the field in the early part of the season.
Although the Denver Broncos are favored (by bettors) to return to the Super Bowl after the season, their first four games (which will be missed by Welker) come against teams that won 45 games in the regular season last year.
The Indianapolis Colts won 12 games and their division last year. The Kansas City Chiefs won 11 games last year and were hot on the heals of the Broncos in their division. The Seattle Seahawks tied the Broncos for the best record in football last season at 13-3 and used that momentum to win the Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals won 10 games last year. It's by far the toughest four game stretch the Broncos face all year.
Wes Welker has led the NFL in receptions three times since 2007
He is one of the top receivers in overall receptions as well during that time. Welker was a main part of the equation on two of the top NFL offensive teams in history. He is a well known commodity to gamblers and fantasy football enthusiasts as well.
His absence will likely change outcomes for gamblers. It certainly will for fantasy football enthusiasts. It remains to be seen what impact it will have on NFL outcomes.
The NFL has a somewhat sordid history of teams using drugs to help their players keep on playing.
Painkillers and cortisone shots are part of the game as far as the league is concerned. In fact the league is now facing a massive lawsuit by more than 750 former players for the excessive use of painkillers and narcotics An article by ESPN talks about allegations of the powerful drugs used regularly to keep players on the field without regard to the long term health of those players.
Some liken the NFL's propensity to drug up their players as treating them like disposable cogs in the desire to win games. Many of the players in the lawsuit allege that they were never warned about the risks associated with long-term use of the drugs or the potential damage to their bodies from further injury.
The NFL needs to clean its own house and quit being so easily manipulated by outside forces like gamblers.
Lots of people gamble on football. Most of them make small bets as a way to make the games "more interesting." These people are not the problem.
There are "BIG" bettors out there as well. These people can afford to bet thousands, tens of thousands, and more on games. These folks can be a problem. These are the people who have the wherewithal to try to increase their odds of winning.
There are INSTITUTIONAL bets also being made. These come from large off-shore accounts and organized crime and account for billions of dollars bet on NFL games. The NFL knows this. They are willing shills on the point spreads they talk about so freely on their pregame shows. Point spreads are only there for the betting industry. Betting on football is a much bigger industry than football itself is.
The suspicious suspensions of some of the NFL's biggest stars is tantamount to stacking the deck to give a royal flush to the gambling industry.
Maybe it's time to give drug tests to those in the NFL who are not on the field of play. Of course, their Performance Enhancing Drugs will probably be in the form of Viagra, Cialis or Levitra. Just the same, if they can't "play" without help, maybe it's time for them to retire, and give up witch hunting.
The definition of PED's is a "substance used by at athletes to improve their performance" -- Common PED's, according to Wikipedia are:
- Lean Mass Builders
- Stimulants
- Painkillers
- Sedatives
- Diuretics
- Blood Boosters
- Masking Drugs
Lean Mass Builders include anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, which over time will allow an athlete to become bigger, stronger and faster. These give athletes an edge in the competition to not only win on the field of play, but to be given the opportunity to play a game for millions of dollars a year. Along with the fortune of being a professional athlete also comes the fame associated with being a player in the NFL.
It is easy to see why the NFL works hard to keep an eye out for these kinds of drugs. They take months to take full effectiveness and their results can carry forward long after the drug is no longer being actively administered.
Stimulants are drugs that focus energy and aggression. These include caffeine, amphetamines, ephedrine and methamphetamines (AKA- "Meth"). Both Meth and amphetamines have long been called "Speed" in American culture.
Meth was developed in Japan in 1919 and was commonly administered by governments to their soldiers during wartime to keep them awake. This includes the United States during World War II. The effect time of drugs known as Speed is quite short, and must be re-administered to maintain the desired results.
Two types of amphetamines are commonly used for Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the United States. Ritalin and Adderall are the "study drugs" that so many students in the US receive from their doctor and pharmacy to help them concentrate in school. According to current sales figures from Drugs.com, Ritalin is #38 in sales and Adderall is #99 for sales of all prescription drugs in the United States.
Adderall use in the NFL was the subject of a story in USA TODAY in November of 2012. It takes an excellent look at the subject. The Huffington Post also ran a story the same month about Adderall and amphetamines in the NFL. The league's own NFL.com had story called "Adderall remains drug of choice for many NFL players" which outlined the problems the NFL has faced with the prescription drug.
Technically, the substance is banned by the NFL, but players can apply for an exemption. Players who have been suspended in the past have had valid, legal prescriptions, but have been unaware that for some prescriptions they have to apply for an exemption from the league or face suspension if those drugs show up in drug tests.
The use of amphetamines was first banned for safety reasons in 1971, after players in previous seasons were so hopped up on speed that they risked a heart attack. Despite that, testing did not start for years to come.
Painkillers are drugs (also known as analgesics) that work on the central nervous system to relieve pain. Common over the counter analgesics include Tylenol (acetaminophen) and the array of brands known as Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's).
One category of painkillers that require a prescription is Opioids such as morphine and oxycodone. Another category is Narcotics, which generally are used do induce sleep to aid recovery.
Diuretics are drugs to induce the creation of urine. Some athletes competing in sports with weight classes such as boxing or wrestling use diuretics to help them lose excess water before their official weigh-in. Since there are no weight classes in NFL football, one would think that there would not be a need to test players for diuretics, but several players have been suspended for their use.
The most famous Blood Booster is Erythropoietin (known as EPO). It is used to increase the number of red blood cells. More red blood cells in the body allows more oxygen to be carried to the muscles. EPO came to be known in public discourse primarily though never ending doping scandals in cycling, most famously the Tour de France. Experts on blood doping say there may be as many as 100 similar drugs to EPO that current tests cannot detect, according to a Reuters article.
Masking Drugs are those used to hide evidence of performance enhancing drugs, most usually those that impact the body for long periods of time such as blood boosters and steriods.
---------------------------
---------------------------
The suspension of Wes Welker today for testing positive for Adderall following a Kentucky Derby party is absolutely asinine. Here's why:
Welker denies knowingly ingesting this banned substance.
It is an amphetamine, yes. But it is also one of the most highly prescribed drugs in the United States. It would be very easy to have food or drinks tainted by someone looking to add a little "pizazz" to the drinks being served to a large group of people. Are we now to demand that NFL players further separate themselves from the general public so that there is never a "chance" that someone could add something to their cocktail that would cost them dearly?
Wes Welker will lose 1/4 of his $6 Million salary due to this suspension. In addition to the $1.5 Million lost, he will also likely lose his contract bonus of $150K for catching 90 passes in a season.
Legal, Illegal and Fantasy Football Gambling is BIG business.
Most people think that the National Football League is BIG business. According to Forbes Magazine, the average NFL team is worth $1.43 Billion. Multiply that by 32 and you get nearly 46 Billion Dollars. That's a lot of money.
In Nevada, more than a Billion dollars a year is legally bet on football. But the Daily Beast reports that $380 BILLION a year is gambled on football through illegal venues. That means that each year that more than EIGHT TIMES the collective value of the NFL is bet on football in the United States.
When it comes to money changing hands, the NFL itself is only a very small tip of a much larger iceberg.
Everybody knows about the 1919 World Series in which eight Chicago White Sox players were accused of losing the series on purpose after accepting bribes from gamblers. Although each of the players was cleared in a court of law, they were all banned from baseball for life.
Why is the NFL randomly testing their players for stimulants in May?
Stimulants like these last 4-6 HOURS. The time to test players for use of stimulants is right after a game. They are out of your bloodstream in 12 hours and out of your urine in 1-3 days.
Even if an NFL player took a stimulant in May, how could it ever be considered to be performance enhancing since the NFL season training camp doesn't begin for another 10 WEEKS?
What is the impetus of the random test? Are they getting anonymous tips about specific players? Or, do they just say to themselves "It's a beautiful 3rd of May, maybe we should test Wes Welker for Adderall! (even though it's months before football season)?
Shouldn't off-season testing be focused on lean muscle builders like anabolic steroids whose effects will last into the season?
It could be said that testing for EPO would be good in the off-season as well, but chances are that the testing technology has not caught up to the newer drugs, so the tests won't work anyway.
Of course, to make up for that shortcoming, the testing Nazi's instead test for marijuana. It does not enhance performance in any way, but it's easy to test for and stays in the body a lot longer than amphetamines. And then they get to announce their latest "Perps" that they caught cheating.
There are only 5 months of the year devoted to football in the minds of gamblers.
Technically, you can forget August. Only a sucker would bet on a preseason game. What you have left is September through January (and the Super Bowl). Those five months average more than 75 billion dollars of football betting. In fact, the first month of the season is big as far as bookies are concerned. The gamblers who bet on football have been waiting for a long time and they are anxious. The beginning of the season is great, because every betting fan still thinks their team is going to go all the way to the championship this year.
Lots of big gamblers would prefer to keep top performers off the field in the early part of the season.
Although the Denver Broncos are favored (by bettors) to return to the Super Bowl after the season, their first four games (which will be missed by Welker) come against teams that won 45 games in the regular season last year.
The Indianapolis Colts won 12 games and their division last year. The Kansas City Chiefs won 11 games last year and were hot on the heals of the Broncos in their division. The Seattle Seahawks tied the Broncos for the best record in football last season at 13-3 and used that momentum to win the Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals won 10 games last year. It's by far the toughest four game stretch the Broncos face all year.
Wes Welker has led the NFL in receptions three times since 2007
He is one of the top receivers in overall receptions as well during that time. Welker was a main part of the equation on two of the top NFL offensive teams in history. He is a well known commodity to gamblers and fantasy football enthusiasts as well.
His absence will likely change outcomes for gamblers. It certainly will for fantasy football enthusiasts. It remains to be seen what impact it will have on NFL outcomes.
The NFL has a somewhat sordid history of teams using drugs to help their players keep on playing.
Painkillers and cortisone shots are part of the game as far as the league is concerned. In fact the league is now facing a massive lawsuit by more than 750 former players for the excessive use of painkillers and narcotics An article by ESPN talks about allegations of the powerful drugs used regularly to keep players on the field without regard to the long term health of those players.
Some liken the NFL's propensity to drug up their players as treating them like disposable cogs in the desire to win games. Many of the players in the lawsuit allege that they were never warned about the risks associated with long-term use of the drugs or the potential damage to their bodies from further injury.
The NFL needs to clean its own house and quit being so easily manipulated by outside forces like gamblers.
Lots of people gamble on football. Most of them make small bets as a way to make the games "more interesting." These people are not the problem.
There are "BIG" bettors out there as well. These people can afford to bet thousands, tens of thousands, and more on games. These folks can be a problem. These are the people who have the wherewithal to try to increase their odds of winning.
There are INSTITUTIONAL bets also being made. These come from large off-shore accounts and organized crime and account for billions of dollars bet on NFL games. The NFL knows this. They are willing shills on the point spreads they talk about so freely on their pregame shows. Point spreads are only there for the betting industry. Betting on football is a much bigger industry than football itself is.
The suspicious suspensions of some of the NFL's biggest stars is tantamount to stacking the deck to give a royal flush to the gambling industry.
Maybe it's time to give drug tests to those in the NFL who are not on the field of play. Of course, their Performance Enhancing Drugs will probably be in the form of Viagra, Cialis or Levitra. Just the same, if they can't "play" without help, maybe it's time for them to retire, and give up witch hunting.
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