[Baseball guy compares steroids to aspirin and cigarettes!]
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Posted on 03/04/2004 5:47:46 PM PST by NYCVirago
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Amendments to Major League Baseball's drug testing policy don't appear like they are in the offing, at least not in the immediate future.
Gene Orza, chief operating officer of the Major League Baseball Players Association, offered a pointed rebuttal on Thursday to the league's public cry for a more stringent drug policy in the wake of the BALCO scandal.
"Let's assume that (steroids) are a very bad thing to take," said Orza, who was speaking on a panel at The Octagon World Congress of Sports. "I have no doubt that they are not worse than cigarettes. But I would never say that to the clubs as an individual who represents the interests of players, 'Gee, I guess by not allowing baseball to suspend and fine players for smoking cigarettes, I am not protecting their health.'
"Whether it's good or bad for you, it's a far cry to say that because it's bad for you, you should participate in a structure which allows your employer to punish you for doing something that you shouldn't be doing," Orza said. "That's not my understanding of what unions do for their employees."
Orza cited two national studies on androstenedione, a steroid precursor. One done at Iowa State University concluded that the supplement, when taken in doses suggested by the manufacturer, does not increase muscle mass. The other study, jointly commissioned by the league and the union, concluded that if a person takes more than the suggested dosage, andro could increase muscle mass.
"You can take two aspirin, you can take 40, but should we in fact regulate aspirin sales more than we do now, because if you exceed the recommended dosage, it will have harmful effects?" Orza asked.
Although media reports have suggested that the league can invoke a clause in the collective bargaining agreement that will allow them to test players whom they believe might be using steroids, Orza called the reports understated.
Orza said that under the agreement, if a club has "affirmative evidence" that a player is using a substance on the prohibited list, the club can refer the player to a panel called the Health Policy Advisor Council. A doctor then has the capacity to look at that individual and if the physician concludes that there is reason to perform testing, things can proceed.
"Simply because you refer a person to the committee doesn't mean that they will be tested," Orza said. "Then you could just refer anyone you want."
Orza said he is disturbed about how quickly society has implicated the players in the scandal.
"There are thousands of pages of documents available to the public -- there are investigative subpoenas, there are reports on investigating agents (supplements), there are all kinds of material that would lead you to conclude that this is an extremely thorough and complete and exhaustive investigation over the course of many, many months," Orza said. "And the federal government hasn't charged one ballplayer with a crime ... The government chose not to charge them and the entire country is charging them nonetheless, what does that say about the chargers?"
Barry Bonds is one of a select group of players who reportedly received steroids from BALCO. Bonds' agent, Scott Boras, who was also on the panel, spoke up for his client.
"Since he stepped into my office in 1996, I believe he weighs four or five pounds lighter than he did then," Boras said. "I've seen what he's done with Jerry Rice, his programs and his conditioning team and his extensive regimen."
Boras did say that he thought many people were making the leap in suggesting that drugs that have been deemed performance-enhancing actually significantly affect performance.
Said Boras: "Certainly there is a question that has been drawn about what these supplements do and what they have done to the game and the fact of the matter is there has not been a lot of evidence that has been brought forth that there is a significant relationship between any of these agents and the fact that there has been performance."
Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.rovell@espn3.com.
[Baseball guy compares steroids to aspirin and cigarettes!]
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"Since he [Bonds] stepped into my office in 1996, I believe he weighs four or five pounds lighter than he did then," Boras said.
lol.....yeah right. And Giambi only lost 3 pounds in this last off-season. BS detectors are on "tilt" all over this league.
I call it the "Kerry Syndrome".
Wanna put money on that?
lol.....yeah right. And Giambi only lost 3 pounds in this last off-season. BS detectors are on "tilt" all over this league.
Yeah, that's why Bonds' hat size has gotten bigger, because he actually weighs less. Uh-huh.
I like that -- can I borrow it sometime?
Union chief rebuts critics [Baseball guy compares steroids to aspirin and cigarettes!], NYCVirago wrote: I disagree. The andro studies he's talking about do not suggest, according to the article, that taking too much andro has harmful effects. He is making the point that steroids have harmful effects if you take too much, but so does aspirin. He's not talking about andro in that comparison.
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I feel sorry for THEREZA though.
Poor woman doesn't know the difference between a com symp and a patriot.
Heinz must be spinning about now.
I think this absurd comment from Gene Orza necessitates his taking a crack cocaine test.
Here's your specimen cup, Gino.
Like I said, Orza is making the point that steroids have harmful effects if you take too much, but so does aspirin. He's also making the point when talking about andro that there have been conflicting studies on its effectiveness. Your reading a comparison between the andro and aspirin doesn't make sense, as comparing muscle mass increase to overdosing on aspirin is comparing apples to oranges. As there is no transcript of the speech online, and this is the only article about this so far, there's no way of settling this argument.
At any rate, you're missing the elephant in the room here. Gene Orza thinks that MLB should not have the right to punish players for using steroids, and compares it to if baseball punished players for smoking. Never mind the fact that steroids are illegal, and banned from baseball. Never mind the fact his own union agreed to steroid testing. Never mind that steroids are performance-enhancing drugs that are in effect cheating. Orza doesn't think it's a big problem!
I've heard that argument before. If steroids didn't enhance performance, then why are players taking them? Is it because they like the back acne and "shrinkage" involved with taking them? Sheesh!
Like I said, Orza is making the point that steroids have harmful effects if you take too much, but so does aspiri He's also making the point when talking about andro that there have been conflicting studies on its effectiveness. Your reading a comparison between the andro and aspirin doesn't make sense, as comparing muscle mass increase to overdosing on aspirin is comparing apples to oranges. At any rate, you're missing the elephant in the room here. Gene Orza thinks that MLB should not have the right to punish players for using steroids, and compares it to if baseball punished players for smoking. Never mind the fact that steroids are illegal, and banned from baseball. Never mind the fact his own union agreed to steroid testing. Never mind that steroids are performance-enhancing drugs that are in effect cheating. Orza doesn't think it's a big problem!
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"Who does he [Giambi] think he's kidding? He shows up at training camp this week, and he looks just like Clay Aiken!"
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