Award Stripping
As I reported yesterday, Houston Texans LB Brian Cushing could lose his Defensive Rookie of the Year award for testing positive for the performance enhancing drug human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG. This isn’t even a steroid it’s a female fertility drug, but is commonly used when coming off of a steroid cycle to get your testosterone production back on track. This is also the same drug that benched Manny Ramirez for 50 games last season.
This got me to thinking. Should the award be stripped from him? Technically they didn’t catch him using a “steroid”, but this same drug put Manny on the bench. So should the NFL follow suit?
If I had to vote one way or the other, I would have to say take the award away from him. Look at the before and after pictures of the guy and you decide if he used steroids or not. Although taking away his award could send us down a very slippery slope.
What if, purely hypothetical, when Adrian Peterson won the award in 2007 for Offensive Rookie of the Year, one of his linemen was caught using PEDs? Should we strip Peterson of his award? The offensive lineman was opening gaping holes for him to run through.
What if in 2008, when Matt Ryan won the Offensive ROY, one of his linemen tested positive for PEDs? That lineman was giving Ryan valuable seconds to find the open receiver.
How about if Cushing hadn’t been caught using PEDs, but one of the defensive tackles had been? Those DTs were holding blockers from getting to Cushing and allowed him to get to the ball carrier.
Do we strip Hall of Famers of awards because they admit to using PEDs years later? In baseball, should Barry Bonds be stripped of his home run record if he is found guilty of knowing he used PEDs? What about others like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa?
This is something I have been thinking about and Cushing losing this award is the right step. The guy needs to be punished, but I’m not sure what the ramifications would be of him losing this award. I think we could be opening a door we may not want to. Where would the award stripping stop?
If you do not take the award away from him, what is that teaching up and coming players in any sport? Is that telling them that it is okay to cheat?
Like I said, a very slippery slope. Both arguments have good and bad points. Where does everyone else stand on this? I would like to hear what you have to say.
TAGS: Adrian Peterson, barry bonds, Brian Cushing, Mark McGwire, Matt Ryan, mlb, NFL, Sammy Sosa, steroids
9 Comments
Cushing took and passed a lie-detector test to prove he was not guilty of taking a performance-enhancing drug, but his four-game suspension still stands, a league source told Schefter.
I never said he used steroids. Wrote this thinking about what would happen if he was stripped of his award. He tested positive and is serving a suspension for that. The ramifications of removing the award is what I am thinking about.
Nah, I read it. Good piece Jason, but you did say its obvious he used steroids.
He meant "its obvious to anyone with eyes". Jason, you should edit it.
For the record, a "lie detector" test doesn't exist on this planet. A polygraph does, which measures chemical reactions in the human body in reaction to stressors. It does not tell you if someone is lying or not. Which is why the results are not admissable in court proving guilty or not guilty. They can be referred to as support evidence, but in no way are those results considered exact.
To assume he used steroids is carless. There are major differences in NFL weight training to college. He hits the gym everyday for hours on end , something Im sure was not done at USC.
He also took several lie detector test in which he was asked if he took steroids.
Then why was the hCG in his system? Is he trying to get pregnant?
“One person familiar with testing procedures told Schefter that hCG is contained in seminal fluid and that slightly elevated levels can be discovered in the event that a test occurs soon after ejaculation”