The Rocky Mountain Collegian

April 19th, 2007

Why is the NFL given a free pass in steroids questioning?

Last month, the doctor for the Pittsburg Steelers, Dr. Richard Rydze, was linked to a steroids probe, in which he has reportedly bought over $150,000 of human growth hormone, a performance enhancing substance.  Rydze was the doctor of the Steelers two years ago during their miraculous playoff run that culminated in winning Super Bowl XL. 

This is the second recent incident of a medical personal affiliated with an NFL team to be accused of having a connection to steroids.  Last August, it was reported that Dr. James Shortt had provided many Carolina Panthers players with steroids during their run to the Super Bowl in 2004.

It’s remarkable that medical personnel from two teams reportedly have strong links to steroid distribution rings and that the national sports media has turned a blind eye to both events.  Why haven’t these recent steroid allegations received the same amount of coverage and disgust as the baseball doping witch hunt?  The answer is very simple; the NFL is the best marketed product in America.

Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the NFL front-office have done a miraculous job of keeping the fans interested in the league year-round, and have abolished any questions about how they govern their product.  When Tagliabue went in front of the Congressional hearings about steroids, he came into the questioning with an established plan on how his league is dealing with the problem, and seemed willing to work with the politicians to cleanse its sport of doping.

In contrast, MLB commissioner Bud Selig looked nervous and unwilling to accept many of the claims and advice given by the congressmen. These two separate appearances accentuate the differences in how professional baseball and football are portrayed by the media and perceived by the public.

The NFL is not devoid of problems with their players doping, steroids is likely more prevalent in their sport then in baseball.  Pro Bowlers Bill Romanowski and Dana Stubblefield were implicated along with Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi in the infamous BALCO scandal, but this seems to be forgotten.

Last season, Shawne Merriman was given a four-game suspension because of a positive test for steroids.  He is one of the premier young players in the game, but because of the NFL’s superior ability for damage control, Merriman’s suspension went largely unnoticed.  

Could you imagine the public outcry if one of MLB’s young stars like Ryan Howard or Albert Pujols had tested positive? Any shred of baseball’s remaining credibility would be lost forever.

Since the new steroids policy began in 2005, there has only been one MLB All-Star that has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, Rafael Palmeiro.  Even though Palmeiro was far past his prime, he became a pariah and was never allowed to fully return to the game after his suspension.

When Merriman returned to the Chargers, he was overly embraced by fans and the media.  Many sympathized with him, feeling that the big, bad “No Fun League” on come down unfairly on him.  NFL fans don’t care that everything he has accomplished, all of is greatness, is artificially manufactured.

Comparing the perception of how the two largest professional sports leagues in America deal with steroids demonstrates to fans that we need to quit treating NFL players involvement in these scandals with only passive attention and to somewhat alleviate the hunting of MLB’s stars, somewhat. 

The dilemma of doping exists in both sports, and therefore fans should regard each sport equally in this respect.  The steroid users are always more than a few steps ahead of those trying to catch them, and until this changes, there is no purpose served by singling out one sport, while at the same time giving another a free pass, even if they do a better job window dressing the problem.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 19th, 2007 at 12:19 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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