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Re: recieved a message that disturbed me....
Posted By: Rich Edinger In Response To: recieved a message that disturbed me.... (Jason Burnell)
Date: Monday, 17 March 2008, at 9:13 a.m.
I've been a long time member ADFPA too. From 1986 to 1994 and 1999 to the present. I have witnessed a lot of changes over the years too, both good and bad. I think the USAPL drug testing program is good but there is room for improvement especially in the area of surprise OMT.
All anybody has to do is turn on ESPN and realize how widespread drug use, both steroids and growth hormone is in all amateur and professional sports. (Estimate by polls is that 3 to 5% of all high school athletes are gasing) Who would have thunk that little Royce Gracie was on the gas. Steroids work the best in strength sports, not athletic sports. So it would be naive to think there is not drug usage in the USAPL at both the local level and at the national level. Roger Clemens' wife is using HGH but no one in the USAPL? How many athletes recently admitted to HGH and steroid use while never failing a drug test? (Marion Jones, etc.)
As Deep posted, some of the numbers are getting very high. Does that mean that people are using? No, there are many lifters way stronger than me who are clean. But that is one factor that a veteran observer of the sport may use to formulate an educated "guess" about at least the possibility of drug use.
For example, if a USAPL lifter broke all of Ed Coan's records by 88 pounds, one might have suspicions.On a personal level, a recent positive test by a MN lifter really shocked me. That lifter is a master lifter who has been a ADFPA member for 15 + years. I would have been comfortable betting a $1000 to anyone that he was clean. It just shocked me. He like me is just an average joe. An above average lifter but not a world class lifter or someone who would challenge for a national open title. So like Deep posted, you only know for sure that you are clean and hope that others are clean.
In sum, the USAPL just has to continue to be vigilant in drug testing and actively and aggressively continue to try to catch users.
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