WP: Santana Moss received HGH from accused Canadian doctor, sources say

[pvkeeper19]

I don't see how Moss is violating any US law. The doctor might have by transporting it across borders. It is against NFL rules though and even if it was just to help rehab an injury it still gives him an unfair advantage if it allows him to heal from a specific injury faster than someone else with the same injury that's not using HGH.

Using HGH without a prescription is illegal. So is using illegally obtained HGH.

More info:

http://www.eternalhgh.com/hgh/hgh-criminal.html

[NewCliche21]

Being in the military, I tell my soldiers not to do drugs. With that being said, have you done everything 100% PERFECT in your life? Have you lived the straight and narrow each and everyday? Have you ever taken stationary, pens, pencils, staples, staplers, or anything from your work place, that now sits in your home?

Don't be so quick to pass judgement on others!..So you never told a lie to family, friends, or your Superiors?

1) Thank you for your service, and I mean that in all sincerity. My father was in Vietnam and my grandfather in WWII. Army and what would have been Marines.

2) The popularity of committing an infraction in no way validates any of those infractions. What do you tell to children when they play games? Don't cheat. If five-year-olds are supposed to follow that rule, then why can't people six times their age follow it in order to make MILLIONS of dollars?

[TheBlueIndian]

I hope it is true and he gets suspended ...I lost any respect I had for him after that stupid penalty he got for his little "shine box" peformance agianst Cinci. What a punk.."now go get your shine box!"

[NoVaSkins21]

I love the quote

"I ain't got nothing to do with nothing that ain't about me."

It is just chock full of double negatives.

I know I'm a little late, but that quote is just classic. :doh::doh:

[mcpingist]

It doesn't have to stand-up in court. Roger Goodell has the final say. Appeals usually never work. All a player has to do is put the NFL in a bad light for a punishment to come down.

Of course it does, if it goes to court. Goodell isn't God, even if he thinks he is. The union often sues to overturn suspensions, fines, etc they feel are unjust. Having said that, I think it looks bad for Moss. My original quote was in response to someone saying;

"It doesn't need to be "proven". This looks bad for the NFL. Real bad. And if you tarnish the "shield", as they say, justice is served on you swiftly. His simple involvement with this doctor and the fact that the doc was arrested is enough grounds for a 4 game suspension.

I fully expect Goodell to drop the hammer on Moss quickly in this case."

Look, I'm not defending Moss. However, this is still America and we still have the right to have the courts decide issues we can't come to agreement on. If, as the example above states, the only evidence against Moss is simply his involvement with this doctor and the fact that the doctor was arrested, that isn't sufficient to warrant a suspension, in my opinion. I suspect Goodell would agree. If he doesn't, I'm relatively certain the courts would, although you never know these days. The main point being: Goodell and the NFL can be sued by the NFLPA. Goodell does not have final say if the union decides to sue, the courts do. Unfortunately for Skins fans, I suspect there will be more evidence; likely enough to suspend Moss legitimately. If so, it all becomes moot.

[NewCliche21]

Of course it does, if it goes to court. Goodell isn't God, even if he thinks he is. The union often sues to overturn suspensions, fines, etc they feel are unjust. Having said that, I think it looks bad for Moss. My original quote was in response to someone saying;

"It doesn't need to be "proven". This looks bad for the NFL. Real bad. And if you tarnish the "shield", as they say, justice is served on you swiftly. His simple involvement with this doctor and the fact that the doc was arrested is enough grounds for a 4 game suspension.

I fully expect Goodell to drop the hammer on Moss quickly in this case."

Look, I'm not defending Moss. However, this is still America and we still have the right to have the courts decide issues we can't come to agreement on. If, as the example above states, the only evidence against Moss is simply his involvement with this doctor and the fact that the doctor was arrested, that isn't sufficient to warrant a suspension, in my opinion. I suspect Goodell would agree. If he doesn't, I'm relatively certain the courts would, although you never know these days. The main point being: Goodell and the NFL can be sued by the NFLPA. Goodell does not have final say if the union decides to sue, the courts do. Unfortunately for Skins fans, I suspect there will be more evidence; likely enough to suspend Moss legitimately. If so, it all becomes moot.

Sorry man, but no. Roethlisberger was suspended, and rightfully so, but there was nothing proven in court. Harrison had a very similar case in 2007.

Here's the point: The league is a business, not America. There are specific clauses in every contract and rules by which players must follow. If they don't, then they can be punished. Gooddell doesn't rule the world, but he does rule the NFL. Moss can be suspended, and he should be.

[thebluefood]

I guess I'm the only one who's more concerned about his grammar than his use of HGH.

[mcpingist]

Sorry man, but no. Roethlisberger was suspended, and rightfully so, but there was nothing proven in court. Harrison had a very similar case in 2007.

Here's the point: The league is a business, not America. There are specific clauses in every contract and rules by which players must follow. If they don't, then they can be punished. Gooddell doesn't rule the world, but he does rule the NFL. Moss can be suspended, and he should be.

You seem to think Goodell is autonomous. That is just not true. You're entirely missing the point here. You are right that the NFL doesn't have to prove anything in court before Goodell suspends a player. However, if they do suspend someone, the NFLPA CAN sue them and ask the court to invalidate the suspension. In those other cases you cite, the union chose not to sue, so nothing ever went to court. If they do sue though, the court decides whether the suspension stands or is reversed.

Here's a link to an example:

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-36014979_ITM

[SMU Redskin]

He cheated, he should be suspended. If it was Miles Austin, we'd all be calling for his head. Same rule applies to our guys.

[shoefly72]

So many more players use HGH than what we know about. It's extremely common. If he tests positive, he should be suspended a few games. But all the holier-than-thou members pleading for his release need to get a grip.

Exactly. He was using HGH to try and stay on the field and recover from an injury. A lot of people have said "well isn't that unfair to those who play by the rules and heal naturally?" I won't disagree with that, but how do we know he's not competing against people (like Rodney Harrison, Cushing, Merriman, etc) that are using PED's to gain an advantage? Plus what's the difference between what Moss is doing and a shot of cortisone? Isn't that technically a steroid?

IMO HGH should be legal if used to recover from injury and they should regulate it. Moss was using it as part of a treatment to keep him on the field, not to bulk up or be faster. Look at a guy like Shawn Springs who could never stay on the field because he was always nicked up, he gets a bad rap. Personally I'd rather have him use whatever's at his disposal (including HGH) to stay on the field as long as it's not adversely affecting him (HGH abuse has some bad side effects, but injecting at the site of the injury wouldn't be enough to induce this).

This article is old, but it's about somebody using HGH in a similar way that Moss was.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2574291

HGH: Performance enhancer or healer?

He was born Sharmon Shah and that is how he entered UCLA, where he went on to become two-time team MVP and rush for more than 3,000 yards. By the time he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1996, he was Karim Abdul-Jabbar, a convert to Islam. Later, with his profile rising after leading the NFL in total touchdowns, he was sued by the basketball legend and fellow Bruin alumnus Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the inconvenient similarity, and agreed to change his name again. His identity has evolved over time.

Kind of like his right knee.

When he was a boy, it was fine. But hip surgery at age 10 created a structural imbalance, and the pounding from football led to problems with the knee. At UCLA, he had knee surgery for the first time. With the Dolphins, he went under the knife again, with limited results. After five years in the NFL, all of the cartilage and half of the meniscus were missing, causing painful deformations in the joint. "It was pretty much bone on bone," he said.

That's when Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar, as the player ultimately became known, turned to human growth hormone. A Miami surgeon injected HGH directly into the compromised joint. Every other week for two months, al-Jabbar returned to the doctor's office, where more of the bio-synthetic fluid was pumped into the knee in an effort to re-grow the cartilage necessary for him to return to the field.

He says he had no ethical qualms with using the controversial substance.

"The bottom line is we get beat the hell up," said al-Jabbar, who shared his story with ESPN.com. "We need whatever's available to keep ourselves out there."

But many athletes such as al-Jabbar think of the drugs in distinct ways. One set (steroids) is known to build powerful muscle, while the other (growth hormone) is "more to recover from injury," he said. "I haven't heard of growth hormone giving you strength."

His impression has some support in the scientific community. Most of the research on HGH has been done on the elderly, not elite athletes, but studies have shown that while the drug might grow the size of a muscle, it is not associated with a spike in strength. In a 2004 review of the literature that was published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine and written as a guide for team doctors, the authors concluded that "there is no evidence that growth hormone supplementation will lead to an increase in performance."

Produced naturally by the anterior pituitary gland, at the base of the brain, growth hormone plays a major role in body growth by stimulating the liver and other tissues to produce insulin-like growth factor, or IGF-1. One of the chief actions of IGF-1 is that it stokes the creation of cartilage and bone, a benefit that has not gone unnoticed by athletes and orthopedists. Injected, synthetic HGH has the same effect.

"I've seen a whole spectrum from professional athletes in all sports, down to college and even high school players that have been on growth hormone," said Dr. Rick Delamarter, a Los Angeles spine surgeon and UCLA professor who has treated scores of big-name athletes. "I have seen the benefits of growth hormone post-operatively in recovering from surgery."

Delamarter said he does not prescribe growth hormone to his patients, as surgical rehabilitation is not one of three approved uses (short stature in children, AIDS wasting and adult Growth Hormone Deficiency) by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Athletes get it through other means, often anti-aging doctors who focus on the third, controversial diagnosis as a rationale for prescribing the drug. But he does not discourage its use as he has not seen, in his anecdotal experience, a detrimental response to growth hormone. And recovery periods are sometimes cut in half.

"If the science proves that it's efficacious and safe in the post-operative recovery period," he said, "then I think it becomes a standard of care for sports medicine and surgeons."

Yet, Delamarter doesn't doubt that some athletes would abuse the drug in an attempt to gain a performance edge. If there's any crowd that subscribes to the notion that one shot is good so five must be great, it is elite athletes with million-dollar careers at stake.

[pvkeeper19]

Exactly. He was using HGH to try and stay on the field and recover from an injury. A lot of people have said "well isn't that unfair to those who play by the rules and heal naturally?" I won't disagree with that, but how do we know he's not competing against people (like Rodney Harrison, Cushing, Merriman, etc) that are using PED's to gain an advantage? Plus what's the difference between what Moss is doing and a shot of cortisone? Isn't that technically a steroid?

The difference is that what Moss allegedly did is illegal and prohibited by the NFL's banned substance policy.

I'm confused as to why so many of you are jumping to the defense of this behavior. Whether or not it "should" be allowed is irrelevant; there are laws and rules in place that prohibit players from using HGH for any purpose. If you want to argue that the rules should be changed, do that. But as we stand, using HGH is forbidden, and anyone who does it should be punished. Until the rules change, players must abide by them or face the consequences.

[Best Team Ever]

Who gives a ****....seriously 90% of u would do it anyway to keep a job paying millions of dollars. **** middle age non athlete middle age men r taking that **** anway

[COWBOY-KILLA-]

It really bothers me when people quickly forget and turn on you at the drop of a dime when "it" hits the fan. It really shows who's with you or against you. Moss has been nothing but professional as a Redskin, representing the team in exemplary fashion off and on the field.

And for those that forget what he has done for this team considering all the circumstances throughout his tenure here, his stats speak for themselves.

Moss since 2005.

349 catches 5027 yds. 27 Tds.

Avg. 69.8 catches per season, 1005 yds per season, and 5.4 TD's per season....He's produced. I'm Still a Moss Fan, and I think he can help us win.

[bedlamVR]

I think there is no way around this but Moss is going to be suspended for at least 4 games . IT is a damn shame because HGH is not really a performance enhancing compound ....

[SkindaNFC]

Steroids and hormones always seem to be perceived in a negative manner. The fact of the matter is Cortisone, a commonly used steroid to inhibit inflammation to prevent further tissue damage, yet it is condoned and actively used in every sports league. It would be hypocritical to ban people (moss) for using these substances to be used in this fashion, you may as well ban hydrocortizone then because it too can provide muscle-building/performance-enhancing effects at higher doses. Dr. Galea uses HGH, a peptide (protein) hormone, in the same manner which is locally and at very small doses(we're talking 1%> [Concentrations] here); it stimulates chemokines, cytokines, growth factors at the site of injury (he also uses plasma with high concentrations of platelets) to facilitate the healing process. This is a medical treatment not some closet roiding case! Using HGH locally at very minute doses not provide any performance enhancement-- for this you would need to administer it regularly and at much higher doses. The NFL would have almost certainly caught this. There is nothing wrong here with this except for the irresponsible media, they hear these words and spins them in a negative light thinking they have some new hot BALCO-like scandal. They scantly parallel each other, but are absolutely and completely different. BALCO = illegally distributing PEDs; Dr. Galea = World renown Doctor on the cutting edge of his profession that just got in trouble for illegally crossing a border with a drug.

[DarrellsMyHero28]

If Galea was as "world renowned" as you say, why is he having to cross the border illegally to get to his US patients?

[anar-k21]

Who gives a ****....seriously 90% of u would do it anyway to keep a job paying millions of dollars. **** middle age non athlete middle age men r taking that **** anway

Santana ... is that you man??? what up lol

[dockeryfan]

I think it's clear from his production on the field last year that he took absolutely no performance enhancing drugs.

In fact, that should be his argument to Goodell.

"Look. How could I suck so bad if I was juicing?"

[anar-k21]

oh no now im watching sports center and their talking about... "could this open the door for TO??" NOOOOOOOOOOOOO make it stop please make it stop

[Santana_89]

Reading the comments on another board on this topic. I came across what could be the motive behind his decision to seek treatment (in whatever form that may have been) from this doctor. Again this is just speculation.

05-21-2010, 02:21 AM #6 (permalink) Dirtbag359

Pro Bowl

Re: Why Santana Moss gets a free pass...

HE HAD A TUMOR!!!! That's right, Moss had a tumor.

__________________

"Suit up!"

-Barney Stinson

http://www.thewarpath.net/redskins-locker-room/36692-why-santana-moss-gets-free-pass.html

[coolbeans]

oh no now im watching sports center and their talking about... "could this open the door for TO??" NOOOOOOOOOOOOO make it stop please make it stop

Sorry but that would just be sweet justice. Watching skins fans root for and defend McNabb AND TO would just make for a priceless and memorable season. I can only imagine the countless hours spent bumping 2-3 year old threads! :ols:

[posse87]

I am a physician and I think the debate comes down to the definition of use by the NFL and Santana's intention. Short coarses or single local injections with HGH makes sense to me, to allow players and injuries to heal faster and get back on the field faster. IV injection or oral intake is a systemic therapy and is meant to make all muscles and soft tissue stronger and increase performance. If HGH is lumped in with the general PED's then local injection into muscle injury to promode healing should not be considered a PED, as it is a very short coarse to help with injury repair and does not improve performance on the field. I am certain this is what Romanowski meant by his comments, but he is not a good spokes person on the matter, just like Kavorkian was not a good spokes person for euthanasia. I would agree with the use of HGH in the above manner, but I am also not the rules commitee in the NFL.

All that being said, I am sure the NFL does not take these technicalities into consideration and additionally Moss will probably be in trouble because he was aquiring it illegally from a doctor who was not authorized to bring HGH into the US and does not have a liscence to practice in the US. I agree with Shannahans approach of allowing the process to play itself out, and if Moss was taking it systemically then he should be in trouble and will serve a suspension. I haven't seen any news to how he reportedly used it in the past and what his intention was to use it in the current instance. Use and intention are very important in this instance and the media has left that out of the discussion, but then again that doesn't suprise me.

[anar-k21]

Sorry but that would just be sweet justice. Watching skins fans root for and defend McNabb AND TO would just make for a priceless and memorable season. I can only imagine the countless hours spent bumping 2-3 year old threads! :ols:

oh you got that right!!!! lol face of the media:laugh:

[88Comrade2000]

PFT is reporting that another Redskin could be involved.

[angel2]

If Moss wanted to be smart about concealing his act, he would have vacationed somewhere in the remote parts of Canada and had his filled of HGH from Galea and gone on about his business. Saying he is guilty because he wanted to only talk football is not a fair judgment.

If he is questioned by the NFL and denies ever meeting with Galea, then things will turn back to normal. If he lies about his involvement and the NFL has proof that he is lying, Santana will be gone next season. Moss has given the Skins ammunition to cut him in 2011, if he is not being truthful.