Rails from the Rails #5 - Enhanced Performance

Rails from the Rails – 5 (originally posted on August 28, 2007 at www.argonauts.ca)

All Aboard: I would like to start by making an unequivocal statement such as “I have never taken performance enhancing drugs”. But, I do ingest caffeine in the form of coffee before football games. I have had ibuprofen in my system during a contest. Both caffeine and ibuprofen are considered drugs by some and they definitely do enhance performance. Any statement concerning “performance enhancing drugs” cannot be unequivocal. Definitions and further clarification are necessary when speaking of “drugs” in sport. I can, however, aver the following: I have never taken anabolic steroids. Chad Folk often accuses me of taking “pear-oids” on account of my Bosc-like physique, but, there is no substance to those accusations.

Tickets Please: I am in favour of drug testing for CFL players. I think a concrete drug policy and a testing program is both necessary from a public relations standpoint and beneficial as a deterrent. That being said, I do have some concerns which I will put before the reader to consider.

First and foremost, I would hope that any program that the league implements will be in the best interest of the players. Perhaps this is naïve as I do not believe the motivation behind the current push for testing is the player’s well-being. I think the true impetus behind current discussions of drug testing is public relations. And I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. But my hope is that through the process of development the player’s health, safety, and welfare becomes paramount. I am sure the CFL Players Association will strive to ensure this.

Secondly, I hope the parties involved will carefully consider which models are used when generating a stronger and expanded drug policy for the league. It is irksome that when the topic of drug testing and sports surfaces many people point to the Olympics as a model. I truly believe that from a “drugs in sport” perspective, and some other perspectives for that matter, the Olympics very well may be the most corrupt, complicit, and culpable organization in sports. Note that this opinion comes from anecdotal evidence, such as conversations with Olympians. However, I think a strong case could be made for it. The Canadian Football League needs to create a policy that is effective and just in dealing with this problem. Thus, when considering other examples, those involved in the process need to discern which programs are truly beneficial and productive.

My third concern has to do with the fans and how they perceive drug use is sports. It is a topic that often elicits “black and white” opinions when there are many grey areas to consider. I have a tendency to polarize issues but allow me to present a few situations that may help the average CFL fan to appreciate some nuances of this controversy. Consider an athlete who has diagnostic blood work done and finds that his/her testosterone levels are significantly lower than levels present in the average person. And that athlete takes testosterone to raise his/her levels to a normal range. Should we group such an individual in the same category as those who take steroids to boost their systems far above natural levels? What about the third world athlete, or the first world athlete who lives in poverty, who chooses to secure his family’s financial future by taking drugs? Is this no different from the millionaire athlete who takes pills or injects medicines to stay at the top of his/her game? Or consider the athlete who experiences a serious injury and decides to take some banned substances in order to promote healing. Is enhancing healing synonymous with enhancing performance? There are many similar situations in which it may not be so easy to label the athlete “cheater”. I hope those involved in the process of developing a CFL drug policy will take such dilemmas into account. As I approach the end of my career I better understand the pressure to use substances to maintain or improve performance. I am not as fast or strong as I used to be and that fact makes an athlete consider how he might stave off retirement. Things aren’t as black and white as they once appeared.

Please do not think that I sympathize with any athlete who wants to take substances in order to perform at a higher level. I do not. But seeing things from inside the athlete’s perspective may bring some understanding that was not there before. If the CFL begins a testing and punitive program for performance-enhancing substance users, than I believe that “levels the playing field” in my favour as well as in favour of every other athlete who chooses to “play clean”. But it needs to be done properly, with wisdom and innovation, if it is to be a benefit to all the players of today as well as the future footballers.

Last Stop: I can remember vividly Ben Johnson winning the 100m finals at the Seoul Olympics. That was an incredibly exciting moment in Canadian sports history. The fallout from the ensuing chaos still reverberates in Canadian athletics today. My money says Ben wasn’t the only “dirty” athlete in that race and I believe that fact was well-known by many Olympic and world sports officials. Though not innocent himself, I think Ben Johnson was made the scapegoat for many guilty athletes.