Steroids loom in major-college football

[Portland Frog]

Ok, FFF, it is time to chime-in again on this issue.


http://news.yahoo.com/steroids-loom-major-college-football-182028506--spt.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — With steroids easy to buy, testing weak and punishments inconsistent, college football players are packing on significant weight — 30 pounds or more in a single year, sometimes — without drawing much attention from their schools or the NCAA in a sport that earns tens of billions of dollars for teams.

Rules vary so widely that, on any given game day, a team with a strict no-steroid policy can face a team whose players have repeatedly tested positive.

An investigation by The Associated Press — based on interviews with players, testers, dealers and experts and an analysis of weight records for more than 61,000 players — revealed that while those running the multibillion-dollar sport say they believe the problem is under control, that control is hardly evident...

 

[Portland Frog]

"The sport's near-zero rate of positive steroids tests isn't an accurate gauge among college athletes. Random tests provide weak deterrence and, by design, fail to catch every player using steroids. Colleges also are reluctant to spend money on expensive steroid testing when cheaper ones for drugs like marijuana allow them to say they're doing everything they can to keep drugs out of football."

 

[Zubaz]

This was posted last week I think.

It's true that people, especially athletes, tend to grow quite a bit in their late teens and eary twenties. They will bulk up by virtue of a quality weight training program and disciplined diet, etc.

That said, anyone that doesn't think steroids (or PED's in general) are widespread in college football is just plain not paying attention. NCAA testing procedures are such a joke that even a passing understanding of cycling off (most tests are scheduled far enough in advance to allow this, or they will just juice in the off season when they aren't tested) or masking agents (which aren't tested by most organizations) can get you a pass. Do you really think Shawnne Merriman or Brian Cushing didn't juice until they got to the NFL?