Steroids: A Problem Of Huge Dimensions

Fitton went to all the major powerlifting championships and drummed up trade in steroids and other drugs. Radler told federal investigators: 'if there's a meet, and Tony's at it, you can count on it that he's got a couple of suitcases full of drugs there that he's going to sell off at that place.... He always has a room.... They have a long line out in the hall of all the lifters, you know, two pounds overweight still...and they got to shoot them all up with Lasix [a diuretic], blow their water off, and they make weight."

Now if only sports administrators and coaches would get as serious about the situation as the FDA and Justice Department appear to be. "I feel confident that steroids are not being dispensed to any heavy degree by the clubs," the NFL's Rozelle insisted last week. "But you can't stop someone from getting them on the outside. We tell them, first, it's debatable as to whether or not it improves your performance and, second, we tell them about potential side effects. I don't think steroid use is that big—with the clubs not dispensing steroids and with athletes not being overly prone to buy it if they have to pay for it." In much the same vein, the NFLPA president, Tom Condon, an offensive guard for the Kansas City Chiefs, said, "Steroids might be a problem in colleges. They might be a problem in track and field. But they're a non-factor in professional football. I've never seen anybody take anything. I don't know about them."

Maybe it's high time that the people who run sports take a closer look.