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Delicate dilemma for Cowboys' Wilson
[SIZE=+1]QB coach took banned substances to treat impotence [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]12:40 AM CDT on Friday, September 7, 2007[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By GARY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]gjacobson@***BANNED-URL*** [/SIZE]
It's a sensitive topic, male impotence, especially in the world of big-time professional sports.
That's one reason Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson says he was talking in code – saying he was trying to improve his "quality of life" – when he previously explained his use of banned substances to treat complications from his diabetes.
Last week, Wilson was fined $100,000 by the NFL and suspended for the first five games of the season for using a banned substance.
"That was my way of trying to cover that subject without coming right out and saying that," Wilson said Thursday when asked if he suffered from impotence, a common complication of diabetes. "There's a quality of life that I don't really want to say a great deal about."
Some studies, which Wilson said he is well aware of, show that more than 50 percent of male diabetics aged 50 to 60 are impotent. Wilson is 48. Some diabetics don't respond to common treatments for erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra.
Wilson said Thursday that he experimented last year with two substances purchased for a total of "$3,000 to $4,000" from a Florida rejuvenation clinic. Both caused problems with his blood sugar levels, so he stopped, he said. He was an assistant coach with the Chicago Bears at the time.
Wilson's name surfaced in an investigation by the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney into anti-aging clinics, pharmacies and doctors who signed prescriptions for patients they never examined. Wilson said he chose that alternative because he knew his regular doctors probably wouldn't approve the treatment.
During a telephone interview, Wilson still wouldn't identify the banned substances he took. Chris Baynes, the lead prosecutor on the case, said Thursday night that it was a "cocktail of different drugs," including human growth hormone.
If Wilson had obtained a properly prescribed medication for a legitimate medical reason, he would not have run afoul of NFL rules, league spokesman Greg Aiello said. Wilson will continue to be paid while suspended. Wilson said he earns a little over $300,000 a year from the Cowboys.
Baynes said the amounts Wilson ordered were "consistent with personal use."
Wilson has been active in the American Diabetes Association since shortly after he was diagnosed with the disease in 1985. He said he has always tried to be a role model for others, demonstrating that the disease doesn't have to limit a person's ambitions or activities.
He was honorary chair of the first Stars Gala for the Dallas office of the ADA in 1998. The event is now the agency's biggest annual fundraiser, bringing in more than $340,000, said Susan Boucher, executive director of the Dallas chapter.
"Let me assure you, Wade is welcome here anytime," Boucher said. "If I could send him a bundle of courage, I would."
Boucher said the majority of adult men diagnosed with diabetes learn they have the disease after seeking medical care for impotence. She said she has no knowledge of Wilson's complications, but she compared current attitudes toward impotence caused by diabetes to the attitude toward breast cancer in the 1960s.
"People don't want to talk about it," she said.
Wilson said he got the idea to try the alternative treatment after seeing a 60 Minutes segment last year about an anti-aging clinic. He took a physical exam, including blood work, last fall in Chicago, then talked to a Florida doctor on the phone.
"I thought he was a legitimate doctor," Wilson said. "He made a recommendation."
Wilson said he worked through the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center and Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, two targets of the Albany DA's probe. He said he didn't remember the name of the doctor.
He said he ordered one substance and tried it for a couple of months, but it altered his blood sugar levels. He stopped for a while, then experimented with it again. The results were the same. He said he then ordered a second substance but also had problems, so he stopped completely.
"There was a lot of naiveté on my part," he said.
So far, the Albany DA's probe has resulted in nine guilty pleas, including two from people associated with the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center. The investigation is not pursuing those who used the substances.
The NFL, which also suspended New England safety Rodney Harrison, has said this week it has no knowledge of other players or personnel involved.
Previously, Pittsburgh team physician Dr. Richard Ryzde was also caught in the investigation and was fired.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/09-07/0907ww.jpg ERICH SCHLEGEL / DMN
Wade Wilson (right) was fined $100,000 by the NFL and suspended for the first five games of the season for using a banned substance.
Wilson's diabetes complications have become more serious. He said he used to be able to control the disease with two insulin shots a day and exercise. This year, his treatment regimen includes a long-lasting shot in the morning, then a shot whenever he eats, meaning at least four shots a day.
His blood pressure also started to climb, so he began taking medication to keep it well within the normal range, he said. When he was in Chicago, he said he had laser eye surgery because of hemorrhaging.
Typically this time of year, Wilson said his coaching job would keep him busy from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. on many days. It hurts being away from the team, he said, but he is enjoying being able to spend more time watching his own sons play football.
"That's the one positive to come of this," he said.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/090707dnspowilson.2b0ac0a.html#
[SIZE=+1]QB coach took banned substances to treat impotence [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]12:40 AM CDT on Friday, September 7, 2007[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By GARY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]gjacobson@***BANNED-URL*** [/SIZE]
It's a sensitive topic, male impotence, especially in the world of big-time professional sports.
That's one reason Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson says he was talking in code – saying he was trying to improve his "quality of life" – when he previously explained his use of banned substances to treat complications from his diabetes.
Last week, Wilson was fined $100,000 by the NFL and suspended for the first five games of the season for using a banned substance.
"That was my way of trying to cover that subject without coming right out and saying that," Wilson said Thursday when asked if he suffered from impotence, a common complication of diabetes. "There's a quality of life that I don't really want to say a great deal about."
Some studies, which Wilson said he is well aware of, show that more than 50 percent of male diabetics aged 50 to 60 are impotent. Wilson is 48. Some diabetics don't respond to common treatments for erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra.
Wilson said Thursday that he experimented last year with two substances purchased for a total of "$3,000 to $4,000" from a Florida rejuvenation clinic. Both caused problems with his blood sugar levels, so he stopped, he said. He was an assistant coach with the Chicago Bears at the time.
Wilson's name surfaced in an investigation by the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney into anti-aging clinics, pharmacies and doctors who signed prescriptions for patients they never examined. Wilson said he chose that alternative because he knew his regular doctors probably wouldn't approve the treatment.
During a telephone interview, Wilson still wouldn't identify the banned substances he took. Chris Baynes, the lead prosecutor on the case, said Thursday night that it was a "cocktail of different drugs," including human growth hormone.
If Wilson had obtained a properly prescribed medication for a legitimate medical reason, he would not have run afoul of NFL rules, league spokesman Greg Aiello said. Wilson will continue to be paid while suspended. Wilson said he earns a little over $300,000 a year from the Cowboys.
Baynes said the amounts Wilson ordered were "consistent with personal use."
Wilson has been active in the American Diabetes Association since shortly after he was diagnosed with the disease in 1985. He said he has always tried to be a role model for others, demonstrating that the disease doesn't have to limit a person's ambitions or activities.
He was honorary chair of the first Stars Gala for the Dallas office of the ADA in 1998. The event is now the agency's biggest annual fundraiser, bringing in more than $340,000, said Susan Boucher, executive director of the Dallas chapter.
"Let me assure you, Wade is welcome here anytime," Boucher said. "If I could send him a bundle of courage, I would."
Boucher said the majority of adult men diagnosed with diabetes learn they have the disease after seeking medical care for impotence. She said she has no knowledge of Wilson's complications, but she compared current attitudes toward impotence caused by diabetes to the attitude toward breast cancer in the 1960s.
"People don't want to talk about it," she said.
Wilson said he got the idea to try the alternative treatment after seeing a 60 Minutes segment last year about an anti-aging clinic. He took a physical exam, including blood work, last fall in Chicago, then talked to a Florida doctor on the phone.
"I thought he was a legitimate doctor," Wilson said. "He made a recommendation."
Wilson said he worked through the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center and Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, two targets of the Albany DA's probe. He said he didn't remember the name of the doctor.
He said he ordered one substance and tried it for a couple of months, but it altered his blood sugar levels. He stopped for a while, then experimented with it again. The results were the same. He said he then ordered a second substance but also had problems, so he stopped completely.
"There was a lot of naiveté on my part," he said.
So far, the Albany DA's probe has resulted in nine guilty pleas, including two from people associated with the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center. The investigation is not pursuing those who used the substances.
The NFL, which also suspended New England safety Rodney Harrison, has said this week it has no knowledge of other players or personnel involved.
Previously, Pittsburgh team physician Dr. Richard Ryzde was also caught in the investigation and was fired.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/09-07/0907ww.jpg ERICH SCHLEGEL / DMN
Wade Wilson (right) was fined $100,000 by the NFL and suspended for the first five games of the season for using a banned substance.
Wilson's diabetes complications have become more serious. He said he used to be able to control the disease with two insulin shots a day and exercise. This year, his treatment regimen includes a long-lasting shot in the morning, then a shot whenever he eats, meaning at least four shots a day.
His blood pressure also started to climb, so he began taking medication to keep it well within the normal range, he said. When he was in Chicago, he said he had laser eye surgery because of hemorrhaging.
Typically this time of year, Wilson said his coaching job would keep him busy from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. on many days. It hurts being away from the team, he said, but he is enjoying being able to spend more time watching his own sons play football.
"That's the one positive to come of this," he said.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/090707dnspowilson.2b0ac0a.html#
