Saints players using steroids?

[LittleBoyBlue]

I didnt get the name... but I just heard that the Saints have a player that pulleda "Merriman"

anyone know who this Saints player is?

 

[peplaw06]

Hollis Thomas... you'll find threads on this, just search for him.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I didnt get the name... but I just heard that the Saints have a player that pulleda "Merriman"

anyone know who this Saints player is?

Hollis Thomas and there is a long thread about it already.

 

[Aikbach]

Hollis Thomas, a DT, however it is a pretty shady suspension. It appears the steroids are those found in asthma medication, not fair to punish him if this is true.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Cool - thanks

 

[Jay]

Yeah, the suspension doesn't seem justified. He switched his medication because he was used to playing in Philly, but during camp this summer, he was trying to deal with the humid air in Mississippi I think they said? I think that's where the Saints have camp.. either way, still humid in New Orleans. Different climate and humidity is tough on people with asthma.

Doesn't seem right for him to be suspended for 4 weeks, but.. I'll take it.

 

[sago1]

Understand the NFL has list of drugs which such players can use just as effective but don't contain enough of the steriod stuff to have that kind of effect. The NFL wouldn't be so hardnosed on him if his test results didn't produce more suspicion about what he using then simply "asthma" type medication. Hollis isn't the first player whose played with asthma. Didn't former Denver RB Terrel Davis also have asthma (maybe it was magrines) and he played with approved medication in the NFL until leg injuries (?) ended his career.

 

[Doomsday101]

Yeah, the suspension doesn't seem justified. He switched his medication because he was used to playing in Philly, but during camp this summer, he was trying to deal with the humid air in Mississippi I think they said? I think that's where the Saints have camp.. either way, still humid in New Orleans. Different climate and humidity is tough on people with asthma.

Doesn't seem right for him to be suspended for 4 weeks, but.. I'll take it.

As the NFL rules indicate the player is responsible for what he puts in his body. If he changed medication and that is what caused him to fail then he should have had this medication checked out and approved before taking it.

 

[peplaw06]

Yeah, the suspension doesn't seem justified. He switched his medication because he was used to playing in Philly, but during camp this summer, he was trying to deal with the humid air in Mississippi I think they said? I think that's where the Saints have camp.. either way, still humid in New Orleans. Different climate and humidity is tough on people with asthma.

Doesn't seem right for him to be suspended for 4 weeks, but.. I'll take it.

I agree with Dooms, he should have got it checked out...

But there's also a small contingent of people I've heard talking about it, where the asthma medication was used as a sort of "mask" to cover the anabolic steroids. Like when he got a positive test back, the asthma medication was the excuse.

 

[dargonking999]

it may not be justified. But anything type of medcine you put in your body, you should always have it checked

 

[Cowboys&Caps]

until leg injuries (?) ended his career.

Yea he had two degenerative knees.

 

[Doomsday101]

I agree with Dooms, he should have got it checked out...

But there's also a small contingent of people I've heard talking about it, where the asthma medication was used as a sort of "mask" to cover the anabolic steroids. Like when he got a positive test back, the asthma medication was the excuse.

That could be the case I have not heard that. Evidently teams are going to have to continue preaching to their players that any substance they are taking or medication they are taking needs to be checked out and given the ok before taking them.

 

[Iago33]

Yeah, the suspension doesn't seem justified. He switched his medication because he was used to playing in Philly, but during camp this summer, he was trying to deal with the humid air in Mississippi I think they said? I think that's where the Saints have camp.. either way, still humid in New Orleans. Different climate and humidity is tough on people with asthma.

Doesn't seem right for him to be suspended for 4 weeks, but.. I'll take it.

Wow. The NFL released all this information? Oh, you mean this is the story Hollis' agent let out. Alright. Let's believe the agent instead of the NFL.

 

[tyke1doe]

Yeah, the suspension doesn't seem justified. He switched his medication because he was used to playing in Philly, but during camp this summer, he was trying to deal with the humid air in Mississippi I think they said? I think that's where the Saints have camp.. either way, still humid in New Orleans. Different climate and humidity is tough on people with asthma.

Doesn't seem right for him to be suspended for 4 weeks, but.. I'll take it.

Here's what I don't understand.

If his medicine indeed contains chemicals banned by the NFL, why not just make an appeal to the NFL before the fact instead of after the fact?

Surely, he could have gotten a medical opinion or even testimony from a doctor that he could use this type of medicine. Why wait until after the fact, assuming, of course, he didn't present his case to the NFL prior to his drug test?

 

[peplaw06]

Here's what I don't understand.

If his medicine indeed contains chemicals banned by the NFL, why not just make an appeal to the NFL before the fact instead of after the fact?

Surely, he could have gotten a medical opinion or even testimony from a doctor that he could use this type of medicine. Why wait until after the fact, assuming, of course, he didn't present his case to the NFL prior to his drug test?

If Hollis Thomas was truly an innocent in all of this, and just needed the medication to treat his asthma, I'm sure there has to be a way he can be accommodated.

To use this as an excuse after the fact smacks of a pre-planned alibi or justification for failing an anticipated steroid test.

I've also heard that the NFL testing is current enough to be able to tell the difference between the steroid present in the medication and anabolic steroids, if it's caught early enough. Now I don't know when he was tested, but if there was a later concern that he may fail a test, he should have addressed that earlier.

Also the appeals process will take into account the special circumstances of this disease. The NFL won't address the agent's or Thomas's claims, so all we get is their excuse. I'm very skeptical of their story... a 4 game suspension is too important to leave it to chance.

 

[Timbo2st]

 

[dargonking999]

I dont get it. What was the point of that picture?

 

[dallasfaniac]

Here's a good article on banned substances, for any who are interested.


And a quote from the article regarding the 2 month testing window in the offseason:
"Here's what you can do in two months," says Conte, the founder of the BALCO lab and the man who spent four months in prison for steroid trafficking. "(Sprinter) Tim Montgomery came to us and we put him on a program that was completely undetectable on Nov. 17 of 2000. His baseline bench press was 265, and he weighed 148 pounds. On Jan. 18, 2001, eight weeks later, he weighed 176 and he benched 345. That's what you can do in eight weeks."

 

[smarta5150]

What was the outcome of that Superbowl?

Anyone?

 

[SaintsFanMan]

I dont get it. What was the point of that picture?