A friend of mine, my age, tested low for testosterone. His doc prescribed a daily gel to raise his testosterone level. He feels much better now and, get this, he’s hitting the ball farther in golf. His golf pals are amazed. They don’t know the truth. My friend now beats them head to head, winning small amounts of cash. Should he feel guilty for being legally juiced?
Stan
Last year I asked a Doc if steroids might do me good? I figure to lose weight and feel better sounded good to me. No,she just said that in the long run they would be bad..But, Stalone swears by PEDS..he’s out in the open as to taking them. Arnold is a user. Tiger..
I think,its like POT..they cant be as bad as portrayed..but the government fears them.
And,yes,your friend is really cheating his friends. Its even worse when your supposed to be an amateur.
August 22nd, 2012 1:36 pm
T L DuQuette
I don’t remember you having such a dilemma in the past. Front page above the fold , as I recall.
August 22nd, 2012 2:07 pm
Dr Nick
I think it’s a pretty simple case of being diagnosed with a deficiency, and being treated by your doctor to restore “normal” levels. Granted it’s a bit more of a cosmetic need than say, supplementing iron for an anemic patient.
August 22nd, 2012 2:09 pm
Steve
No. Testosterone is not an illegal drug, but it is on the list of banned substances in baseball and some othe sports. Your friend is taking it to feel better after medical tests revealed a deficiency, not to take his golf partners’ cash. Most athletes taking this stuff do so for a big payday at the expense of their teams and fans who ultimately foot the bill for the cheaters. Your friend still has to make the shots and putts to win the small friendly wagers.
August 22nd, 2012 2:34 pm
Brian in Oakland
Maybe he should be upfront if there is money involved.
August 22nd, 2012 2:45 pm
glenellen
If he is doing it for health reasons. It was his Doctor’s idea, not his. People with health issues have to do what is right for themselves medicly. He is not a pro ball player.
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His Doctor made his overall health better but he is wrong to use it toward taking money from friends. That would be cheating friends, having an edge. What kind of friend ? At least he told you.
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This is more for the Ask Amy column.
August 22nd, 2012 3:45 pm
KauaiRobert
Maybe the other guys are a little low on manjuice themselves.
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He should share some of that gel with them to show he’s fair and cares about his pals.
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Or not….
.
.
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*ALOHA*
August 22nd, 2012 3:51 pm
glenellen
Colon beat the Giants on May 20, but Melky Cabrera went 4 for 4 in that game, winning the Battle of Testosterone.
August 22nd, 2012 3:54 pm
Stan
Exactly..Brian gets it. HE KNOWS he’s not the guy he was..and only told Lowell,because he cant take Lowell for a buck.
I can’t cheat my friends..
August 22nd, 2012 3:55 pm
Brady
I see no problems. It’s a medication to handle a natural deficiency. Presumably it’s giving him a normal amount of testosterone, which actually puts him even with the playing field, not ahead of it.
But regardless, such discrepancies naturally exist in competition. You may have better eyesight than your friend, which gives you an advantage. Another buddy may be taller, which gives him an advantage when in a sand trap.
Those discrepancies exist. To bash your buddy for hitting the ball a little harder due to normalizing his testosterone is no worse than the Nascar and IndyCar men who said Danica Patrick had an unfair advantage because she weighed less than they did.
August 22nd, 2012 4:01 pm
Lameduck
I think ADHD medicine is a banned Olympic drug which Michael Phelps uses. If a Dr. prescribes it, it “must” be OK…
August 22nd, 2012 4:06 pm
Stan
Huff-great contract year…then..I aint paranoid-lol. He ingested beer and gave up the testicle shrinkers..no need,when he signed for 14 million…
Man,it all fits..
August 22nd, 2012 4:07 pm
mendozaline
Your friend should raise both the amount of cream he rubs on and the amount of his golf bets.
August 22nd, 2012 4:15 pm
Dennis
The older we get the more stuff we need to take to be normal. That is just life. There is no dilemma. Some guy may be taking something because he has high blood pressure. If he didn’t take it he would be able to play all 18 holes. Another guy may need insulin injections because he is diabetic. If he shoots himself up during a round of golf is he altering his physical being – you bet. I take allergy medicine everyday. If didn’t take it I couldn’t breath out on a golf course. We all take or will take something. This is the age of better living through chemistry. Take the drugs and enjoy life and don’t worry about any moral dilemmas. Life is too short for that.
August 22nd, 2012 4:51 pm
Dennis
I meant to say wouldn’t instead of would.
August 22nd, 2012 5:02 pm
gary
is this a trick question?
If he has a deficiency, and he is being treated with a standard dose, to a theraputic level…………he is not being juiced.
However, if he has did something to induce his “low” level, and is taking an amount of
testosterone to elevate an expected level for
his age, he is juiced. And cheating.
August 22nd, 2012 5:16 pm
Albert Park
If I take extra testosterone and it increases my sex drive, would I be cheating my wife?
August 22nd, 2012 11:40 pm
Tommy CostaRica
Dennis I’m with you all the way on this one. I’m lucky and have great health but I do take my medical “mota” as they call it on the equator for my mellowness meter.
August 23rd, 2012 8:48 am
Dennis
I have a better one. I was playing in a tournament one time and I started off just terrible. It was 10 am and I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. Cart girl comes by and I order two of those little bottles of scotch, a cup and no ice. Straightened my game out. I went on to shoot in the low 80′s which was very good for me and I beat my buddy in the process. Was that cheating? I was certainly chemically altered.
August 23rd, 2012 11:15 am
Dennis
I might add that I was even a little “juiced”.
August 23rd, 2012 11:17 am
paul
petty administrators posing as doctors and judges, sports writers acting like pulpit peckers. There is no solution down that road. Every time you try to legislate fairness, the legislators prove that we are all fallible. No one will support any game that can be redecided year after year.
All I have to do is go to the local high school car wash with those girls in car washing clothes and my testosterone becomes illegal. Imagine what its like for athletes with all those camp followers
August 27th, 2012 11:56 pm
paul
we’re really talking about the big issue. The problem is like the Lance thing. The advocate is not anti drug, he’s antiLance. He cannot seperate himself from his viewpoint. The end, for him justifies anything he does. we can see what prohibition did and we can see what its doing to our broke ov. The jstices can’t stop chasing demons, can’t see that to many they are witch hunters without perspective and sense of “innocent until PROVEN guilty”. When the end justifies the means, there is nothing to save.
We can see the drug users and we can see the politics behind the accusations. NO ONE is saying anything about the East German women of Olympics because everyone would start laughing.
If tests, day of event, final by end. ALL tested. false positives corrected but no amending anything in the past. Just the way it needs to be. Otherwise each year the history of games will be rewritten. No records will mean anything and no one will care.
And Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame, even Aaron told Bob Costas to cool it. He knew it wouldn’t be good for baseball to go down that road. Bonds is/was about the best natural hitter of all time.
August 28th, 2012 12:15 am
CohnZohn
paul, I find your use of the word “natural” in your final sentence interesting.
August 28th, 2012 9:05 am