Wisconsin And Steroids

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Jeshurun

Jeshurun

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I’ve see several mentions recently of Wisconsin connected to steroids. Anyone care to explain what they are talking about? Is there anything to this or is it just baseless excuse making for why we lost?
 


Jeshurun said:
I’ve see several mentions recently of Wisconsin connected to steroids. Anyone care to explain what they are talking about? Is there anything to this or is it just baseless excuse making for why we lost?
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Are these mentions from the same folks that think the refs are always against MN teams or that NCAA rules held MBB back from a final four?
 

I’ve seen posts from other sites of people claiming they “know for a fact” that Wisconsin has a steroid program since the Alvarez days.

Personally I don’t believe it. Maybe there was a single player that had tried PED’s in their program but I don’t believe they have program wide steroid program.
 

With how many people are on a roster I would be surprised if there are any P5 teams that didn't have at least 1 player use PEDs in the past 10 years.

Likewise, with how large the roster is and how common transferring is, it would be almost impossible to give the whole team PEDs without it getting out to the media/conference/NCAA.
 


GoGophersUMN said:
With how many people are on a roster I would be surprised if there are any P5 teams that didn't have at least 1 player use PEDs in the past 10 years.

Likewise, with how large the roster is and how common transferring is, it would be almost impossible to give the whole team PEDs without it getting out to the media/conference/NCAA.
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Yeah I'm sure someone does it....but is it systematic, I think that is more unlikely / hard to tell.
 

WIth the massive amount of people that have come and gone through that program (players, coaches, medical personnel, etc.) over the Alvarez years, it would be hard to disguise it or hide it from all the testing that is done. Although testing frequency and tactics have changed over the years also, it still would be very hard to keep it hidden (system wide I'm talking). But I usually make a statement and am very seldom correct, so there is that.
 


The risk reward ratio (in terms of hopes of gaining weight/mass, recovery from injury, high school and college notoriety/glory and ultimately millions in the NFL is so skewed towards taking the risk I’d be shocked it PEDS aren’t pretty widespread. Their use is probably even more widespread in high school as let’s face it, we aren’t as bright at that age, testing is likely minimal, and there is huge incentive. I knew non-athletes that used and they just wanted to impress girls...

There’s no question they’re out there and the grab bag of school and NCAA policies won’t catch them all or even most. Even when the schools do catch someone they’re not likely to publicize it. The question of organized PED programs is pretty unlikely but looking the other way after eg telling players to gain weight is probably pretty common.
 



Pompous Elitist said:
The risk reward ratio (in terms of hopes of gaining weight/mass, recovery from injury, high school and college notoriety/glory and ultimately millions in the NFL is so skewed towards taking the risk I’d be shocked it PEDS aren’t pretty widespread. Their use is probably even more widespread in high school as let’s face it, we aren’t as bright at that age, testing is likely minimal, and there is huge incentive. I knew non-athletes that used and they just wanted to impress girls...

There’s no question they’re out there and the grab bag of school and NCAA policies won’t catch them all or even most. Even when the schools do catch someone they’re not likely to publicize it. The question of organized PED programs is pretty unlikely but looking the other way after eg telling players to gain weight is probably pretty common.
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Steroids are very expensive. Unless their parents are funding it it would be hard for HS kids to get their hands on them.
 

die hard gopher said:
Steroids are very expensive. Unless their parents are funding it it would be hard for HS kids to get their hands on them.
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Not all HS kids are poor. Some get quite a bit of $ from Mommy and Daddy.
 

I read some studies that indicate that gains made from steroids are not completely lost after use is discontinued. There are ways to use PEDs and beat the monitoring systems, but I doubt there is anyone doing it at the college level, in a systematic way. I don't recall of any Wisconsin player getting in trouble in the NFL for PEDs, that's where it would show up, if they were doing it.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Yeah I'm sure someone does it....but is it systematic, I think that is more unlikely / hard to tell.
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Systematically it's almost impossible. Even if they only did it for 1 year, there would be 100+ players who know in addition to at least a few dozen other staff. To get that many people to keep quiet about something like this would be almost impossible. Even the Astros had a former player speak out and that's just hitting trash cans. With something that can hurt your body and in an age where victims speaking out are embraced more than ever, it would be almost impossible to keep that many people quiet.
 





I would bet dollars to donuts that a very high percentage of players at the top level - especially those that are legacy (have a current or former NFL family member) are on juice. The rewards are simply too great given the low risk of being caught. I don't think it is systematic - no coach is out giving a poor kid a bunch of steroids with a paper trail - but, I think the families of the legacies supply money, gear, and the know how on how to not get caught. At best, the coaches are willfully turning a blind eye.

I think we are just willfully naive as fans. Does anyone actually believe that Bama and most SEC teams are not playing top players? Follow-up, how many also thought that they were paying basketball players - that has been proven now so it is not a conspiracy theory. If they can pay players, giving kids access to steroids is easy.

People today are too quick to label everything a conspiracy theory - like playing college kids under the table or refs incentivized to favor a team - again, the NBA had a ref go to prison and the Kings/Lakers play-offs series in 2001/2002 are exhibits A and B that happened.
 

It’s a fascinating question and nobody really has a handle on the real answer because self-reporting surveys on illicit drug use are close to worthless and obviously there’s a huge incentive to never get caught or admit to being a cheater Lance Armstrong.

When I say use is probably widespread I’d guess maybe somewhere from single digit to 20% have either cycled once or twice or are more regular users but that’s a total guess. Given the millions of anabolic dosage seizures every year in the US and Canada which is just the tip of the iceberg and given human nature a certain percentage of humans are always going to be a) trying to get that extra edge or b) trying to recover from an injury and disuse as quickly as possible. It’s dangerous, it’s stupid, you and I wouldn’t do it (probably), and who knows what bathtub the stuff comes out of in India or China but it’s human nature.
 

in the arms race that is college football, it is probably pretty rampant. though, i would bet that hgh is more prevalent than steroids. it's much harder to test for.

in fact, i wouldn't be surprised if it is relatively common in any sport that has money and human performance plays any kind of factor in prevailing.

look at tiger woods.
 

Hgh is extraordinarily expensive compared to anabolic steroids.
 


Bigeddysprings said:
I read on a Penn St Website about the widespread use of PED's on the Minnesota Football program. When I read it. I assumed it was due to idiot fans being butt hurt about losing to the Gophs.
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Bagmen, roids, always come up more often when it involves disappointment.
 
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I don’t think there is anything concrete that Becky linemen are using steroids. But it is unusual that they can find 4-5 o-linemen per year from places like Sheboygan and Wausau that are 6-6 320 lbs and all have the same body type by the time they are sophomores.

Why isn’t Minnesota generating linemen like that from Rochester and Duluth every year?
 

Bigeddysprings said:
I read on a Penn St Website about the widespread use of PED's on the Minnesota Football program. When I read it. I assumed it was due to idiot fans being butt hurt about losing to the Gophs.
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Big Eddy is the typical insecure Badger fan that needs to check GopherHole on Christmas Day.
 

John Galt said:
Big Eddy is the typical insecure Badger fan that needs to check GopherHole on Christmas Day.
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LOL. I look at lots of boards. When I see a thread title like this one. It demands a response. I would say its Gopher fans that initiate a thread like this shows lots of insecurity and immaturity. Pointing out the absurdity of this thread is required.
 


John Galt said:
I don’t think there is anything concrete that Becky linemen are using steroids. But it is unusual that they can find 4-5 o-linemen per year from places like Sheboygan and Wausau that are 6-6 320 lbs and all have the same body type by the time they are sophomores.

Why isn’t Minnesota generating linemen like that from Rochester and Duluth every year?
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It's the mold in the Wisconsin Cheese. The same ones that helped produced Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer helped produce enormous linemen.
 

John Galt said:
I don’t think there is anything concrete that Becky linemen are using steroids. But it is unusual that they can find 4-5 o-linemen per year from places like Sheboygan and Wausau that are 6-6 320 lbs and all have the same body type by the time they are sophomores.

Why isn’t Minnesota generating linemen like that from Rochester and Duluth every year?
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Maybe WI recruits and develops lineman better than MN has? No maybe about it.
 

Bigeddysprings said:
LOL. I look at lots of boards. When I see a thread title like this one. It demands a response. I would say its Gopher fans that initiate a thread like this shows lots of insecurity and immaturity. Pointing out the absurdity of this thread is required.
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And you’re back again. Thanks for holding up Wisconsin’s honor and glad to know we're living rent free over there.
 

Spoofin said:
Maybe WI recruits and develops lineman better than MN has? No maybe about it.
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Probably. But isn’t it interesting that the phenomenon has lasted 30 years across multiple head coaches and offensive line coaches? And that they’ve developed that one position group far above the rest of their team?
 

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