DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum **Post Camp Reports Here II**

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Are you blind, deaf, or dumb This is from the very link YOU POSTED

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Be very careful, GM.

As I've ALLREADY POINTED OUT, the very article I linked says he took steroids. THEREFORE, that's the conclusion which people can come to.

Don't blame me because the AP wrote it

It's not my fault you can't read this

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Desperate to resume his career, a "down and out" Ryan Tucker risked his football future by taking steroids.

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Be very careful, GM.

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...or what? did you receive banning privelages while i was away?

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It's not my fault you can't read this

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Desperate to resume his career, a "down and out" Ryan Tucker risked his football future by taking steroids.

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That quote, from the article does nothing to explain why Tucker was "desperate to resume his career" resulting in his knowingly taking a banned substance. What it does, in a backhanded-sensationalist-media-kind-of-way, is it infers, or hopes the reader will presume, that he was diminishing in strength and skills and so it was his plan to gain a competitive advantage just like so many other players who have been "busted on 'roids"

And, what are we expected to presume is meant by "down and out"? Nothing in the article explains that either other than to infer the same as above.




Testosterone — What It Does And Doesn't Do

When you think of testosterone, what comes to mind? Macho men? Aggressive, impatient, type A behavior? Road rage? Violence?

Testosterone's role in bad behavior is largely a myth. What's more, testosterone plays other important roles in health and disease that may surprise you. For example, did you know that testosterone is a key player in prostate cancer? Or, that women need testosterone, too? There's more to testosterone than guys behaving badly.

Testosterone's Role

Testosterone is the major sex hormone in males and plays a number of important roles, such as:

The development of the penis and testes

The deepening of the voice during puberty

The appearance of facial and pubic hair starting at puberty; later in life, it may play a role in balding

Muscle size and strength

Bone growth and strength

Sex drive (libido)

Sperm production

Adolescent boys with too little testosterone may not experience normal masculinization. For example, the genitals may not enlarge, facial and body hair may be scant and the voice may not deepen normally.

Testosterone may also help maintain normal mood. There may be other important functions of this hormone that have not yet been discovered.

Signals sent from the brain to the pituitary gland at the base of the brain control the production of testosterone in men. The pituitary gland then relays signals to the testes to produce testosterone. A "feedback loop" closely regulates the amount of hormone in the blood. When testosterone levels rise too high, the brain sends signals to the pituitary to reduce production.
health.msn.com


The unfortunate thing here is that the NFL doesn't distinguish between a drug prescribed by a Dr. to be used temporarily to improve a severe health condition vs. one used without a Dr's prescription to cheat and thereby gain a competitive advantage.

Tucker needed whatever he took and at the time could not have given a rats ass less what the NFL policy was or, possibly, if he ever even played again. It was reported that he had the testosterone level of a small boy. Hardly his normal level. He was already having mental health issues, (and as the article above states, testosterone plays a role in maintaining normal mood), so he HAD to do something to increase his testosterone level. His doctor prescribed whatever it was to deal with that issue and Tucker's health was far more important than his role in the NFL or their policy regarding the substance.

I believe he knew the substance was prohibited by the NFL but the NFL policy played no part in the importance of his taking it. He did what he had to do to improve his health issue.

Now, that doesn't mean an exception to the rule should be made for him nor that he should be allowed to continue taking such a substance. Probably the best thing to have done was exactly what was done. Have him set out long enough so that the substance did it's job, returned his testosterone level back to normal and then get out of his system before he went back to competition.

However, any form of "abusing" the NFL's steroid and related substances policy carries with it the same stigma as the player who obtains his substance illegally and uses it to cheat in order to gain a competitive advantage. And since so many who fall into that category lie about that, (understandably so considering human nature), it is presumed that anyone running afoul of that policy is also a liar and a cheater regardless of the factual truth of the situation.

In Ryan Tucker's situation he can hardly be called a cheat, which is what the connotation of your "busted on 'roids" comment seemed to be whether that's how you meant it or not, and it was that comment that started this particular path of the discussion of Tucker and the NFL's drug policy.

Considering the detail in which Tucker talked about his his health condition and the reason for his use of the substance, his admission that he knew it was against the NFL's policy and the fact that he didn't pretend to not know that is a good indication that he's told the truth about it from the beginning and that removes him from being judged as a liar and a cheat out to gain a competitive advantage.


I love you man, and I love GM. I'm just interjecting my thoughts and opinions here because I'm a long-winded, opinionated bore who interjects his thoughts and opinions where ever he feels like it.

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That quote, from the article does nothing to explain why Tucker was "desperate to resume his career" resulting in his knowingly taking a banned substance. What it does, in a backhanded-sensationalist-media-kind-of-way, is it infers, or hopes the reader will presume, that he was diminishing in strength and skills and so it was his plan to gain a competitive advantage just like so many other players who have been "busted on 'roids"

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What it DOES do is clearly explain why people would believe he took 'roids, and despite what GM said, it states quite clearly he took them.

Now the point of the argument wasn't whether or not he took them, but whether or not articles existed that said he did, leading people to those conclusions.

From a personal side, good, I'm glad Tucker found a way to get his life together.

From a football standpoint, he was an excellent player during his prime, but I feel he's a washed up guy who can't be relied upon. From mental illness to the effects of those drugs to the effects and consequences of the drugs used to counter previous ones to his simple broken down body, I don't think he can be trusted from a football standpoint, and I believe if he's taking starters snaps, it's hurting the team because other guys who would be more reliable wouldn't be building cohesion with the 1st unit.

I've said my peace. It's all good gents