What percentage of professional team athletes use banned PEDs?

[albionmoonlight]

I'm thinking major league sports. The answers might be different for Olympic sports.

[miami_fan]

HGH for the win

[claphamsa]

shocked by the very low...and low votes.

[hoopsguy]

Answer might be even higher if we were splitting along age lines ... guessing that pros who have been in their leagues for 5+ years are substantially higher than players on their first contract.

[Eaglesfan27]

shocked by the very low...and low votes.

Me too. I thought we'd all be clustered in the highest brackets.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I went Low cause cycling & stuff, tips about testing, yadda yadda.

*I read it as "at any given moment" not "have ever".

[Edward64]

I'm thinking low.

[bhlloy]

I went Low cause cycling & stuff, tips about testing, yadda yadda.

*I read it as "at any given moment" not "have ever".

I went high and while I can definitely understand where you are coming from, my take is that there's got to be a ton of things that are technically banned but there aren't good tests for, and there's no way athletes/trainers aren't pushing the envelope enough to know about it and be using it. My (admittedly completely uninformed) impression is there's a constant cycle of new things being tested for and athletes being caught, and then getting back ahead of the game. I may be completely wrong on this.

I think you are probably right that there's not a majority of users in any sport just brazenly using steroids, but anything considered a banned PED? Maybe I'm just showing my ignorance here.

[bhlloy]

DOLA - I know the question specifically says NOT cycling, but I'd put my house on that number being 100%. I think the cycle of which teams are better at it/pushing the envelope/being willing to work with the sketchier doctors ebbs and flows (cough TEAM SKY cough) but if you are saying some people cheat to look like cyborgs cycling up massive inclines and manage to recover to do it all again the next day but the ones who don't get caught aren't cheating at all and just happen to be able to do it naturally - that's an argument that makes absolutely no sense to me.

[RainMaker]

I think people would be surprised at how soft the drug testing is in the major sports leagues.

I also went high because I'm counting times when players aren't pros. Most college athletes use steroids and everyone growing up in a country like the Dominican Republic is on them at a young age. I just can't imagine that the majority of professional athletes haven't used something illicit in their lives. The risk is so low and the reward is so great.

[korme]

There's a guy at my bar who is just convinced any successful athlete of the past 30 years has been using. It annoys me to all hell. Jordan, Griffey, etc.

[Logan]

There's a guy at my bar who is just convinced any successful athlete of the past 30 years has been using. It annoys me to all hell. Jordan, Griffey, etc.

I mean...he's probably right. Especially if we're including everything that would eventually go on to be banned but wasn't at the time.

[miami_fan]

I think you are probably right that there's not a majority of users in any sport just brazenly using steroids, but anything considered a banned PED? Maybe I'm just showing my ignorance here.

This was the key for me. I know they are not supposed to be taking random things that worked for their wife or other family members but they are not that different than the rest of us.


I think people would be surprised at how soft the drug testing is in the major sports leagues.


And then there is this.

https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/NFLPA/Annual%20Test%20Memo_2017.pdf

Every NFL player is to be tested for performance enhancing
substances between the opening day of training camp and the Friday before the first full weekend of preseason games Friday, August 11, 2017.

Yes there are random tests throughout the year that might catch people. I also believe that there are failed tests that are explained away in appeal that we never hear about. That does not include those that use the drug but have a waiver To be clear, I don't believe 75%+ of players are using steroids like the East German Olympic Team. I do believe that there are enough drugs on the banned lists that are available at your local GNC that it would not surprise me that some made it into the system of the pros.

[albionmoonlight]

My take is high.

Economics: The reward (millions of dollars and fame) is very high, and the downside (get caught and suspended for a few games) is very low. Strong incentive to do it.

There's a lot of money to be made coming up with the next-generation of undetectable PEDs. So labs will do it.

Psychology: These are people who have been praised their whole life do doing anything that gives them an edge. Stay after practice to work on your game? Your coach praises you. Get up 3 hours early every day to get in a run and a lift? You are setting the right example. Eat nothing but kale and grilled fish? You just want it more than the other guys. It seems very unlikely that guys who are willing to make really hard sacrifices to succeed (and have always gotten positive reinforcement for doing it) would draw the line at doing something relatively easy that is proven to work (if you don't get caught).

The leagues' incentives:The leagues, who come up with the testing, don't want players to get caught. They want a drug testing program just strong enough to make it look like they are clean--and not a smidge stronger than that. It's like having a dorm monitor who's a cool party guy. All he wants is for the freshmen to keep the parties quiet enough so that the cops don't get called. Otherwise, y'all just do whatever y'all want.

[albionmoonlight]

dola:

I also think that the public under-estimates because they focus on stars. I think that the guy trying to hang on to the end of the bench for one more season is more likely to be using something than a star.

Fear of failure makes people more desperate than hope for success.

[Radii]

I also went high, on the general idea that I believe that the drugs are always ahead of the tests. If you can get away with something with relatively high confidence, you're going to do it, especially when careers are short and ultra competitive.

[CU Tiger]

There's a guy at my bar who is just convinced any successful athlete of the past 30 years has been using. It annoys me to all hell. Jordan, Griffey, etc.




SO Jordan, the guy universally regarded as the most competitive athlete, if not person, any of us have ever known...knew there was a product available that would make him better yet chose not to take it?


Please.

[MIJB#19]

With the question at hand, it basically limits it to the NFL, since the other 'major league sports' are Olympic, or were recently nuked from it. With the current laughable suspensions (less than 1 month compared to international standards being 2 years), it almost encourages teams in the NFL to cheat at will. At that, I'll go with the 50-75 range.

[Izulde]

I'd go with a floor of moderate, but high seems most likely.

[DavidCorperial]

I went with moderate, because I think there is more pure blood doping of getting more blood in your system and I don't consider that as an actual PED.

[JonInMiddleGA]

SO Jordan, the guy universally regarded as the most competitive athlete, if not person, any of us have ever known...knew there was a product available that would make him better yet chose not to take it?
Please.

I'd say it's a fair possibility that he avoided it, or at least through his meaningful heyday. That would fit with my perception of his ego honestly.

[EagleFan]

A bunch of cynical bastards answering this poll...