Everyone is talking TRT and Marijuana again. One you can put in a cookie the other not so much. Maybe MMASucka’s Jeremy Brand has tried to blend the two in his fancy Blendtec blender and make a juice, but in my opinion, both “drugs” are completely different and should be treated as such.
You have the unfortunate Pat Healy incident where he lost a crap load of money ($130,000 to be exact) and was suspended for 90 days for testing positive for “Mary Jane.” Sure there are many, including myself, who love a good puff from time-to-time. I have always banged the drum that reefer should not be considered a performance enhancer; just listen to MMASucka Radio and there is proof enough that it does not enhance anything. I’m sure one day that archaic rule enforced by athletic commissions everywhere (maybe not in Jamaica) will change, but for now it’s just that… a rule.
Pat Healy should have known better but you can’t help but feel for him. What transpired was a stiff penalty that will undoubtedly sting and it has sent a message to pro fighters across the board. Maybe that’s a good thing. If you smoke dope, don’t be one, and smoke while you are training for a fight. Healy has apologized for the incident, but the question still remains, how does a fighter smoke one month out from a bout and have that doobie be considered performance enhancing? Let the debate continue until a commission somewhere has the balls to change the rules.
My stance on smoking weed has always been clear, but my thoughts on TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) usage has been somewhat on the fence. I don’t normally like to be sitting on the fence on a subject; as anyone knows your ass really starts to hurt after a while. However, my opinion on TRT has changed to the side of ban it!
There hasn’t been a real poster boy for the “ban it argument” until Vitor Belfort. That man has obviously used it to his benefit in that he will only fight in Brazil so that other commissions like Nevada, will not stop him from doing so. I did some research and to be honest, there aren’t a lot of guys abusing TRT. In fact banning it would probably only effect a very tiny percentage of fighters in the sport. If someone is at the pinnacle of the sport and fighting in the UFC, the only reason he or she would need to use TRT is because they abused steroids at some point in their life. The other reasons for the therapy are related to maybe your gonads didn’t develop properly or were cut off.
Vitor Belfort can claim that his strength comes from Jesus, but it also comes from a liquid in a vile too. It’s a performance enhancer in the truest sense of the word, and if you are a fighter who wants to use it to cover up sins from the past, maybe there is no bigger billboard on why not to abuse PEDs when you are young. Thank you Vitor Belfort for showing the masses the effects that steroids have on an aging athlete. For now Belfort will hide in a jurisdiction that will allow him to cheat, but unfortunately he is still operating within the rules. It’s time for the UFC and athletic commissions everywhere to step up and ban the procedure across the board. Unfortunately, the damage Belfort did to his body in the past will not amount to the damage he is currently doing to his legacy.
Think about it and let us know your thoughts. Do you agree with me? Whether you agree or disagree now is your chance to make your opinion known. Comment below, and the best response will win a Punishment Athletics T-shirt. Make sure to check out Team Punishment and cash in our promo code PA99 and get 20% off merchandise.
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You can listen to Trevor on MMASucka Radio heard weekly on MMASucka.com. Follow him on Twitter @tdueckMMA
Ummm… I have a Vitamix blender!!
To be honest I’m not the biggest fan of TRT or steroids in any combat sports, but it’s so hard for me to say completely ban it when a lot of fighters I truly admire and respect are on or were using. In the early days of MMA when it was pretty much still NHB (no holds barred) a lot of guys, a lot of stars were users of it. Guys like Coleman, guys like Kerr, Wanderlei pretty much majority of the PRIDE roster were on something lol.Today I don’t think it’s as bad, but that element is still there a lot of guys like the Dan Hendersons, the Belforts, the Mirs, Marquardt are on something. So how do we tell people not to use it if a chunk of people are? I do believe though that it’s not all TRT that is helping Vitor win and majority of it is him being talented. I honestly don’t think his legacy should be tarnished based on this at all and the legacy of other fighters who were using, but I am curious to know the long term effects of his usage when his career is long over.
And as for fighters getting in trouble for testing for weed…..We already know it’s plain stupid and I hope one day they just take it out of the piss tests completely.
I find it interesting you don’t see weed as performance enhancing. Take the Diaz douche who said he used it for his stress/ anxiety etc. If using the weed helped him focus, relieve his stress which then enabled him to train better, harder etc, isn’t that then a performance enhancer?
Marijuana is not a performance enhancer especially if taken weeks out before a fight. If someone has a low reading of marijuana metabolites in their system from smoking a joint weeks prior to competing, how can you say that is a PED? Also people take all sorts of supplements, and pain killers while training, so should those be banned to? How is smoking weed any different? If someone smokes pot to alleviate pain or anxiety how is that a bad thing? In Diaz and Matt Riddle’s case is was prescribed to them by a doctor. I can see how smoking weed just before going out to the Octagon could give some people an edge, but how many guys who get popped for marijuana have a metabolite reading that says they were smoking weed hours prior? I can only think of Nick Diaz when he fought Gomi in Pride. The fact of the matter is the commissions could use their common sense and suspend guys based on when they were likely to have smoked weed. If it was the day of, I would have no problems with a suspension. A month or even six weeks out from a fight? Come on, that’s pretty fucking weak. Just imagine if traces of alcholol stayed in the system for two months, what sort of argument would you make if a guy had a couple of beers a month out and after his fight he gets nailed for drinking two Coronas, should we suspend him and take 130,000 of his money that HE earned? It might be a stupid example, but that is what your logic is saying in this situation.