Vijay "Shocked" To Learn He Was Using Banned Substance
Guess Vijay Singh hasn't heard of Google either.
His statement following the SI story where he is quoted confessing to using a banned substance was sent out by the PGA Tour:
"In light of the recent article on sportsillustrated.com, I want to issue the following statement:
"While I have used deer antler spray, at no time was I aware that it may contain a substance that is banned under the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Policy. In fact, when I first received the product, I reviewed the list of ingredients and did not see any prohibited substances. I am absolutely shocked that deer antler spray may contain a banned substance and am angry that I have put myself in this position. I have been in contact with the PGA TOUR and am cooperating fully with their review of this matter. I will not be commenting further at this time."
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 10:26 AM
Reader Comments (45)
If this is in fact true than Cigarette's should be banned for helping calm your nerves and thus helping to make a putt...What a JOKE!
Rory has 4. Kenny Perry has 3. Others updates coming...
Yes I know what it's meant for...My point is that it has no effect on your performance on the course but used to recover from an injury....I see NOTHING wrong with that at all. It's not giving you an UNFAIR advantage on the course. It's helping you recover from an injury. This whole PED thing is getting way OVERBLOWN by the MEDIA period.
"This is just plain stupid. IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) works only when injected, usually subcutaneously. It is hard to see how a 'spray' will do anything, even if administered under the tongue. A 70-amino acid peptide hormone will not get into the circulation that way. There are formulations of insulin that can be taken up when 'snorted' but they are not in widespread use. From the company website: 'Research indicates that deer antler velvet has a holistic effect wherein the benefits are a result of its combined ingredients rather than its individual components.' Holistic. Uh huh. Jeebus."
As far as Ray Lewis is concerned, what was it that Colin said about the placebo effect? Besides, that injury was more than three months ago and one would imagine that Mr. Lewis has had unrestricted access to the best rehabilitation therapists in the world.
So the current 'pick players to pee in a cup walking off the course' method is almost a waste of time.
Captain Renault: "I'm shocked...shocked to find out there is gambling going on here!"
Casino worker: "Here are your winnings, sir".
Renault: "Oh, thank you very much".
Vijay's shock rings extraordinarily hollow to me. And who on the earth was the first one to say say- hey! I bet deer antler spray would make me a better athlete. :)
I want to HGH; I can see how it could help me get better, sooner, and time is all we have.
As to this, well, I let my PGA card expire.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/baltimore-sports-blog/bal-ray-lewis-denies-using-banned-substance-during-rehab-from-injury-20130129,0,7725655.story
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-deer-antler-spray-20130130,0,3189504.story
I mean let me put it this way, even if the tour did blood testing, and tested for this: Vijay still would have passed bc the substance never actually entered his body.
PGA Tour golfers almost always win an event because they putt better then everyone else, and in some cases they hit more greens in regulation. Hitting it 315 vs 300 isn't a big enough advantage to warrant the risk IMO. But I'll never play at that level so I guess its hard for me to comment on if the risk is worth it.
Vijay
I don't think Vijay was using it for distance. At his age and with his reputation for long days on the driving range, he was probably using it in hopes it would give him the kind of stamina on the range that he used to have as a younger person.
Not to get all Bill Clintony but we need understand the definition of "use".
Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
[aloud]
Casablanca
Yes, everything is illegal, and we should all be locked up.
Yes VJ should be banned for stupidity.
It's all too much.
This pleasing the GD crooked Olympics scammers is as dumb as it gets, but I am about ready to see if the govt has enough balls to really come down on Tim and the 25 VP buddy non profit. Smell test alarms all across America are going off. It seems that the PGAT
needs to pay its troops, clean out the office, be non participatory in the Olys, and quit wasting money on all this banned substance stuff.
If a flyer specificlly mentions deer dung, ten VJ is , well, sadly, just guilty. If Doug Barron went down, andVJ doesn't we need Miami Vice, or Ponce Deleon, or someone in Florida to go get all jiggy wit it on the PGAT. SMELL TEST. Not knowing is ok in the 4th grade.
This all pisses me off. This shit should be legal, and laughed at. 9 THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR SNAKE OIL!
Wow. I get the feeling that VJ has all that shit from TV in the middle of the night- can't you see him doing those dance moves in front of his 60 inch Sony.
There is much information available to show that PED do effect performance by increasing strength and endurance. So a player can practice longer, play more tournaments and likely hit the ball further. Strength can add distance if applied properly. Added strength can also help with less fatigue after continuously swinging the club.
Their are also PED which help calm nerves and have been known to be used to help players with stress on the course, ie. putting.
So it not so simple.
Barry Bonds' remarkable athletic ability allowed him to make great contact with the baseball, PED's allowed him to reverse the typical age curve in baseball and actually increase his HR production dramatically after 32 years of age. The only people who doubt this are people like Barry himself, which makes you ask why he would take them in the first place. Or....perhaps he has issues.
ha, ha..that's hilarious...for spraying deer dust on his own self?...suspended? danke mein furer
Given that there's more scientific evidence that advil helps you on a daily exercise regime than HGH, you really can't make a logical argument for the former and against the latter. The WADA anti-doping policy isn't actually based on science, it's based on fear, fear of anything that hasn't been used for years and that they don't understand. And I'm sorry but I don't think that's good enough. And I am certainly not going to vilify people based on no evidence. And banning deer antler spray is beyond dumb, as is taking it.
That being said, a stupid rule is still a rule. Vijay broke one, he should be suspended.
Can you provide examples of where WADA's policies are not based on science. I understand that various individual sports policies are weak or ineffectual but WADA is well ahead of most of those. So some examples please.
I'm pretty sure he didn't know the deer spray was banned. But someone in his entourage should have looked into it. His trainer, at least, should earn his money and monitor anything Vijay does to, or puts into, his body. And someone should have spent five minutes on the internet to see if there's any science at all that suggests the claims of SWATS are even remotely true.
Placebos can be effective, of course. In fact, Vijay's last run of wins (2008) was due to his convincing himself he was the best putter in the world. He managed to maintain that belief for about two months, during which he had three official wins, plus Tiger's hit-and-giggle event.
The real lunacy is in putting a banned substance in a placebo in the first place. It's like putting heroin into corn syrup and then claiming it will cause weight loss if you rub it on your toes. What's the point?
He should have to run naked from tee to green at Scottsdale's 16th while the other players spank his butt with the skinny end of their drivers. A crime of stupidity should have a stupid punishment. Sadly, I think he will get a much saner sentence. I hope he spends some of his time off writing "I will research what I ingest" 1000 times every day. I also hope he manages to convince himself again that he is the best putter in the world, and finds some real medicine that will actually cure his injuries or maintain his health.
Only one or two. No names.