He ordered a 12-month supply of HGH (Human Growth Hormone) in 2004, one year before MLB banned the substance. Ankiel didn't order anymore of the drug after it was banned. While the drug was not illegal in baseball at the time, I'm still disappointed that Ankiel used it. Although it was legal at the time, do you think he'll get in any kind of trouble?
Here is the link to the story:
http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070907&content_id=2194104&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl
Best answer:
Answer by Aaron R
If people let him off the hook they should leave other players alone too like Bonds they still dont even have proff that bonds took anything it dont matter to me taking those things could never help u see the ball better or anything maybe in wrestling it helps but u pay the price wen u get older if u get older
What do you think? Answer below!
If he used it when it was legal, then there's no way to punish him for a policy that was enacted later on. It's clear in the article that Ankiel only received shipments in 2004 and did not receive anymore after it was banned.
ReplyDeleteLegal or not, this puts a damper on the feel good story of the year in baseball: a pitcher nosedives in the prime of his career but works his way back to the Majors as a premier hitter. Comparisons to Roy Hobbs will stop now since it's clear he didn't do this naturally.
The backlash will be immediate. Baseball has just recovered from The Shady One breaking Hank Aaron's home run record. It was refreshing to read a story about a young man who fell so low and worked his way back up...but now, it's the same theme as it always is: cheating.
Very tragic.
cards fan: God love ya! I'm a cards fan too. can you produce a link on this? I haven't heard of this.
ReplyDeleteNo one should be in trouble for doing HGH or whatever else they decided to put in their bodies before it was deemed banned or illegal.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I'd like to know how someone's prescription medical records becomes public knowledge without violating HIPPA.
ReplyDeleteOK, now that that is out of the way, it just shows that EVERYONE is suspect and we can't get all moralistic about some players who we suspect used drugs and give a pass to others who we assume did not use them.
Just because he had a prescription for it and it was not specifically banned by major league baseball does not mean it is wrong. There is no medical reason for a healthy athlete to receive a drug which is approved for use in children with pituitary gland deficiencies.
It is interesting that he was getting the drug during the season that he lost his ability to pitch. I can't but wonder if it was part of the reason why he lost all his pitching control. Maybe his arm just got too strong too fast and he didn't know how to control it.
Anytime someone does well,the skeltons come out of the closet.The way I read it,it seems it was subscribed by a doctor after his elbow surgery.Nothing will come of this,except trying to get into the head of this kid
ReplyDeleteBan his azz!
ReplyDeleteI don't care if Baseball did not find that criminally illegal substance wrong or not! Ban his azz!
--He definitely should not even be considered for the HOF.
Does anyone else find if embarrassing that professional wrestling takes this problem (performance enhancing drugs in general) more seriously than Major League Baseball?
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to see the reaction of the St Louis Cardinal fans to this. Giants fans caught alot of flak, deservedly so imo, for standing behind Barry Bonds thru his turmoil. Will Cardinal fans, who have a reputation for being true blue baseball fans, back the player over the game too?
How can anything like this be a surprise anymore? Many current players experimented with all kinds of things before the drug testing program or before certain drugs found their way to the banned substance list. The important thing now is that these players are now complying with the requirements of the drug program.
ReplyDeleteI have said for a long time now steroids and hgh are used more for the healing powers, long seasons, injurys.
ReplyDeleteThis is another example of how it is used by "pitchers" as well.
I love his story, maybe we won't see it in the same light in a couple of years. As we find the players we love doing this, the attitude toward it will change. (it already has)
Forget about the time frame, his morals come into question.
I think Ankiel is not alone there. I'm sure there were other players that had HGH before baseball banned it. It still is disappointing, though. The "feel good" story does lose some of its "feel good"-ness. Of course, the New York Daily News broke it, though. They were obviously investigating him. But they wouldn't do that to-I don't know- Carlos Beltran...David Wright...Johnny Damon...Roger Clemens.
ReplyDeleteit is disappointing. The part everyone seems to be missing is they can only prove that he got it in 2004. Just because they do not have proof that he received more shipments after 2004 does not mean he was not using it. He could have gone to another supplier, he could have done something else. Why use it one year and then just stop? Like with Bonds, Ankiel will now always be suspect. It is too bad because baseball could have used a genuine hero but guess they will have to wait for someone else to come along because that hero is no longer Rick Ankiel.
ReplyDeleteGood grief, I've taken HGH myself................my doctor says it's mostly amino acids. Now, I just go to the health food store and get amino acids.................
ReplyDeleteIt was LEGAL. I don't have a problem at all with it. If baseball banned it, and they did, then he shouldn't take it anymore. It seems obvious that he did stop taking it. HGH is not the same as steriods!!!! You can't ban people for taking a legal substance even if it is later banned.
This is ridculous!
I think it's humorous that they nicknamed him, "The Natural".
ReplyDeleteAs to why someones prescription info was released during the age of HIPAA. It is part of an on-going criminal investigation of doctors who wrote the 'scripts illegally, i.e., he did not have a medical condition that required HGH or who "bought" the 'script.
I would point out (as the article does) that Gary Matthews, Jr. also got named. He made a public statement that he has never taken HGH, or anything else, at any time. Since then, nobody has bothered to bring it up. Nobody has questioned anything he's done for the Angels.
ReplyDeleteIf Ankiel makes the same type of statement, I would merely ask that the same attitude be afforded him.
This is different from the Barry Bonds situation, in that there are far more than just the one source that links him to taking the performance enhancing drugs. In the Matthews & Ankiel situations, we have ONLY the one "revelation".
well hmmmm....... I am a Cardinals fan have lived near St Louis all my life and will remain a Cards fan As far as Ankiel goes I DONT LIKE HIM never have never will....... I agree with the person who said that when a player does well skeletons come out of the closet......This is just another ember in the bon fire the Cardinals Have created this year................ with Larussa and his DUI, Josh and his death, Spezio and his drugs and now Ankiel all i have to say is St Louis Cardinals are the Glue that helps keep St Louis alive and as Cardinals fans we need to make the best of this big bon fire and grab your marshmellows and hot dogs and party like only Cards Fans Can Do!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe article makes it very clear that the company was involved in ILLEGAL distribution.
ReplyDeleteSo why does an earlier poster think this information came from a doctor's prescription? Since when do illegal drug pushers fill out medical records?
Lets see if the media goes after him as much as they went after Bonds. I bet they won't.
ReplyDeleteA one time prescription of something that is over the counter for someone coming off surgery is not uncommon, this sounds like over zealous reporting. There are a million explanations for that prescription. This is just another witch hunt.
ReplyDeleteTo me this is a non-story. The guy was coming off a fairly serious injury and was under a doctors care. My last year in High School during a basketball game I went for a rebound and came down right on my knee, shattering it. I had to have knee replacement and yes the doctor had me on a type of steroid to aid in my recovery. I don't see any problem with that.
ReplyDeleteAlso this was in 2004 before the ban was in place so there is nothing MLB can really do about it. I hope the guy continues to succeed.
Vaffanculo, you're an idiot. The guy just came off surgery, no medical condition. You're a real fan of baseball, I see you research before you post.
He did nothing wrong. At the time, it was perfectly legal, both in the medical world and in the baseball world. It was prescribed due to ailments. It was normal. Over the counter cough medicine is banned substance for athletes too. Give me a break.
ReplyDeleteCertain medications and treatments that are DEVELOPED for certain causes, but that doesn't mean that it can't or isn't used for other causes as well.
Example: Breathene is an Asthma medication that stops asthma attacks in asthma patients. It is also prescribed to pregnant women to slow or stop certain contractions. But it is first and foremost an Asthma medication. Does that mean a pregnant woman, having contractions in her second semester shouldn't take it? No.
There is alot of faulty logic out there. It isn't our place to judge anyone, especially off of pure conjecture. Just stick to the facts.
1. It was prescribed to him, by a doctor, due to an ailment, which actually is common.
2. It was legal, by both baseball and the medical community, at the time in which he received it.
3. HGH isn't something you just store on the shelf. Even cortizone needs to be used by a certain date to be effective.
4. Before it was banned, he stopped receiving it.
5. He has done nothing or been caught doing anything illegal at anytime.
If drinking milk and taking a bubble bath before a game could help an athlete gain an unfair advantage, than you better believe milk would become a banned substance too.
It's disappointing. I was happy for him but it does put some dirt on the story now. Even if it was before it was banned he still knew it was wrong.
ReplyDeleteI believe Ankiel intent was to gain an unfair advantage over his peers. He can hide behind his excuse concerning his injuries but the bottom line is that he was looking to enhance his skills unnaturally. To me that was the intent to cheat. If baseball can call Giambi on the carpet then it should do the same with Ankiel. The bigger question is why no one will take the responsibility of calling Bonds on the same carpet.
ReplyDeleteThe hell with Barry Bonds. This is not the same thing. bonds is an asshole. He was using steroids illegally not the legal doctor prescribed HGH.
ReplyDeleteHGH wasn't banned at the time. Besides he was barely even in the major leagues at the time. He didn't do anything spectacular in 2004.
Ankiel returned to the Cardinals as a reliever in 2004, but the experiment was short-lived. He pitched in only five games, showing that he could throw strikes (nine strikeouts against one walk). But a year after his surgery, hitters found him to be easy pickings, and he finished with a 5.40 ERA.
Ankiel has fought numerous injuries in his career, and some athletes, such as Harrison, have said they used HGH to augment the body’s healing process. It is banned in every major professional sport as a performance-enhancing drug because it builds lean muscle mass, but there is no universally accepted test for it.
I wish these jerks would stop trying to defend Bonds every time something like this comes out! There is a difference between someone trying this stuff to help with an injury, and someone who juices to the point that they aren't even human anymore!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem with someone using it to help them come back from an injury...I just wish it had been prescribed by his doctor. I don't think he'll get in much trouble though...at least I hope not.
ReplyDeleteBut for all of those saying they were "legal" in baseball, I'm sure there is a paragraph in the rules somewhere that speaks to "controlled substances" and committing crimes and alike. HGH is a controlled substance and was apparently obtained ILLEGALLY. I mean isn't this is how this came to light in the first place...an investigation into an illegal drug ring?
This really kicks us Cardinals fans where it hurts even though he obtained them legally and appears to not have used them while they were a banned substance. All you can really hold against Ankiel is that it was immoral for him to do this. Sadly, the comparisons between him and Bonds are now going to be made, but in my mind there is a big difference. We appear to have all the evidence in this case as opposed to Bond's case where all the evidence is unable to be collected.
ReplyDeleteYou may also want to pay attention to the fact that the story linked above mentions there is no known test for HGH, so if Barry had taken such a drug, this de-bunks the whole "he never failed a drug test" defense. I don't hate Bonds, but I do hate when his defenders use that line.
i really don't think much will happen to him. if he only bought it before it was illegal, and he's not using it now,i really don't care. i actually haven't heard of this story until i saw it on here, but from what you say, i think he will still be acepted by cardinal fans. i think thats one of the good things about us cardinal fans, we understand that the ball players are human and make mistakes.
ReplyDeletei am still a ankiel fan. and a cardinal fan. right now he is helping us win, and he is a big part of the team, and i hope he continues to be a good part of the team. right now thats what matters.
GO CARDS!!!
I don't think he faces any suspension - it was not banned. MLB cant do anything if it was before it was banned.
ReplyDeleteIf he is ashamed himself he used HGH he should be given another chance. So he screwed up. Give him another chance.
Lets just hope he is not the next Barry Bonds!