The famous Canadian sports doctor, Anthony Galea, walks free from court when he was sentenced this month to time served. Prosecutors initially asked for at least 14 months jail time for the sports doctor because of the latter’s alleged pattern of deception in doing business in the country. They also argued that Galea put the athlete patients at risks because of his HGH treatments.

Dr. Galea was originally charged with 5 felonies. Authorities claimed that the sports doctor smuggled performance enhancing drugs across the border, illegal distribution of HGH, conspiring to lie to federal officials, conspiracy to defraud the US, and bringing the unapproved drug Actovegin into interstate commerce. However, almost all of the charges were dismissed because of the plea agreement of the doctor.

Part of his plea deal is cooperating with the authorities by disclosing the identities of his patients and the treatments given to them particularly those patients who are professional athletes. However, reports revealed that Dr Galea only gave HGH treatments to at least 1 percent of his patient athletes. The treatment is only used to enhance the recuperation of patients from injuries and not to directly enhance performance in sports.

Permission Needed Before He Can Return to the US

The sentence given to Dr. Galea is only equivalent to 1 day or the day he was arrested. US District court Judge Arcara also imposed a one year supervised release. However, authorities can’t literally impose this since Dr Galea resides in Canada. But there is one good thing about this sanction. Dr. Galea can’t enter the United States without the government’s permission. This is to ensure that he will not again conduct unauthorized medical procedures in the country. The court also required the sports doctor to forfeit $275,000.

Aside from the plea deal, the judge was also moved by the letters of support for the Canadian doctor. At least 123 letters were presented to the court praising Galea’s personal and professional character. These letters came from relatives, patients, professional colleagues and professional athletes. Some of them were also present during the sentencing.

Judge Arcara also noted in his decision that incarcerating Galea does not outweigh the benefits to his patients. “No question he is paying a big price for his misdeeds. He seems to have a genuine desire to be a healer. I believe his primary interest is healing injuries,” said the Judge.

Helped Professional Athletes Treat their Injuries

Dr. Galea also issued an apology. In the sentencing, Galea told the court that he had caused a lot of pain to the ones he love because of his overzealousness in trying to heal injuries. Reports showed that Galea made 150 trips to the US and treated at least 23 professional athletes and most of them were from NFL and MLB.

Some of the prominent players who admitted that they were treated by Galea were Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. Football players who were also treated by the doctor were linebacker Takeo Spikes and retired running back Jamal Lewis. In media interviews, all them denied receiving treatment of any banned substances or accused the doctor of giving them performance enhancing substances such as steroids and HGH.

Unconventional Treatment Procedures

Dr Galea became the most sought doctor of professional athletes because of his unconventional healing techniques. The doctor uses platelet-rich plasma therapy to speed up the healing of injuries. He does this by extracting blood from patients and re-injecting the plasma into the affected area. He also uses Actovegin and human growth hormones in treating patients.

The top women track and field athletes of India were lucky that the committee investigating their doping case gave them lighter punishment. The National Anti-doping Agency panel headed by Dinesh Dayal put into consideration the argument of the women athletes that they did not took the banned substances intentionally. The women athletes are candidates for the 2012 Olympics in London because of their impressive records. One of them is Ashwini Akkunji who holds two gold medals in the Asian Games last year.

Reduced Steroid Suspension to 1 Year

Dayal announced the decision at the headquarters of the National Anti-Doping Agency last Friday. The six track and field athletes - Ashwini Akkunji, Mandeep Kaur, Sini Jose, Mary Tiana Thomas, Priyanka Pawar, and Jauna Murmu received 1 year ban in the sport. The panel found them not guilty of intentionally taking steroids. However, a positive result for steroid test still requires suspension under the anti-doping rules.

“We find all the seven athletes guilty of doping violations under clause 2.1 of Anti-doping Rule. The date of suspension begins from today and any period under provisional suspension shall be credited in their penalty period which is one year,” Dayal told the media.

First time violators automatically receives two year ban. But in the case of these women track athletes, the suspension was based on no fault rule. “We did not find any significant fault on the part of these athletes on how the banned substance entered their bodies and they will get reduced penalty under clause 10.5.2 NADA rule,” Dayal added.

NADA also disclosed that the source of banned substances which were detected inside the system of these 6 athletes was the Ginseng Kinapi Pill. This nutritional supplement was given to them by the Ukrainian coach. The women athletes earlier argued that they could not be held liable because they only followed the instructions of their coach. Since coach Ogorodnik is an appointed coach of the SAI, athletes assumed that what they are taking are legal supplements. Laboratory analysis of the sample supplement returned positive for stanozolol and methandienone, both are anabolic steroids.

Chances to Compete in the London Olympics Nil

Although the women track and field athletes proved their innocence, their Olympic dream is already nil. According to a sports official, the qualifying period for the London Olympics ends in July 2, 2012. The provisional suspension of these athletes started June and July this year so that would mean they can’t meet the requirements set forth by the Olympics and IAAF. Akkunji and Pawar, for example, were suspended July 4 and it will end on July 3 next year. A day after the qualification period ends.

The IAAF also requires suspended athletes to undergo reinstatement tests for 3 times. However, the four other athletes, Mandeep, Jose, Murmu and Thomas were suspended in the month of June so they still have a chance to enter the qualifying rounds. However, there is also another problem. If their replacements also qualify for the Olympics, they may not be included anymore in the team. The final decision to compete in the Olympics also lies with the International Athletic Federation. This will make their comeback a little more difficult.

Another Athlete Suspended

Another athlete was also suspended by NADA. However, Harikrishanan Muraleedharan, a long jumper, was given 2-year suspension. He tested positive for the steroid methandienone.

India’s Sports Ministry and as well as various sports organizations were shocked when six of their women elite athletes tested positive for anabolic steroids in the middle of this year. Most of them are Olympians who are vying for the London 2012 Olympics. The regular random steroid tests were conducted in the different training facilities in India.

Track and Field Athletes Facing 2-year Suspension

However, the athletes who failed the steroid test contend that they are not taking performance enhancing drugs. They blamed their Ukrainian coach for giving them over the counter supplements which contain the banned substances. In the laboratory analysis of the supplements given to these women athletes, one particular supplement showed the specific anabolic steroid that was also found in their system.

Ukrainian coach Yuri Ogorodonik was fired and left the country when the scandal happened. The coach argued that he should not be held responsible for the fiasco. It was also found out that the sports organization in India run out of stocks of the recommended and legal supplements. This forced some of the athletes to buy from local health stores. One of the supplements given by the coach is ginseng.

AC Ashwini, Sini Jose, Juana Murmu, Mandeep Kaur, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary Thomas all failed the steroid test in May and June of this year. Anti-doping experts found in their system traces of stanozolol and methandienone, both are anabolic steroids banned by WADA.

The athletes appealed their case hoping that the automatic 2 year ban will not be enforced against them. The panel hearing the case is expected to make decision on Friday. According to these women athletes, they should not be banned from track and field since it was not their fault. They seek refuge in the “no fault or negligence clause” of the World Anti-Doping (WADA) code.

If the panel would hear their plea, these six athletes may be given a reduced penalty but may still be banned from participating in international sports competition. Another scenario is if lawyers of the athletes will be able to convince the panel to exonerate them, there could be a chance that Ashwini and the group can still take a shot at the Olympics in 2012.

NADA Intensify Crackdown on Doping Athletes

Meanwhile, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) also handed 2 year bans on 5 Indian athletes. These athletes competed in national competitions this year. “We have banned five athletes as we aim to root out doping altogether from the system,” NADA’s director-general Rahul Bhatnagar said.

sprinter Hemant Kirulkar, long distance runner B Madhusudhan, hammer thrower Gaurav Bhardwaj, shot put thrower Budhisatva Banerjee and javelin thrower Megha Pardeshi all failed the steroid testing of NADA. Reports showed that Madhusudhan and Pardeshi both tested positive for the steroid stanozolol. Kirulkar tested positive for oxandrolone while Bhardwaj tested positive for nandrolone. Methylhexanamine, a banned stimulant, was found in Banerjee’s system.

20 Indian Kabbadi players are also facing suspension when they tested positive for steroids before the World Cup

Professional athletes adherence to steroids has become arguably the most sensational and controversial issue in recent sports history. But beneath the clamor, use of performance-enhancing drugs by high school athletes should be considered a more critical issue.

To regulate the use of steroid in high school sport players, the University Interscholastic League conducts drug test with the National Center for the Drug Free Sport to randomly chosen schools. This year, it was the first time Houston Sterling High School had been chosen for steroid testing.

The school administration however is now faced with two-year probation and had been publicly reprimanded after notifying its athletes through a phone call the night before the scheduled test would be conducted.

Officials Apologized for Violating Steroid Testing Rules

Rules of Drug Testing states that if the student skip the test or is absent on the day the drug test is conducted they will be considered having a positive test. However, the officials are not allowed to notify students that they will be up for a drug test even if the drug testing company informs the schools administrator 24 to 48 hours before arriving on the campus.

Sterling acting Principal Sam Rodriguez explained that the school did not intend to cheat on the drug test but is merely worried that their athletes would be absent which can be considered a positive test and result in a ban for competition. School officials apologized at a hearing conducted before the University Interscholastic League in Austin for violating a state law.

The school officials itself, reported the violation upon realizing they committed a violation of UIL rules. This urgent move saved Houston Sterling High School for more severe consequences. The University Interscholastic League could have imposed much harsher punishment but considered that the athletes should not be the one to suffer for the mistake of their school administrators. Probation was opted by UIL instead of banning the Texas High School from the competition for the sake of the students.

Stiffer penalties are agreed upon if Sterling High School will be caught breaking the rules again for the next two years due to the probation penalty they received.

Schools Should Know the Steroid Testing Protocols

The superintendent of Sundown Independent School, Mike Motheral together with the other members of the UIL executive committee criticized Sterling officials for not knowing all the rules of the testing program which was carried out since 2008. High school athletes from Texas had been randomly selected for drug test wherein the last report showed that amongst the 2,083 that had been tested out of 135 schools only one person tested positive for the drug.

Young athletes regard steroids as magic bullets that will incite their body to train harder, swim faster, jump higher and hit several homeruns for the victory of their team and their schools. Emerging winner amidst the intense competition among high schools is what these teenager sports enthusiast long for.

Young Athletes Taking Chances but at Risk of Suffering Side Effects

With the growing concern that teenagers as young as 13 are injecting steroids in attempt to stand out in their chosen sports pushed Texas and other states to initiate programs that will level the playing field of participants by not just providing data regarding steroid use. Ways to reduce the temptation brought about by the promising results of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs are also being implemented by schools.

High school athletes are being warned that these drugs may give enormous benefits for the time being but can yield harmful or even deadly consequences in the future.

The leading anti-steroid crusader in the country honored a university athletic director who took the courage in initiating a comprehensive steroid testing in his university. This led to the major changes in the sports program of Canadian universities right now where anti-steroid programs are given much importance. The University of Waterloo Athletic Director Bob Copeland becomes the second recipient of the “Taylor’s Award” from the Taylor Hooton Foundation.

The award is given to personalities who made major contribution in the curtailment of steroids in the sports. The foundation first recognized the effort of Bud Selig of the Major League Baseball. The league has been helping in the anti-steroid campaign of the foundation across the country.

Copeland’s Decision Revealed Rampant Use of Steroids

Don Hooton cited the courage displayed by Bob Copeland in handling the steroid problem in his university. It is common that officials will be on the defensive side but Copeland chose the other path by recommending a team wide steroid testing of the UW Warriors football team. Because of his decision, the rampant use of steroids in his team was discovered. 9 football players failed the steroid test while another one tested positive for human growth hormone. The incident was considered as one of the worst doping scandal in Canada and had caused a massive overhaul of the sports programs of many Canadian universities. CCES and CIS also adopted more stringent measures and intensified their campaign against the use of steroids in college sports.

“Bob has shown tremendous leadership in addressing this issue within university sport in Canada including key roles as a member of a National Task Force as well as his role as Chair of the OUA Performance Enhancing Drugs Education Task Force; on his own campus, several promising new initiatives have been developed to better address policy, education, and testing regarding APEDs,” said Don Hooton during the awarding ceremony.

The award was presented to Copeland during the Ontario University Athletics football summit. “I’m extremely proud to present Taylor’s Award to Bob Copeland. As a result of Bob’s leadership, and that of the University of Waterloo, the performance enhancing drug problem in university sports is now being addressed in a much bigger way across Canada,” Don Hooton said. The president of the foundation hopes that the changes being implemented in Canada will be adopted also by US universities and other countries as well.

Don Hooton also commended the decision of UW administration by supporting the crackdown on doping athletes in the university. Copeland said that the welfare of the student athletes and integrity of the university is more important than public relations issues.

Improved Steroid Education Programs

Copeland’s advocacy and the support of the university helped create positive changes in university sports across Canada. “Improved education programs are being implemented for both athletes and coaching staffs, and much more thorough testing regimens are being implemented to monitor this drug usage,” Don added.

With this kind of recognition, there will be more school and sports officials who will not put a blind eye on issues such as doping of their athletes.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) suspended a UBC Thunderbirds rugby player after the CCES caught him using performance enhancing drugs. According to the IRB, Jeff McKinnon of the UBC Thunderbirds received a two year ban for using steroids. McKinnon tested positive for testosterone and bolderone when his sample was taken during the Canadian Rugby Championships in August.

The suspension already started last November and will end in November 2013. The test was conducted by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) who oversees and administers drug testing on all colleges and universities in Canada. The rugby player was already banned by the CCES in any sports competition. The IRB also adopted the sanction.

No Appeal on Suspension

Based on the report of Andrew Bates of Ubyssy, McKinnon is a Kinesiology student in the UBC but may graduate even before the suspension expires. It was learned that McKinnon did not appealed his suspension. That means, the student admitted the charges against him. People close to him were shocked when the news came out.

According to Thunderbirds coach Spence McTavish, he was surprised that McKinnon was involved in the use of performance enhancing drugs and the case was also the first in the UBC. The coach said that they do not condone the use of steroids in the team. “I’m pretty sure he’d be the only guy that I know who uses some drugs to enhance,” said the coach.

Rugby Player Made the Wrong Decision

Coach McTavish also added that McKinnon suffered a shoulder injury last year which is not healing fast. It could be the reason why McKinnon resorted to steroids to help him recover faster from his injury. But for the coach, it was a great mistake for the young rugby player. The coach said that McKinnon has the potential to play in the national level. “Some players have goals. They want to achieve that goal, and they’ll go to any means to get to it. I know Jeff, he’s a wonderful young man; he’s bright, he’s articulate, he’s just a super-nice kid. He made a mistake,” said McTavish.

UBC’s rugby team captain Alex Kam declined to give further comment on the case of McKinnon because he doesn’t have enough knowledge on the details of the steroid suspension. Kam reiterated that doping in sports is wrong and steroids has no part in the game.

Coach McTavish is optimistic that the team will not be affected by the issue.

Steroid Bolderone Easily Detected

The CCES intensified their anti-steroid campaign after several players of the University of Waterloo football team tested positive for steroids in 2010. The UBC rugby player took the risk by taking bolderone. Based on online sources, bolderone can be detected in the system even after a year of taking it.

It is an anabolic steroid, usually cycled with other steroids, that helps increase lean muscle mass, increase appetite, lose fat and increase stamina. Indeed, this type of steroid is used for enhancing performance in sports.