MLB warns sexual enhancers could embrace PEDs
Jeff PassanESPN
CloseESPN MLB insider
Creator of “The Arm: Contained in the Billion-Greenback Thriller of the Most Invaluable Commodity in Sports activities”
Main League Baseball in a memo warned concerning the “very actual threat” of over-the-counter sexual-enhancement tablets after no less than two gamers this yr had been suspended for performance-enhancing medicine and stated the banned substances discovered of their urine got here from the unregulated merchandise, sources aware of the scenario informed ESPN.
Using over-the-counter tablets, which are sometimes bought at fuel stations, is prevalent amongst baseball gamers, in response to a number of sources. It prompted the league to ship out a memo on Monday that outlines the chance of consuming non-NSF-certified dietary supplements.
The memo, obtained by ESPN, warns that “these merchandise are sometimes contaminated with prohibited and unsafe components” and that gamers are topic to self-discipline even when they inadvertently ingested a banned substance.
“Sexual or male enhancement merchandise current a really actual threat for drug-tested gamers,” the memo stated, “and the excessive probability for contamination or unidentified components in these merchandise underscores the significance of consuming solely these merchandise which are NSF Licensed for Sport.”
Within the memo, which was despatched to main and minor league gamers and redistributed by the MLB Gamers Affiliation to make sure its members obtained it, MLB recommended that gamers who “endure from erectile dysfunction or different reliable points associated to sexual efficiency … converse to a licensed doctor concerning the varied prescription drugs (e.g., Viagra, Cialis, Levitra) accessible to deal with these situations.”
Over-the-counter sexual-enhancement tablets are a part of the unregulated complement trade, which is estimated to be value greater than $30 billion a yr. The Meals and Drug Administration in July added 10 merchandise to an inventory of greater than 250 tainted sexual-enhancement dietary supplements. Former NBA star Lamar Odom fell right into a coma after a big dose of so-called “natural Viagra,” a sexual-enhancement tablet.
“We all know from expertise,” the league memo stated, “that quite a few these sexual or male enhancement merchandise — that are bought on-line, at retail shops, and on the black market, each in the US and internationally — include anabolic steroids and different prohibited substances.
“Because of this,” the memo continued, “we strongly urge gamers towards taking any sexual or male enhancement product, from any supply.”