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Alistair Overeem, Brian Cushing, steroids in the NFL & MMA, and the way the media covers these subjects
By Zach Arnold | May 13, 2010
Updated with Sherdog radio comments at 10:40 AM EST.
Yesterday, when I posted an article previewing Strikeforce’s Saturday night event in St. Louis on Showtime, I noted that one of the big questions heading into the event dealt with the constant media scrutiny about Alistair Overeem and allegations of him using performance-enhancing drugs. I quoted Sports Illustrated writer Josh Gross, who noted on his radio show that he was scheduled to have Alistair Overeem on his program but when Overeem declined to talk about the issue of steroids, Gross declined to have him on his show.
Sherdog radio did the same. More on that later in this article.
I compared the media treatment of Overeem to that of Barry Bonds, who was also vilified in the media for questions regarding his ties to BALCO and whether or not he failed a MLB-administered drug test. When I made this comparison, I was focusing more on the media than I was focusing on the actual basis of the allegations made against Alistair Overeem.
I don’t question the validity of the actual questions. I question the volume and the motive of the questioning.
Sports fans are torn on the issue of PEDs because they see both sides. On one hand, there is a certain realization that athletes are always looking to find new ways to improve their performance and that there is a lot of pressure on athletes to do better in order to make a lot of money. If you ask fans if they would take growth hormone in exchange for six-figure pay days, a high percentage of fans would consider it. On the other side, they don’t like the fact that drug usage is rampant in professional sports and that many people look at athletes as heroes, but these same athletes are often putting up a false front about who and what they really are.
So why do sports fans tend to have glazed-over eyes or an ambivalent reaction whenever PEDs are mentioned?
First, there’s an assumption that drug usage will always be part of any high-paying professional sport and it simply can’t be stopped. That’s one level of thinking. The other part to the equation is that fans are just as mad at the media as they are at the athletes who are cheating themselves. Fans look at the media and take note of which cheaters get more scrutiny than others. They view media coverage of PED usage as more a witch hunt than an actual exercise in journalistic responsibility, if you still want to use the term ‘journalism.’
Two perfect examples of this have come to light in the last month with Strikeforce Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem and Houston Texans LB Brian Cushing, who won the NFL Defensive ROY (Rookie of the Year) award.
Overeem, who has grown significantly in size, is asked in almost every interview whether or not he is using steroids. Overeem has fought in the States in the past and not failed a drug test. He will be fighting Brett Rogers on Saturday night in Missouri, a state that we aren’t entirely sure as to whether or not they will drug test both men. As Overeem’s profile as a fighter has grown, so too has the media scrutiny and the whisper campaigns about him. More of the questions asked by the media to him are about allegations of PED usage than his actual fighting ability. On a fight card in which at least one fighter (Antonio Silva) was already busted for failing a drug test, it is ironic that Overeem has become the magnet for all questions about drug usage as opposed to other fighters on other MMA cards this month who have failed drug tests or are close to doing so.
Overeem is getting the media heat because he’s perceived in the media as a heel, as a bad guy, in much the same way Barry Bonds was and still is perceived. The “good guys” who use PEDs seem to be forgiven. Ask Andy Pettitte or Hermes Franca about that. The “bad guys” who are accused of using PEDs aren’t forgiven. Ask Alex Rodriguez and Sean Sherk about that.
Brian Cushing, who got busted for an elevated-level of hCG — the same fertility drug that Manny Ramirez got busted for, ended up having his Associated Press NFL D-ROY award taken away from him. The AP had a re-vote and Cushing, even after failing the NFL-administered drug test, won the re-vote on the D-ROY award. Cushing endured a long whispering campaign about him in terms of his growth in size from his New Jersey high school days to his days at USC to now in Houston. There was plenty of reason as to why Cushing’s failed drug test became a big story amongst fans. Adam Schefter, top NFL writer for ESPN, said that he was taken aback by how much coverage the story received. After all, there have been many NFL players who have failed drug tests and quietly gone under the radar while serving four-game suspensions.
So what gives?
First, Cushing’s failed drug test happened in September at the start of his rookie season and the appeals process went through the Combine last February, meaning Cushing played a full season without serving any penalty. The fact that this story only got leaked in the media a week ago embarrassed the media because they didn’t know about it. It had been a well-kept secret. That, unfortunately, became as big of a crime in the eyes of many media members as the actual failed drug test did.
Jay Glazer, Fox Sports NFL writer and MMA fanatic, got so angry about Cushing failing the drug test that the story became more about Glazer than it did about Cushing. Cushing was one of the many NFL athletes that Glazer and Randy Couture train with for their MMAthletics project. (Their public policy is that they don’t train “cheaters.”) In a surreal way, the storyline soon became how much Cushing hurt the image of Glazer and Couture rather than the failed drug test or the athlete himself.
As I’m writing this article, Glazer wrote this on his Twitter account:
Just ran into Axl Rose at SoHo House in LA. Wow, what a fat piece of $%÷!. Hey, I’m just saying but damn, do a squat thrust or something.
Then there’s the AP. The Associated Press members who voted on the D-ROY award felt like a bunch of marks who got worked over, so they stroked their ego and had a re-vote… only comically to have Cushing still win the award again. It was a cherry on the proverbial sundae to which the AP writers were more upset that they looked stupid for voting for an accused cheater as opposed to the actual failed drug test result.
If Brian Cushing was a second-string defensive player on the Houston Texans and had failed an NFL drug test, it would have been mentioned briefly on television and nobody would have really cared. However, because the media bestowed an award upon him and he failed a drug test, they felt burned and felt like they had to make an example out of him. In the end, they only exposed their own hypocrisy on the matter. When it comes to applying the same standard of shame about using PEDs, it shouldn’t matter if an athlete is at the top of his game or if he’s a second-stringer. Unfortunately, in media circles, it does.
I have always been opposed to the usage of performance-enhancing drugs in sports. I find the practice unacceptable. I find the arguments that some have made that Gatorade is on the same level as a performance-enhancing substance to be laughable. I have repeatedly argued here and on other web sites in columns about being a believer in athletic commissions and I believe in real, legitimate blood-based drug testing across the board. All athletes should be subjected to such drug testing. Test one, test all. My belief in the state athletic commission and drug testing systems has earned me scrutiny and cat-calls for being a naive dreamer. In the long-run, I don’t think what I am asking for is impossible to successfully achieve, especially in professional sports that generate millions of dollars in profit. I’ve long been an advocate for getting rid of drug cheats out of the business and that’s because I want to ensure fighter safety in and out of the ring. Those are my motives.
As far as the motives of other sports writers are concerned, I don’t know if I can exactly say that they have the same motives when it comes to the issue of PEDs. The image that a lot of sports fans have of sports writers is that sports writers use the issue of PEDs as a weapon in a selective “gotcha game” to nail athletes that they personally dislike. Fans don’t believe the media is giving them the full story on PED usage in sports and treat the media’s motives as tainted as the drug-using athletes that are being covered in the press.
I would hope that MMA media writers who are questioning Alistair Overeem voluminously about allegations of performance-enhancing drugs apply the same volume of questioning to other MMA fighters who have already been busted for PED usage or fighters who may have questionable track records on the issue. If they don’t, then it will be entirely fair for fans to not take the media seriously on the issue of performance-enhancers because it will accurately appear that writers are only interested in the issue of PED usage when it can be used as a tool to destroy the image of an athlete they despise.
Next week, there’s a fight between former UFC Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and former World’s Strongest Man champion Mariusz Pudzianowski. Both men have had controversy regarding PEDs in the past (including Pudznianowski getting DQ’d from WSM). I wonder if we’ll see the same amount of questioning about PEDs from the media towards both men like we’re currently seeing with Alistair Overeem?
You know the answer to that question already.
As for the hypocrisy of media coverage on Alistair Overeem, it is funny to see the media “boycott” interviewing him because he won’t answer steroids question at this time. Why? He’s already been convicted guilty in the court of fan opinion — and part of that opinion is based on fighters and no-name trainers and people in the business who throw out steroid accusations but don’t get challenged in the media for making such claims. If there’s no punishment for making the steroid accusations, then of course the “s” word is going to thrown around. The MMA media is almost applying a libel law in which the person accused of doing something has to prove their innocence first rather than the accuser having to bring evidence to back up their claims in the media.
Take a look at this snippet of conversation from Wednesday’s edition of Sherdog radio:
“Brett Rogers was, of course, featured on Beatdown on Monday. Anything I need to know about from the Brett Rogers interview going into the Mike Reilly interview?”
“That Alistair Overeem is taking something?”
“We were going to have Alistair Overeem on this radio program. However, doesn’t want to broach the subject of steroids, so I didn’t even bother.”
“You can’t really have him on if he’s not going to talk about that.”
“You know, I mean, I’m just avoiding a bunch of e-mails going, ‘why didn’t you bring up steroids to Alistair Overeem?’ And I don’t think we can do an interview without asking. Not that I’m accusing Overeem of doing anything. However, if he doesn’t want to talk to the media about it, why even really do the interview? Because we’ll just look foolish.”
“Yep. No point if he’s not going to talk about.”
In the many years that I’ve done interviews with MMA fighters, I’ve never done an interview where I accepted any pre-conditions as far as asking questions went, so I respect that. What I don’t respect is when a media outlet gives someone air time and lets them air a bunch of dirty laundry and either lets it go unchallenged with a wink & a nod or runs with it at face-value and corners the person who is being accused. In this case, if you aren’t going to allow Overeem on a media platform because he won’t talk about steroids during the interview, then you shouldn’t allow Brett Rogers or anyone from his camp on your show either and give them a platform to drop the steroid bomb, subtly or not-so-subtly, on Overeem without evidence.
Like this passage from Sherdog’s Wednesday radio show with Brett Roger’s trainer, Mike Reilly:
Q: “If you look back at old tapes of Alistair Overeem you’ll notice that when he was a 205-pound fighter, this guy’s much bigger, he’s stronger. What are your thoughts on the explosion of his size for Alistair Overeem compared to what he was, say back in 2005?”
Mike Reilly: “Well, you know, he went onto a diet where he ate nothing but herring and apparently herring have really great vitamin content and so I think all the vitamins in the herring really helped him put on the weight. Although, there’s been rumors that he might have been taking something else that helped him put on a lot of weight, but I don’t know if that’s true.”
My opinion is obviously that was a softball set-up question by the host to give Reilly the cheap out to drop his little steroid bomb and move on. When Reilly drops that line in the interview, at that point if you’re a professional you either ask Reilly to back up what he’s saying and make him man up or else you cut off the interview. This really isn’t that hard of a concept to enforce.
I hope the folks at Sherdog are willing to apply the same journalistic standards that they did with Alistair Overeem to every guest they bring on and have brought on in the past that they will also bring on in the future. They’ve had quite a few guys who have used drugs or have failed drug tests appear as guests before on their show. In a sense, it is masterful just how far Brett Rogers and his camp have gone in using “lazy slander” to drum up most segments of the MMA media to run with their accusations as opposed to said media turning around and saying, “Hey, you got any evidence to back up what you’re saying?”
Again, my issue is not about whether or not Overeem is guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs. My issue is the complete hypocrisy that we’re seeing in the general sports media and MMA media on this topic and how Alistair Overeem has somehow magically become the symbol for PED usage in MMA when you have so many other guys in the business who have never received the same level of scrutiny.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 21 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Steroids are a bigger issue to sports writers than the average fan. Yes, regular people hated Barry Bonds for breaking the Aaron/Ruth records gassed up. But that was just because the two people he beat out were two of the most beloved sports figures in American history and Bonds has a reputation of being a moody, meanspirited, primadonna. If the far more likable Mark McGwire did what Bonds did while also obviously on PEDs there wouldn’t have been half of the outrage.
Obviously people don’t love the idea of PED use while it is banned since that is seen as cheating by most people, but in MMA it hasn’t been proven to be as big of a help to win as it has been demonstrated in baseball. I remember ironically Ken Shamrock once saying in an interview he felt steroids hurt your ability to fight because it makes your body tired faster having to carry around the extra bulk.
Pudzianowski-Sylvia obviously won’t get the same attention as everybody clamoring to find out if Overeem will pass his test because #1, the fight is much less cared about than Overeem-Rogers due to being on a smaller event and Sylvia not being a star anymore. And #2, Sylvia’s drug test failure was so long ago most fans that even were watching UFC back then don’t remember it and Sylvia did a good job atoning for his use. And Pudzianowski just isn’t well known by most fans.
Overeem on the otherhand is well known, is a hot topic because he’s a polarizing figure with his attitude and high ranking most people feel is undeserved. And the main issue is, like Barry Bonds in baseball, we all saw Overeem grow into a muscle monster before our eyes. Like Bonds, the guy who came into the sport was a tall lanky guy 60 pounds lighter than he is today. Sylvia’s steroid size was pretty unnoticeable besides having a less flabby midsection and few people follow Strong Man Competitions to know what Mariusz Pudzianowski was like when he was clean (if he ever was before he came into the public eye) so that’s the difference in the coverage.
Now Glazer is hating on Axl Rose? This is unacceptable behavior.
I fully agree, though, if you are going to question Overeem then you need to question everybody else who has some suspicious stuff going on. Then you think about it, and you realize that there is potential for so many fighters to be on PEDs. People go for the easy story; Overeem fought at 205lbs and now tips the scale for the Heavyweight division and it is all lean muscle.
It really doesn’t matter if he and his management have talked about the topic before, does it?
I’ve never been convinced that overeem was necessarily doing steroids.
I’ve personally seen guys who are just genetically gifted to swell up drastically.
If they dont work out for awhile they shrink to just average. But when they do work out for a few months they’re suddenly twice their size!
Me personally I’m the opposite. I can get stronger and wirey, but I can never get physically much bigger.
I never could.
Maybe steroids, but just as possible lucky genes IMO.
Until you actually test him.
The thing with Overeem is that even if he does pass his piss test, people are just going to say “Oh well he just knows how to time his cycle/use undetectable designer drugs/HGH”. And hey, rightly so…I think current testing is a total joke right now.
But all these people acting as if him coming over to North America and submitting to a test and passing will vindicate him in their eyes and they’ll say “oh well he’s good in my books” are full of sh%t…they’ll just fall back on the next argument.
You seem.. conflicted.
If he passes, he will still be ostracized, which I agree with.
But if he passes, people aren’t allowed to move on from the topic? I wouldn’t be surprised if Alistair says fuck the US and never fights here for pennies-on-the-dollar again.
No, no. I’m 100% with “See, he passed. Time to move on with your lives.” should he actually pass commission testing.
But I 110% guarantee you that won’t be the end of it and the goalposts will just get moved should god-forbid he pass the test.
I think it is such a hot button issue with OVereem because his look is so much a part of it. When he fought Chuck Liddell, he was a lanky guy. Now he looks like a cross between a lion and a bull. His bulk up is SO obvious that it begs for the questions to be asked.
It has been asked, ad nauseum. Until he takes a drug test all anybody can do is speculate.
Ask a fighter in a pre-fight interview; “Did you take PEDs?”
What response do you expect?!?!?
Questions about Mir taking roids aren’t as popular because he’s in the UFC and is subjected to some form of drug testing. Fedor could easily have been claimed to be a “steroid case” along with so many other PRIDE guys, but how many fights does he have on US soil now? His fifth is in a month.
I don’t think its even promotion specific then. Just Ameriocentric.
Hmm, I wouldn’t say it was just because Mir is subjected to some form of drug testing. The MMA media in general seems to tread more lightly when tackling controversial subjects with UFC fighter.
Now Barry Bonds is his hero? I don’t think Zach stands alone with his sentiments with regards to Barry’s treatment in the media when guys like Big Mac and Roger Clemens – of course a power-pitcher can go from looking like he’s finished to re-establishing a blazing fastball and overpowering game at 36! – got away with little scrutiny or questions for so long.
P.S. Shut up Zach you big jerk – quit calling people “heels” and “faces” and “good guys” and “bad guys” – you loser pro wrestling fan! 😉
“Overeem has fought in the States in the past and not failed a drug test.”
That was before his bulk up Zach. He fought Buentello and weighed around 230. He was pushing 265 in his fights in dream/K1!…
“Overeem is getting the media heat because he’s perceived in the media as a heel, as a bad guy.”
He’s getting the media heat because he hasn’t passed a drug test since his body change, and he’s seemed hesitant to fight in the US….
…Here is a random question for everybody. If steroids became good for the body(and the technology is already moving in that direction) should they be illegal in sports?
Also in the past 8 years 3 Defensive ROY winners have been popped for drug tests either the same year or the immediate next. Julius Peppers, Shawn Merriman, and now Cushing.
From Sherdog’s article on this situation (http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Drug-Testing-Becomes-Focus-in-Overeem-Rogers-Bout-24445):
“Tim Lueckenoff, commissioner for the Missouri Office of Athletics, said the regulatory body will test for “all illegal and unprescribed drugs.”
Yeesh, this guy is starting to sound like Jerry McDevitt. “All illegal and unprescribed drugs” could be a fancy way of saying, “He can take all the steroids he wants as long as he’s able to produce a prescription for it from a (mark) doctor.”
Whether that’s the way Lueckenoff meant it or not, “Illegal and unprescribed drugs” is the kind of language that WWE routinely uses to defend their joke of a drug policy.
If I recall correctly, Mariusz has never tested positive for any steroids. WSM doesn’t even test for it. In 2004 he had his 3rd place revoked for being on coke
Far from a expert but one common side effect of PEDs is increased head size.
Now think of your favorite NFL, MLB, MMA, or boxing athlete and ask yourself-what workout or change in their diet could of increased the size of their head? hmmm
Also, they type of drug testing state athletic commissions do is a joke. You would have to be a complete buffoon to get caught by simple urine tests
The Olympic / WADA style of urine & blood sampling is the only way to go. I liked the way Molsey/ Mayweather testing procedures were handled. IMO
WOW. Hector Lombard is a bad bad man.
He needs to get to the UFC stat because I just don’t think there’s anyone else on his level outside of Jacare, Lawler or Manhoef (I’m assuming Shields is UFC bound) – he may not be the champ at 185 (he’s awful short – 5’9) but I think he’s wasting his time otherwise.
[…] short, it’s a panic PR move (in my opinion) in response to the unbelievable MMA media swarm on Alistair Overeem. Pure and simple. This move is not about serious, independent drug-testing for all shows — […]
[…] Related: Alistair Overeem, Brian Cushing, steroids in the NFL & MMA, and the way the media covers these … […]
STEROIDS-BOYCOTT-STEROIDS-BOYCOTT-STEROIDS-BOYCOTT
Done with MMA, Football, Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, Underwater Basket weaving, ha,ha,ha etc.
I am tired of all the cheaters and steroids. If a sport cannot do olympic style blood and urine testing for hgh, steroids, etc, then they are not going to get my money. Look at baseball. Even though the sport is boring and has many problems, steroids killed baseball’s revenue. I see the empty stands and see how cameras try to manipulate seating shots to make it appear there is a full stadium. A real man stands on his own two feet for what he is and struggles to change his weaknesses into strengths, not cheat with steroids. All those mma cheaters are just a bunch of losers, and regardless of the media hype or money thrown they will always look like that in everyone’s eyes, period. Why don’t I give everyone a bat who didn’t take steroids to even the playing field. Americans know their “pro” sports are tainted, and we don’t need to wait for congress to fix you. Everyone speaks of mma like it is a circus rather than a sport because of all the controversy. You are going the same route as fake wrestling or strongman competitions that make no money because of steroid losers. It is cause and effect. Less fans, less attendance at other venues like bars, means less money for all businesses around. Regulate steroids before it destroys your source of income. I know I am not going to any events until you fix this crap.
List of Steroid Cheaters, some are still with their organizations after a slap on the wrist.ex Chris Leben
JOSH BARNETT (now with strikeforce), TIM SYLVIA, KIMO LEOPOLDO, NATE MARQUARDT, VITOR BELFORT, STEPHAN BONNAR, PAWEL NASTULA, KIT COPE, JOHNNIE MORTON, ROYCE GRACIE, JORGE ORTIZ, PHIL BARONI, SEAN SHERK (still with UFC), HERMES FRANCA, ANTHONY TORRES, BILL MAHOOD, ADAM SMITH, JASON WINTHERS, RUBEN VILLAREAL, DENNIS HALLMAN, ALEXANDER CRISPIM, CARINA DAMM, ALEXANDRE NOGUEIRA, ANTONIO SILVA, EDWIN DEWEES, CHRIS LEBEN (still with UFC), KIRILL SIDELNIKOV, KEN SHAMROCK, JOSH BARNETT, COLE PROVINCE, CHAEL SONNEN (still with UFC), SHANE CARWIN (not caught but federal link to purchase of steroids).
Really, you cheat you get another chance, bullshit!!!
For everyone who supports steroid use, I don’t know what to say. You are either born a man or not, and compensating by drugs pretty much answers those questions. Everyone can see when most anyone really abuses steroids, and notes records broken, and people dying of cancer early. I hope those that support it take it and die from the stuff so the rest of us can enjoy this rock with a few less losers on it.
Piss tests are not good enough because any cheater can use a catheter and fill his bladder with whatever at any time. The testing is also not that costly, for blood and urine, so that argument don’t fly with me either. Also sports need to publicly state who was on what whenever they fail a test. Football and baseball keep their information private other than announcing a failed PED. I hear about a steroid user and I boycott and bad mouth.
Dana White you are a DOUCHE
Army of Darkness