Why Santana Moss gets a free pass...

HE HAD A TUMOR!!!! That's right, Moss had a tumor.

what?

Moss has certainly given the Redskins some great moments (but he's also had boneheaded "take off my helmet on the field, jump up and down, and pout" moments), and I understand the temptations and pressures to stay on the field. Still....there were plenty of other players under those same pressures and temptations who didn't succumb.

the bottom line is he used a banned substance. now it obviously wasnt for malicious intent, or to gain an edge like these guys that use PED's, but he still should have known better.

I don't think it matters how much we love him or hate him. The facts are the facts. Did he use or was given a substance thats on the banned list? If yes then to be fair he should be punished. The only reason Cushing is getting bashed is the fact that he received a reward and has excepted it. Even after his issues came to light and everyone found out he cheated/used and banned substance. If Moss was in the same boat to be fair I'd say the same things about Moss.

Is Moss an evil person? No. Did he use if to get bigger or faster? I doubt it, atleast until all the facts come out. Was it for personal gain? Technically yes. It, I presume, was to help him heal faster and if its on the banned list then we have to lable him a cheater.

I have my own reasons for thinking we should move on from Moss. Part of it is age, part when I think of him I think of him often injured with a hammy or groin pull. Last yr did not do him service in Zorn's crappy offense either. It seemed teams doubled up him. I hope if and when he starts to play this yr he comes out guns a blazing. That would be a big step in me forgetting his past few yrs.

I don't think it matters how much we love him or hate him. The facts are the facts. Did he use or was given a substance thats on the banned list? If yes then to be fair he should be punished. The only reason Cushing is getting bashed is the fact that he received a reward and has excepted it. Even after his issues came to light and everyone found out he cheated/used and banned substance. If Moss was in the same boat to be fair I'd say the same things about Moss.

Is Moss an evil person? No. Did he use if to get bigger or faster? I doubt it, atleast until all the facts come out. Was it for personal gain? Technically yes. It, I presume, was to help him heal faster and if its on the banned list then we have to lable him a cheater.

I have my own reasons for thinking we should move on from Moss. Part of it is age, part when I think of him I think of him often injured with a hammy or groin pull. Last yr did not do him service in Zorn's crappy offense either. It seemed teams doubled up him. I hope if and when he starts to play this yr he comes out guns a blazing. That would be a big step in me forgetting his past few yrs.

He's slowed more than a step, and while still quick, his frequent hamstring and groin injuries make him no more than a solid number 2 receiver, maybe even a 3rd at this stage in his career. He seems like a good guy, and he would be a good mentor to the young receivers. He has been in some big games and made good plays, and has tons of advice to give..

I still think the team should sign T.O. to fill in while Moss is gone. Most likely T.O. plays so well that we can integrate them both.....

Maybe nows the time for the league to look into having specific doctors for the most common ailments players get. The players visit those doctors only and get treated by them. Kinda like an HMO. These would be doctors that work for the league and know the rules. If a player or team has any question about the drugs or vitamines they are interested in taking then the doctor should be able to answer the question for them. Hopefully it would also eliminate players getting their hands on substances that are on the banned list. If a player is found to have used after all that then it's definitly on the player for "cheating."

If the player chooses to use his own doctor then he runs the risk of getting into trouble and punished if he takes a banned prescription drug.

Moss has been probably my favorite Redskin over the last decade, but if he cheated he should first come out and state it and give an explination why. Then he should be punished by the commish, probably looking at 4 games. No pass here. I think he probably used to get through injury, but cheating is cheating...

Moss has certainly given the Redskins some great moments (but he's also had boneheaded "take off my helmet on the field, jump up and down, and pout" moments), and I understand the temptations and pressures to stay on the field. Still....there were plenty of other players under those same pressures and temptations who didn't succumb.

His current situation is synonymous with your description. Players need to understand the importance of making good decisions. The decision by Moss to be involved in the use of HGH was a bad one, the consequences are his alone.

This is why I cannot get mad at him.

>> The player told authorities he never knowingly received HGH. He got IV drips, injections to his knees, and B-12 shots to his arm.

Redskins Insider - Canadian doctor charged with supplying HGH was traveling to treat player in Washington (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/canadian-doctor-charged-with-s.html)

It's not like he was doping up with it with the intent of making himself stronger or a better athlete. He was trying to get healthy and wrongfully trusted a doctor in the process. Judging from what I think I know of his character he just doesn't seem like the guy who would try to cheat to put up big numbers. His play on the field didn't reflect that of an abuser either.

To be fair though he should have to serve a 2-4 game suspension because the rules are the rules. In my mind however, I am never going to look at Tanna differently because he is a good character guy.

This is why I cannot get mad at him.



Redskins Insider - Canadian doctor charged with supplying HGH was traveling to treat player in Washington (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/canadian-doctor-charged-with-s.html)

It's not like he was doping up with it with the intent of making himself stronger or a better athlete. He was trying to get healthy and wrongfully trusted a doctor in the process. Judging from what I think I know of his character he just doesn't seem like the guy who would try to cheat to put up big numbers. His play on the field didn't reflect that of an abuser either.

To be fair though he should have to serve a 2-4 game suspension because the rules are the rules. In my mind however, I am never going to look at Tanna differently because he is a good character guy.

I know very little about HGH and other types of illegal substances like HGH, so I do not pretend to be an expert. So I went on line to read a little about it. The first some what trusted news source (wall street journal) article I found says there is now Clinical proof that HGH does improve certain athletic skills like SPRINTING by 4%.

From the article.

"New England Journal of Medicine study published two decades ago found HGH had anti-aging effects on men over 60. That sparked the creation of an entire industry, notable for its testimonials by creepy-looking men who seem to have acquired 40-year-old bodies beneath their 65-year-old heads. (Some of those claims have sparked a warning appended to the NEJM study saying the research has “been cited in potentially misleading e-mail advertisements.”)

But there wasn’t much evidence to show that HGH did much to make athletes run faster, jump higher or hit more home runs, as the Health Blog reported in 2008. That is, until earlier this month, when researchers published the first evidence suggesting HGH has limited effects on athletic performance.

The randomized trial of more than 100 recreational athletes of both sexes was sponsored by the World Anti-Doping Agency (which bans the use of HGH in competitive athletes) and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. It found that growth hormone improved sprinting ability by about 4% but not other measures of athletic performance the researchers tracked, such as endurance, strength or power. Men who also got testosterone injections saw an 8% boost in sprinting performance. Researchers said the study was too small to gauge the safety of HGH; side effects reported by study participants were minor and included swelling and joint pain.

It’s not clear whether the same results would translate to elite athletes, but the researchers told the AP that applying the improvement to a 10-second, 100-meter sprint would make the difference between winning and finishing last.

Does Human Growth Hormone Actually Do Anything for Athletes? - Health Blog - WSJ (http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/05/19/does-human-growth-hormone-actually-do-anything-for-athletes/)

Sorry this post is so long. I think we need more research on this to make a definitive claim, but clearly almost every legitimate sport has banned HGH. There is a reason . I do not think we can say Moss should get a pass on this just because he was using for injury.