Was Rashard Lewis telling the truth?

[redzero]

AUGUST 7, 2009
The Huge, Gaping Hole in Rashard Lewis' "DHEA" excuse

2 Comments

By TCW
(0) | Share

What did you really take, Rashard?

There's something that doesn't add up about Rashard Lewis' "dog ate my homework" explanation for the elevated levels of testosterone in his blood, especially the part where he claims it was caused by the grocery store substance DHEA.

First of all, lets be clear. The NBA's press release doesn't say Rashard Lewis tested positive for DHEA... that's the spin coming out of the Rashard Lewis camp. According to the NBA's press release, Lewis tested positive for "elevated levels of testosterone". You'd never know that reading this story. (Unless you're reading carefully, you'd likely conclude Lewis tested positive for DHEA, or that there was no distinction between DHEA and testosterone.)

What am I getting at? I smell spin control and a "Gee Barney, it was just an honest mistake" attempt at a coverup by the Lewis camp, and every news outlet is just lapping it up and it annoys the out of me.

First of all, let me explain what I mean, and then I will speculate on Lewis' possible motivations.

Lewis' NBA version of Jeremy Mayfield's "Claritin" excuse

DHEA is a relatively benign natural hormone that is sold as an over the counter supplement. It was (and possibly still is) popular among the elderly early this decade because of its purported anti-aging properties. The only problem: there's zero evidence it works. And there is certainly no evidence it raises testosterone levels, especially not in healthy young men.

"Our study showed that taking DHEA did not increase testosterone levels, but it did increase byproduct hormones-hormones that are potentially bad for the prostate,' says Rebecca Z. Sokol, M.D., M.P.H., professor of obstetrics and gynecology and medicine at the Keck School and the paper's senior author. 'Not only are users not getting the testosterone, but they may be getting something harmful in the process"

Supplement manufacturers -- who would have enormous financial reasons to claim otherwise -- readily admit DHEA has little to no effect on male testosterone levels... the best argument they can legally make on its behalf is it "may boost vitality". But forget all that. If you want to know about PEDs, there is no better or more honest source on the subject than Joe Wieder wanna-be weightlifters. They're easy to find, they love to talk about chemicals, and they willingly use their bodies the same way university labs use cut-rate guinea pigs. So they know what works and what doesn't (in really weird and specific detail, too). And the ones I talked to said -- without hesitation -- that everyone in the "Pumpitude" community knows DHEA is "totally lame snake oil". As one of the muscle heads commented to me, "If that crap actually worked, do you really think they'd sell it at [the grocery store]"? These knuckleheads would readily swallow, inject, or cornhole any substance that would buff them up... and they absolutely laugh at the very idea of taking DHEA. (its sort of the same reaction you would get from a hardcore basketball player if you ask'd him if he ever tried those jump shoes from Seinfeld's "The Jimmy" episode)

Indeed. And beyond all that, isn't it curious that Lewis, who claims he ingested the stuff so innocently and unknowingly, was nevertheless immediately able to pinpoint what it was?

What's going on here?

I think something nefarious is going on here. I think someone in Lewis' camp scoured the drug testing policy, then picked out and had Rashard Lewis cop to accidentally taking the most benign substance on the NBA's banned list.

The question is why would Lewis spin the story this way? For the same reason that redneck car driver is trying to claim his positive test for meth was actually caused by "Claritin". It turns an outrage into something that looks faintly innocent and excusable.

Think about it. If the public believes Lewis' elevated testosterone levels were caused by a grocery store substance like DHEA instead of a more likely source like HGH or Dianabol, then the story takes on an accidental, "it could happen to anyone" tinge. (indeed, look at how even the excellent NBA writer JE Skeets is playing it as an "isolated, honest" mistake... he's making it seem like Lewis stumbled into the substance while he was at CVS).

If, on the other hand, the public believed the source were something unlawful... well, think about how it would be received then.

We shall see.

Footnote 1: The original version of this post was written in haste and anger, so I had to edit it several times.

Footnote 2: The comments above were not meant as any sort of criticism of YahooSports Renaldo Skeets... he can only comment on the information given to him, and at the moment the misinformation campaign being waged with the willing participation of the Orlando Sentinel is Pravdaesque

Footnote 3: One final thought. As we learned from the case of the American cyclist Floyd Landis who got busted in France, testing agencies don't flag athletes for elevated testosterone levels unless they have SIGNIFICANTLY AND UNNATURALLY elevated testosterone (otherwise athletes could just claim -- as Landis lamely attempted to do -- that the results were caused by simple "virility" or whisky). Therefore to believe Lewis' bull story, you would have to believe he was getting AMAZING, OUTSTANDING results from an additive version of DHEA that no one else seems to be able to replicate with even the mostlaboratory pure versions of the substance. Rashard, you're lying.

http://mvn.com/bucksdiary/2009/08/post-1.html

This guy brings up a pretty compelling argument.

[NBAfan83]

Meh, article doesn't prove anything, I can go to google, and type DHEA and come up with 10 articles saying it doesn't increase testosterone and 10 more saying it does.

DHEA is basically 2 steps away from testosterone and could be the reason rashard was taking it.

The real question was did he know he was taking it hoping not to be caught? or did he really have no idea of what he was takingi n his shake.