More on the Mitchell Report

As a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), I belong to the national Strength & Conditioning Association. This association has the mission to be the worldwide athority on Strength & Conditioning by bridging research to it practical application. A week ago Major League Baseball released the Mitchell report. If you are not familiar with it you can down load a copy of it here. The NSCA sent an email statement out to all of its members. I thought that I would post it on my blog so that all could read it and get the message that this reputable organization has to say.

National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) issues position on the Mitchell Report into the illegal use of steroids and other performance enhancing substances by major league baseball players

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) - the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning - has issued the following statement in response to the release of George Mitchell's report to the Commissioner of Baseball on the illegal use of steroids and other performance enhancing substances by major league baseball players:

"The NSCA is unequivocally against the illegal use of steroids and other performance enhancing substances. We believe their use is unethical and contrary to the goals of competitive sports. The NSCA believes in and supports the premise that participation in an athletic event should always be based on the highest moral and ethical standards and promote, in every way, the concept of fair play. The NSCA will investigate and take appropriate action against any NSCA member or NSCA certified individual who engages in or facilitates the illegal use of steroids or other performance enhancing substances." - Dr. Lee E. Brown, NSCA President

Says Professor at the University of Connecticut and Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Dr. Bill Kraemer, "We need to re-affirm the message to athletes and parents that certified strength and conditioning coaches are competent professionals who have the education and background to optimize a workout, which is effective at diffusing the temptation to use anabolic drugs." He adds that a top strength and conditioning coach will typically have a masters degree in a related field, be NSCA-certified, and have the necessary background to work with athletes.

"Players need to be educated that steroids are not the answer," agrees Dr. Jay Hoffman, Department Chair at The College of New Jersey and former professional athlete. "Major League Baseball now requires that its strength and conditioning coaches be certified by the NSCA, and that needs to be enforced. Certification helps to ensure that those coaches on the front line have the greatest depth of knowledge on strength and conditioning training, nutrition and the proper use of supplementation."

Those seeking additional information should begin with the NSCA's website: www.nsca-lift.org. NSCA Vice President and Board Member Jose Antonio, Ph.D. explains that, "The NSCA provides resources and training on natural and effective ways to enhance performance. That includes a comprehensive library of information on the subject, which the Association began compiling in the early 1990s."

The following links will take you to additional information and educational materials on anabolic-androgenic steroid use by athletes:

Special Report: Steroids - September 2006 Issue of Performance Training Journal

Nutrition - December 2007 Issue of Performance Training Journal

Podcast - Dr. Hoffman discusses illegal substance abuse in professional, collegiate, and High School sports

Hot Topic: The Mitchell Report Part I

The Mitchell Report has been on every major news outlet. It has been on ESPN. It is all the rage on sports talk radio. But, what exactly is the Mitchell Report. Well officially it is the "Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball". It is my hope to bring my educated opinion upon this document and shed some light into it and what it means, not only to baseball but for all of Athletics. It is my hope that Baseball and all sports can learn from this and we can get back to a level playing field where Athletes are clean and Athletic feats are honest.



The Mitchell Report was released last Thursday at 2pm. It is 409 pages long and I will break it down over a series of posts. At first glance my opinion of the Mitchell Report is that it is a very flawed document. For what is supposed to be an independent investigation in to Performance Enhancing Drugs or PEDs by Baseball Players how can it be independent when the guy running it is on the Board of Directors of one of the teams in MLB. Senator Mitchell is a Board member for the Boston Red Sox. So I ask how can something be independent when this is the case. Also, I am not very happy with the fact that players names were released. I don't see how this is going to help solve the problem. If anything I think it glorifies the use of PEDs because kids look up to these Athletes. I just hope that because Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are linked to PEDs that young athletes view PEDs as the way to the Majors.



In beginning the document the first section goes over the purpose of the document. Again, I don't see how it is an independent investigation because of my explanation above. Also, it is only an investigation between 2002 and 2006. The 2002 Agreement between the MLB owners and the Players association initiated the MLB Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Basically this was the first time that PEDs were tested for and banned by MLB. But, everyone knows that the game of Baseball was infiltrated by PEDs way before 2002. Bud Selig the Commissioner of Baseball did give Senator Mitchell the freedom to investigate out side the 2002 to 2006 time period. But, it was only if it was deemed necessary.


To sum up the opening to section II PEDs are dangerous to ones health, Pro Athletes who use PEDs are a bad role model for youths, MLB Players who use PEDs and it is rumored is a blackeye for MLB, and finally it is unfair for those who don't use PEDs.

Mitchell Breaks down the the effects and side effects of Anabolic Steroids very nicely from page 5 to of page 17. I think that every coach, athlete, and parent should read his synopsis of the effects of steroids and Human Growth Hormone. It is laid out simply and it is very easy to understand. He describes how Steroids aid in Muscle Growth and Recovery from workouts and why this would benefit an athlete. Then he breaks down the side effects. Basically Steroids effect every system of the human body. lets just say increase risk of psychiatric problems, Cardiovascular problems, Liver Damage, Stunted growth in youths, risk of tendon tears, and last but not least it can damage the reproductive organs. When he describes HGH he indicates how it is not that much of a performance enhancer. But, that it aids in recovery. Also, the side effects of HGH use is laid out again in very plain and easy to understand english. Mitchell explains the main attraction to HGH for athletes is that it is relatively undetectable by conventional methods of testing and that it aids in recovery and repair from injury. Like steroids there are severe side effects. Some of them are as follows: gigantism, cancer, impotence in men, cardiomyopothy, arthritis, and hypothyroidism.

In closing section II the Mitchell Report discusses in detail how the use of PEDs is considered by the office of the commissioner for MLB as Cheating. It also talks about how the impact of the use of PEDs by MLB players effects the use of PEDs by youths. An example of Mark McGwire using Androstenedione in 1998 when he was trying to break Roger Marris' Home Run record for a season. Sales of that supplement sky rocketed by 1000% after it was proven that McGwire had used it. The sales increased even though it was well documented that there were health risks associated with its use.


There will certainly be more on this topic from me. Stay tuned for more.