The United States federal government will leave no stone unturned in its witch-hunt involving anabolic steroids and celebrity athletes. Federal prosecutors have spared no expense, taxpayer expense that is, by investigating the penises, testicles and erections of athletes suspected of using steroids. The government justifies such inquiries as a way to investigate the existence of steroid-related sexual side effects in athletes targeted by the witch-hunt.
The government’s interest in the erections of celebrity athletes helps explain their pursuit of former girlfriends, mistresses and lovers of suspected steroid users. It has been widely reported that federal agents interviewed a former girlfriend of Barry Bonds, a mistress of Roger Clemens and, most recently, the former fiancee of Lance Armstrong
The primary objective of contacting former lovers, that are presumably privy to additional private behaviors, would most likely be to obtain direct evidence of the illicit use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). However, detailed questions about testicular size and erectile dysfunction have been known to be part of the interrogations.
Playboy model Kimberly Bell, the former mistress of Barry Bonds, was asked about the size of his testes by federal agents. Testicular atrophy is a well-known side effect that occurs in some steroid users although its severity and duration is highly variable among users. The government used her testimony, and that of so-called steroids experts, as proof of steroid use by Bonds. Testicular atrophy can usually be avoided during and after a steroid cycle.
Country singer Mindy McCready, the former mistress of Roger Clemens, was specifically asked about Clemens performance in the bedroom. She reportedly acknowledged that Clemens occasionally experienced erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction can occur with the use of steroids but is more likely to occur during after the discontinuation of a steroid cycle when the natural production of endogenous testosterone is suppressed. Unfortunately, erectile dysfunction is not a reliable indicator of steroid use since it can usually be avoided by the knowledgeable steroid user.
Grammy-award winning singer Sheryl Crow, the former fiancee of Lance Armstrong, has been the latest former lover of a celebrity athlete targeted by the government’s steroid witch-hunt. While the details of her interrogation by the feds are not known, the chances that the government tried to pry information about Armstrong’s erections seem to be pretty high given their approach to the former paramours of Bonds and Clemens.
At any rate, the existence of testicular atrophy and erectile dysfunction are extremely poor ways of determining if an individual used anabolic steroids. It would seem that the general public would be outraged that taxpayer money has been used for such silly purposes.
Source:
Vinton, N. (September 5, 2012). Witnesses feel Sheryl Crow had to know about Lance Armstrong’s doping activities. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/witnesses-feel-sheryl-crow-lance-amstrong-activities-article-1.1152899
