Dr. Tony Millar has called upon the international sports community to end the war on anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). In the wake of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, most so-called “doping experts” have called for increased spending in the war on steroids in sports. Millar thinks drug testing has been a monumental failure and anabolic steroids have been unfairly demonized.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency’s report on doping by Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service pro cycling team may have been devastating for the career of Armstrong. However, in USADA’s zealous pursuit of the American cyclist, they also (inadvertently) exposed the futility of current anti-doping protocols.
Millar has a long history as a sports medicine physician who has worked closely with elite athletes in Australia. Millar opened the first Australian sports medicine clinic. He was also a former team doctor for the St. George Rugby club and the Australian Commonwealth Games.
Millard recently told Adrian Proszenko of the Sydney Morning Herald that he believes PEDs should be allowed in professional sports as long as they are administered and monitored by a qualified health professional.
”It doesn’t hurt them if they do it properly,” Millar said.
The retired doctor was forced to resign from the medical staff of Australia’s national team for the 1986 Commonwealth Games after he wrote an article on the topic of “steroid management” for an medical journal.
Millar has denied provided banned steroids or PEDs to any athletes with the St. George Dragons or the Commonwealth Games while he was a team physician. But Millar admitted administering anabolic steroids to numerous clients. As part of a steroid “harm reduction program”, Millar provided medical supervision to approximately 5,000 clients during his medical career.
“I would prescribe these anabolic steroids, monitor you and bring you back when you finished to follow you up to see what happened,” said Millar. “I didn’t have any deaths, no heart problems and I did this for some 20 years. It all depends on what you do with whatever it is. Guns are very dangerous – if you put them up to your head and pull the trigger. But they’re not dangerous if you put them in a drawer.”
Source:
Proszenko, A. (October 28, 2012). Doctor Sanctions Steroids. Retrieved from http://m.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/doctor-sanctions-steroids-20121027-28c9k.html
