The first thing I saw when I woke up this morning at 5:30 was Fernando Vina's face on Sportscenter. Bob Ley was interviewing Vina about his inclusion in the Mitchell Report. Vina admitted to Ley that he did use HGH in 2003 due to recurring hamstring and knee injuries which he was struggling to recover from. Ley then asked Vina about the validity of Radomski's account of him buying steriods, Winstrol and Deca-Durabolin in particular. Vina denied ever buying steroids from Radomski, saying:

"I never used steroids. I never bought steroids from him. All I used was HGH."

This statement, along with Pettite's comments on HGH got me to thinking about this whole Mitchell Report/Steroids deal. Vina's comment puts HGH on a different level than steroids. In the statement, he is essentially saying that HGH isn't as bad as steroids, at least that's how I view it. I have a sneaking suspicion that we are going to see many more comments like this from accused players that come out and tell what I believe is only the half-truth. I think were going to see many more players saying things similar to "I used HGH, but not steroids!!!". I believe the reason behind this is that steroids has a much worse connotation behind it than HGH. The public knows what steroids are and what all the bad side effects are. Even if a person has never followed heavy steroid use professions such as professional wrestling or weightlifting, they've heard of the many deaths that have been spurred on by rampant steroids use. The risks with HGH are much lower than steroids and I've personally never heard of an HGH induced death. Since HGH is relatively new, compared to steriods, the public is much less informed on the topic and therefore is much more susceptible to the pleas of forgiveness from the players who supposedly only used HGH.

I think the players realize this distinction between the perception of steroids and HGH and will take full advantage of it if they decide to come forward and tell at least the partial truth. Until there is a definitive test for HGH or until the public is more educated on the drug, this perception will remain.

6 Comments