Adam Schefter and Field Yates reported earlier today that Patriots wideout Julian Edelman has been tagged with a 4-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs. Edelman is currently appealing the suspension, but as it stands now, he’ll miss the first four regular season contests for New England.
My initial reaction was admittedly disappointment in Edelman (as I’m sure it’ll be for many diehard Pats fans), but I quickly came back to reality and remembered that everyone in the NFL is probably using. I mean, have you seen Josh Gordon recently?
(via @flash on Instagram)
The Pats are set to play the Texans, Jags, Lions, and Dolphins in the first four weeks of the season, and two (possibly three) of those matchups have the potential to be tough. Without Edelman and Amendola, New England’s passing attack is now almost solely reliant on Rob Gronkowski, whose health is fickle at best.
As I write now, Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti are on 98.5 discussing the ramifications of this news with regard to Alex Guerrero. I’m less interested in that portion of the story––everyone’s using PEDs anyways––but it is true that during his ACL rehab, Edelman became a pretty pious Guerrero disciple. He was quoted on OMF (WEEI’s midday show) saying “I come in and do my rehab, then I go up to TB12’s Center and I do more rehab, and then I come back here and do a little more rehab,” so it’s pretty clear he’s bought into the witch doctor’s wild methods.
Do I think Brady’s using? Yeah, there’s probably a pretty good chance, but again, I don’t think it's a particularly important issue. The way I see it, the NFL pops a couple guys every year to assure the general public that they don’t condone cheating while simultaneously ignoring the other 98% of the league that's juicing. Honestly, I think it’s silly; these players are out here absolutely destroying their bodies, so shouldn’t they have access to substances that will speed up their recovery and increase their durability? After all, fans are interested in seeing their favorite players perform ridiculous feats of athleticism, and PEDs actually serve to improve the product.
It’s time for the NFL to let go of the idea that steroids are bad for the game; everyone knows the players are using, so let it go. In other sports (i.e., bodybuilding, wrestling, etc.), there isn’t such a stigma around the use of performance enhancers, and for the NFL to claim they’re above all that is silly. Let’s remember that this is the same league that turned a blind eye when Ray Rice brutally assaulted his girlfriend in an elevator, so Goodell and Co. aren’t exactly in a position to be claiming the moral high ground.
On another note, Rob Gronkowski has been training all spring with WWE’s Mojo Rawley, and I’m sure Rawley has no problem juicing up. Let’s hope the NFL doesn’t ask him to pee in a cup next.
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