Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose denies comments regarding the Performance Enhancing Drugs
On Sunday, the Chicago Bulls’ point guard Derrick Rose denied his comments regarding the performance enhancing drugs (PED). Rose rubbished the report published by a sports magazine, quoting him as saying performance enhancing drugs are a "huge" problem in
the NBA.
According to the magazine, Rose was one of the many professional athletes, who were questioned about the PED’s existence in the professional league, “If 1 equals 'What are PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs)'? And 10 equals 'Everybody's Juicing' ... How big
of an issue is illegal enhancing in your sport?" According to the magazine, Rose had replied, "Seven. It's huge, and I think we need a level playing field, where nobody has that advantage over the next person."
On Sunday afternoon, he denied all these comments and issued a statement through the Bulls’ management before the game-3 of their Eastern Conference final series with the Miami Heat, "If that was my response to any question, I clearly misunderstood what
was asked of me. But, let me be clear, I do not believe there is a performance enhancing drug problem in the NBA.”
Rose further stated that the National Basketball Association (NBA) tests all professional players four times in a year to determine whether a player is doping or not.
Derrick Rose was recently crowned NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) after a successful season in which he not only spearheaded the Bulls to the summit of the Eastern Conference, but also at the top of the league. Rose has been the driving force in Chicago’s
revival this year. Bulls finished the regular season with the best home and overall record and then went on to the knock out the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Currently, the Bulls are battling with Miami Heat in
their Eastern Conference Finals with the series tied at 1-1.
Derrick Rose’s comments on PED and then a sudden U-turn have created a few ripples though and it has highlighted the fact that players consider talking about it as a taboo. His backtracking on his own words somehow tells that many NBA players might be involved
with steroids and performance enhancing drugs. There are also certain drugs available that hide the effect of these drugs and render the tests ineffective.
Rose’s denial from his statement has left some unanswerable questions for sure. It has also raised a concern whether the NBA’s chief authorities are doing enough to counter the PED problems or not.
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