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Alabama players reportedly used deer-antler spray before BCS title game
Former Alabama player Quinton Dial is one of several members of the team who reportedly purchased the spray. (Greg McWilliams/Getty Images)
A number of players from the 2012 national championship Alabama football team reportedly used the same deer-antler spray that Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis allegedly used this season. The spray contains IGF-1, a substance banned by the NFL and NCAA.
Christopher Key, co-owner of the company that provides the spray, told ESPN’s Joe Schad on Wednesday that he sold the bottles to Alabama’s players and personally witnessed five of them spray it in their mouths.
The company, Sports with Alternatives to Steroids, or “S.W.A.T.T.” is based in Alabama and Key said he sold approximately 40 bottles in total to members of Alabama’s football team; 20 of those bottles were purchased by players at a New Orleans hotel room as the team prepared for the BCS national championship game against LSU last year, and then another 20 bottles were sold to members of the team at the apartment of an Alabama player 10 days before the nationally televised game:
“I showed them how to use it,” Key said.
In the Sports Illustrated article that broke the story on Tuesday about Lewis using the spray, it was also reported that Key filmed a sales pitch to players on Alabama’s team. The article specifically mentioned players Quinton Dial, Adrian Hubbard and Alex Watkins as being present during the pitch.
Key maintains that he’s not trying to get anyone in trouble:
“I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble. The whole idea is to compete without cheating. We’re not bad guys.”
Alabama officials have sent a number of cease-and-desist letters to SWATS, but they said they continue to be ignored by Key and employees of the company. Key said that representatives from the school can’t tell him what to do:
“You can’t tell me I can’t talk to your players. We live in a free country.”
Simply put....if you see your President lie (& cheat on his wife...think Clinton), and you see the head of the IRS cheat on his taxes...and you see a major metropolitan city (Philidephia) turn in 99% votes for a single candidate in order to steal an election....
If everyone around you of any noteriety is cheating and lying about one thing or another...then why wouldn't you think it's okay to seek an unfair, even illegal advantage over others.
IT'S THE NEW "AMERICAN WAY"!
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LikeYou have to be an idiot to do business with this guy... he just RUINED his business. Discretion is lost on the feeble minded.
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LikeWhether it works or not they were trying to cheat. That is pathetic and what else would you expect from the SEC. So Every Cheats = SEC.
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LikeD'JackKlinglerIII
"So Every Cheats"? What does that even mean?
Taking supplements does not automatically make you a cheater. If they took this sugarwater after the guy told them it was not banned, then all that makes them is dupes to a sugarwater peddler.
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LikeJoeKidd1992 D'JackKlinglerIII It's obvious you don't understand, can't understand, and don't want to understand. OSU has Meyer now so the SEC will be losing now and with the upcoming playoffs, the SEC will be SOL SOON.
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LikeD'JackKlinglerIII JoeKidd1992 D'JackKlinglerIII
Yes, Urban Meyer was so good, Alabama figured him out in two seasons even with Tim Tebow. Urban then had a "heart issue" and used that to run like a scalded dog.
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LikeBirmingham News reported Auburn players were buying the stuff so we know it does not work.
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LikeMichaelDyer Jake Holland bought a lot of that stuff. I'd like to know what his 40 time was before he took it, because he ran about a 5.5. 40 yard after he took it.
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LikeThis Deer Antler Stuff is GARBAGE!!
The players got suckered into buying and trying this stuff.
IGF-1 is not orally or topically available - meaning it has to be INJECTED intramuscularly to work
And even injected, it has to be in large amounts.
Even then IGF-1 is not a magic bullet - you'll heal up a little better and sleep better and lose fat easier, that's all
It can't be equated with large scale Anabolic steroid abuse - there isn't that dramatic gain 30 lbs and put 100lb on your squat and bench press like steroids.
There is lots of literature on IGF-1 and anecdotal information on Life Extension websites - older people are using it to bring their hormone levels back to youthful levels, but for a college kid or professional athlete in their 20's it won't make much difference.
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LikeDid the Te'o story not teach you anything about responsible journalism?
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LikeFrom the original article: "The deer-antler spray does contain IGF-1, though in small quantities, and deer IGF-1 may not even work in humans." In other words, it's probably just snake oil.If it turns out this substance actually has performance-enhancing properties, then Alabama should be sanctioned, perhaps even stripped of their title. If the athletes received improper gifts, that should also be punished. Until those things are proven, however, this appears to be a case of a couple of hucksters trying to make a name for themselves with a product that has no benefit and no inherent value.
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Likertrwf The big thing you are missing is this. You have to have the bottle that was used, prove a substance was in that bottle, then prove that was what the players ingested. Either that or be able to test for it.
They can do neither, therefore, nothing happens.
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LikeWhere is the journalism here? How about a corroborating source or have you guys just stopped trying to be sports journalists?
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Likewestcoastfan Are you a total idiot? This guy is THE source... No need to corroborate this.
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Likewestcoastfan You corroborate information when it doesn't come from the PRIMARY source.
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LikeThis is a performance enhancer, thus the Tide will be sanctioned
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LikeTruth finder Yes, because two guys who are trying to get as much free publicity as possible are telling the truth. So much for your screen name.
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Like@Truth finder So is creatine but there is no test and punishment is not to the team unless you prove university sanctioned or provided. Not going to happen. Sorry.
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LikeTruth finder
You are clueless. Sorry, your hopes are dashed again.
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LikeTruth finder Yes, because nobody ever, ever gets away with anything in this world. The world is COMPLETELY just and without flaw.
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LikeNow we know why the Crimson Tide kicked Te'o's cheeks up between his shoulders during "the game."
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LikeBad guys ALWAYS say "we're not the bad guys." That's how you tell who the bad guys are. This is irresponsible reporting. SI needs to return to some form of investigative reporting instead of giving snake oil salesmen free advertising.
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Likesmells like an auburn alumni..........
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Likedeer, can you hand me the buck scent please, i have a bike race next week ,
at the le tour de soy sauce in san fran
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LikeI wonder what the requirements are to be a journalist these days? These jock sniffers who are pedaling this crap are pathetic. Look...these scum have YouTube videos on EVERYTHING. Yet when it comes to Ray Lewis and the 'Bama players...they have zip. All they do is flap their lips. Better be careful...there are some pretty deep pockets out there that may decide enough is enough and sue them for everything they have...or will ever have.
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LikeIt's entertaining to read all the Alabama fan's making up "facts" in the comment thread.
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LikeMaxHenshaw
It's even more entertaining to watch loser fans from other teams fall all over themselves hoping there is some truth to a rumor about a substance which doesn't even provide a performance edge. Go hang with ND and whine about Teo.
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Likemashley278 MaxHenshaw No edge but the Bammer players were dumb enough to BUY it, and USE it. I've got some awesome ocean front property in Nebraska if you're interested BAMMERS...
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LikeMaxHenshaw
It's also entertaining knowing Alabama is so good, people like you are hoping against hope that something is here.... Hate to tell you, there's nothing to this.
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LikeJoeKidd1992 MaxHenshaw
If there is "nothing to this" then why did the Alabama Athletic Dept issue repeated "cease and desist" letters about this situation?
IGF-1 is a known and banned substance in both the NFL--ask Ray Lewis--and in the NCAA
The only thing we can say is this is not an issue at this exact moment---but there are no guarantees it won't become an issue later.
Alabama's CYA "cease and desist" letters only go so far and there are other SEC schools implicated like LSU and Auburn who had no CYA letters from their side.
Do you think the Big10-Pac12--Big12-ACC are going to pass on a chance to investigate the SEC who has been taking all of the BCS money lately?
Lots of inquiring minds want to know...
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Like@StrongOfHeart @JoeKidd1992 @MaxHenshaw they issued to CYA. Drug use is not an institutional punish,ent unless you prove the school knew
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LikeStrongOfHeart MaxHenshaw
Because, teams don't like outside guys messing with their players. He might do something he shouldn't. But, based on all the information they have, there is nothing to this. Of course they issues C and D letters. Why would they want some grown man jock-sniffer hanging around the players?
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LikeStrongOfHeart MaxHenshaw
Additionally, IGF-1 might be banned but they do not test for it in the pros or college. So, just how would they rationalize punishing someone or a team for something they don't even test for?
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LikeJoeKidd1992 MaxHenshaw
The damaging part is the SWAT owner's eyewitness testimony as to the taking of the substance in his presence, the players who were there at his hotel room, his video recording on their interaction/discussing using the substance and any documents/receipts/shipping details as to them acquiring the product then and getting more product later on.
This goes beyond Bama too--LSU, Auburn and possibly Ole Miss are aalaalso implicatedc
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LikeStrongOfHeart MaxHenshaw
Sorry, but that is not damaging. He has a picture of them taking something? Hell, he could say they were taking antler spray spiked marshmallows, but if they have no proof what they were taking, it could be vanilla extract.
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LikeJoeKidd1992 StrongOfHeart MaxHenshaw
So what you are saying is all of the Tide players went to his Hotel in New Orleans to sample vanilla extract or some other harmless item when his business is built around performance enhancing compounds that are considered by everyone as illegal?
Sure that makes total sense (not really) and his eye witness testimony and recording won't matter like the guy who said he injected Roger Clemens with Steroids or the people who testified against Lance Armstrong's doping/PED's when he was stripped of his championships and Olympic medals.
Thanks for clearing that up for me--I must have been confused.
Eyewitness testimony and recorded information have never been used in a court room to prove or convict anyone--is that correct?
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LikeStrongOfHeart MaxHenshaw
So let me get this straight... you think the NCAA is going to do something over a substance they don't even test for based on someone's testimony?
This isn't Roger Clemens or Lance Armstrong. This is a different matter entirely. And with Lance they had more than just a few people unconnected to each other saying the same thing.
And I don't think I have ever heard of a company selling something that turns out to not be what they say and does not do what they say it does. I must have imagined all those commercials that are on late night TV when I stay up and watch a movie now and then...
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LikeJoeKidd1992 StrongOfHeart MaxHenshaw
So what you are saying is Tide players--plus players from LSU and Auburn-- repeatedly came back to patronize SWAT over a two plus year period and acquired more compounds "that turns out to not be what they say and does not do what it says"?
That makes total sense to me (not really) and this most certainly could end up being investigated by the NCAA otherwise why was the Alabama AD in such a hurry to publish their "cease and desist" letters to SWAT?
If this is a hoax substance--why bother to first issue "cease and desist" memos for SWAT over the past three years and then rush to release them to the press this week when this story broke?
If I were a Commissioner of the Big10, PAC12, ACC, Big12 who had been boxed out of the BCS money for the past seven years by the SEC---I think I would request a closer look at this IGF-1 incident. It sure seems like the SEC teams were playing with banned substances--ya think?
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LikeStrongOfHeart MaxHenshaw
The reason you send out cease and desist letters is because you don't want people messing with your players.
And how was the Big10, Pac12, ACC, and Big 12 boxed out the last few years? We played ND an independent, but almost a Big 10, auburn played the Pac 12, We played the Big 12, Florida played the Big 10, LSU played the Big 12.
As always, when you can't beat them on the field they just must be cheating. Jeebus, doctors don't even know if this stuff helps you out. Also, they only named 2 of our guys who weren't even starters. Try using some logic.
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LikeYou continue to amaze me SI. You miss an obvious story last September (Te'o) and now are giving these frauds free publicity without doing any real investigating? Why? Ever heard the old adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity? Well ... you probably should have. These S.W.A.T.T. guys are probably going to send you a fruit basket and some deer antler spray for your generous donation of press time right before the Super Bowl. I'm almost to the end of my tolerance for your lack of investigative journalism and apparently nonexistent intelligent decision making.
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LikeThis cat will more than likely will be found face down floating in the Black Warrior river.
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LikeIt sounds like the NFL forcefully made him leave and I hope that they, the NCAA, and the universities that have tried to legally get rid of them, find a way to put more legal pressure on them. SI should pull the story so these guys get no advertising nor publicity at all.
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Likethis guy who outed a bunch of college kids sure sounds like an a$$hole trying to make some money and even more publicity. after all, how much credibility does a guy have if he's willing to wait until the week of the Super Bowl to throw all these people under the bus?
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Likeoh deer !
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Like@JoeyBagadoughnutz as long as it was taken in season.
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LikeWould not surprise me they have been using it since 2009 Season, no wonder they were un defeated!!!
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LikeKingShocka And it would not surprise me if it was found out you ate paint chips as a kid.
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LikeThey all dope. By this point we shouldnt be surprised.
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LikeThe only effect this spray has on people who use one week of it is placebo. Anyone who bothers to research HGH and IGF-1 will know that it takes months to see a noticeable effect. Did it help Ray Lewis recover faster? He was out for a couple months (I think) so the answer would be yes.
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LikeRoll Tide! Sucks to be everybody else.
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Like