Brian Cushing and hCG

Brain Cushing was suspended a week ago for violating the NFL's steroid policy because of a positive test for human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). Not a steroid in itself, there isn't many reasons why a male would use it.

HCG and Steroids

Human chorionic gonadotropin stimulated ovulation by influencing the last stages of ovum development. So why were Cushing take this hormone? HCG helps stimulates testosterone in men. This is done by atheletes because it usually takes some time for the human body to start normal productin of testosterone after a cycle of anabolic steroids. To bridge this gap, HCG is taken.

AP Defensive Rookie of the Year

There was a re-vote this past week on the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Award that Cushing won last year. He won in a landslide during the first vote beating the second place finisher by more than 20 votes. Though Cushing won the award on the second vote as well, it was much closer and he only won by five votes.

Though this is a slippery slope that the AP is treading on with a re-vote, it does show that people are sick and tired of steroid use. It has been much more acceptable in the NFL in years, but it seems that view is changing - and rightfully so.

Houston Texans' Brian Cushing Suspended

The AP Defensive Player of the Year, Brian Cushing, has been suspended for violating NFL's Steroid Policy and will miss the first four games in the upcoming season. Now the AP is looking to take their award away from him.

Brian Cushing Steriods

There has been rumors following Cushing for years. Even in college he had been questioned about possible performance enhancing drug use, which he always denied. Even with the suspensions, Cushing is still denying that he has ever used steroids. Even though he was suspended for violating the steroid policy, he didn't test positive for steroids. He tested positive for another banned substance. This could be a masking agent or another PED on the banned list. Regardless, it now looks to many that the only reason he has never tested positive for steroid is because he hasn't been caught with them in his system. Wonder if he was taking female hormones like Manny Ramirez.

AP Defensive Rookie of the Year

For the first time, the AP is allowing its voters to recast their votes with the new revelations of Cushing's positive test, which actually happened in September during the 2009 season. In the past decade, three AP Defensive Rookie of the Year winners have been suspended for testing positive for PEDs. Along with Cushing, Shawne Merrimam and Julius Peppers, both big stars, have also been suspended.

One questions I have. Why do you not hear as much uproar when an NFL player is busted for PEDs as you do when a baseball player does. I guess since the NFL is the league that made steroids common, people just accept it. If the stars of the league are taking these drugs, I wonder what the other players are doing to keep up?