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Guest4178
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 Posted - 11/07/2011 : 12:23:09
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Georges Laraque has gone on record (in his new book) suggesting that a lot of NHL players use (or have used) performance-enhancing drugs. (PED's, of course, span from energy drinks to creatine to steroids, so there's a pretty wide range here.)
The biggest surprise with Laraque's comments relates to players who are not NHL enforcers, but instead, players who are the best in the game.
Laraque commented that certain player's appearances (and output) changed in Olympic years, and recognizing the significant difference in rules (and testing) between the NHL and the Olympics, it's understandable why. Players can get away with taking PED's in the NHL, but it's very difficult to do so in the Olympics.
Laraque has taken a "Canseco" approach in his book by not naming names, but I trust Laraque's integrity. He's not out to get one player – he believes the culture needs to change in the game of hockey. (And by the way, he's not hypocritical about fighting. He earned his living by being one of the top enforcers in the game, and he still believes fighting has a place in the game.)
With performance-enhancing drugs, Laraque has strong opinions. (I assume he's never taken any?) And shouldn't there be a level playing field in the NHL, and in all sports?
Maybe we should get d*** Pound, Don Cherry and Georges Laraque together for a debate! Now that would be entertaining!
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Beans15
Moderator
Canada
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Posted - 11/07/2011 : 12:35:26
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Why didn't Laraque say anything about this steroids use while he still played?? Would he not be guilty by association by knowing it was happening and doing nothing about it?? This is far different than the Canseco case because Canseco did name names in his book and admitted to doing 'roids with people.
I personally don't like that Laraque has gone this route. If he was truly concerned with the direction the league was going he would have a closed door meeting with the appropriate people to institute change. He was well respected enough to get an audience with just about anyone in the NHL or NHLPA to institute real change.
However, he chose to write a book and ultimately make money by making allegations of activities he maybe didn't directly participate in but was aware was happening. What would have happened if Laraque played on a Cup winning team and has knowledge of players on his team taking performance enhancing drugs??
To me, this is Georges trying to make money off of a problem, not Georges trying to shed light on a problem.
To the question at hand, yes I think that all sports should be played on a level playing field. I believe that all performance enhancing substances be banned, players educated on what is allowed and what is not allowed, and I agree with complete lifetime bans at the first failed test.
I don't think there is a single thing in sports worse than cheating and there is no more clear example of cheating than taking performance enhancing substances. |
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Guest4178
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Posted - 11/07/2011 : 14:39:54
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I wasn't aware Canseco named names in his book. I thought he called out only a few players, but for the most part, he painted the entire baseball landscape as blemished with drug use with very few names mentioned.
Speaking of names, I guess you can't type d*** Pound's first name without it being xxx'ed out, so let's just call him Richard.
Lastly, there's a very interesting article regarding Laraque's allegations, and including his criticism's of Wayne Gretzky as a coach. And there's also some back and forth twittering going on between Darren Pang and Georges Laraque. You can check out the article on Yahoo Sports at:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Georges-Laraque-vs-Darren-Pang-Twitter-fight-ov?urn=nhl-wp16833 |
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Guest8149
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Posted - 11/07/2011 : 20:16:05
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I hardly think Georges Laraque's major motivation for writing his book was about money. (Emphasis on major.)
Laraque made over $10 million in his NHL career, so the royalties from writing a Canadian bestseller pale in comparison to what he made in the NHL.
Kudos to Georges for going on record with his comments. As far as "guilt by association," by not saying much until after his playing career (by the way, I remember Laraque making comments about steroid use while he was playing in the NHL), let's hold the whole league (players, coaches, trainers, etc.) in contempt then! Because surely they saw what's been going on.
If you believe Laraque (I do for the most part), then he knows what most NHL players know about drug use (and abuse) in the NHL, so good for him to be brave enough to speak out. And sure, he could have been more outspoken when he played in the NHL, but I don't live high enough in the ivory tower to make this assertion.
Rather than condemn a guy for talking now (while most everyone else in the game
stays(ed) silent), it's time for more players to stand up and tell the truth - even if the
revelations come late, it's better than not at all!
Good for Georges Laraque to speak up, but don't count on too many people in the game to support Laraque, or to come forward with the truth about performance-enhancing drugs in hockey! It takes a brave man to do so (and Laraque fits that bill), but there's a lot of criticism which gets directed your way.
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HabFanInVan
Top Prospect
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Posted - 11/07/2011 : 21:17:51
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My understanding is that early on in Laraque's career brought forth his concerns about PED in the NHL to the appropriate authorities but received little back from the league. At least thats what he claims in the book.
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Georges Laraque – Allegations 
