For those of you who like to point out how the WWL takes it on itself to drive a story, here’s another piece on Kolton Houston. The ending is a knockout:
But if Kolton Houston could somehow be considered a sinner, then surely he has suffered enough for his sins. Has true justice ever existed in a place where forgiveness cannot? Or, given a choice between breaking a kid and breaking a rule, would we really rather save the rule?
Anybody think Mark Emmert cares about that? Or that ESPN’s attention could make him care?
Get The Picture 
I truly feel bad for Kolton and wish that he could play. He’s a damn good dawg. On the other hand, I have a contrasting opinion from most people….He broke the rules and has to live with the penalty. As harsh or unfair as it may be, the NCAA rule existed at 2.5mg long before this came into the picture. His excuse and probable lie of the doctor injecting for a shoulder injury is pure hog-wash. No real doctor is going to use that…and is not a medically accepted practice. My guess is he really didn’t go to an actual physician, just someone called “doc” providing the steriods. You know how hard it is to only inject into subcutaneous layer with a 1 1/2″ stylette?…this was no doctor giving the injections. His story becomes a little less sympathetic telling if he tells the full story.
For those out of the arena folks….I know this because I took the same substance as a college athelte (also known as deca or norandren-50) for a shoulder injury from pitching. I was not the only one that went to “doc” by the way. No, not the same one as Kolton.
I don’t know the kid and wish him nothing but success….but he made a wrong decision and unfortunately has to live with the penalty, no matter how unfair or ridiculous it is.
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How long did it stay in your system?
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I don’t know exactly…was injured when I had it…had to have shoulder surgery anyhow and not getting tested. I suspected for about a year after having for 3 months. FWIW, I do know that deca-durabolin is about the mildest anabolic steriod you can take. Chemically it works different than others that get someone. Very, very low side effects….OTHER than staying in your system a very long time….longer than most any other anabolic. It actually changes nitrogen retention which increases muscle very slowly. Has the added benefit of helping to repair connective tissue i.e. tendons, ligaments. No one would take it solely bc of an injury, but does have the secondary benefit I stated previously. I can state confidently that the dangers/conseqences far outweigh the benefit. In Kolton’s case, no doctor would give him that and it’s pure stupidity to take in the first place.
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Well, my underatanding was that they “figured it out” when they looked back over his medical records. I don’t know anything about roids, but I do know that doctors do make mistakes. I just don’t see how you can state definitively that no doctor would do that, unless you actually were personally involved in the situation.
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I have nowhere near the knowledge Keese has on this, but I feel similarly about the origination of the steroids. The story has been far too vague and unlikely to really check out, in my opinion. I don’t think he deserves what the NCAA has done to him, but I also don’t believe the original telling.
As far as Courson’s detective work, seems to me the jury is out on that too until we hear more specifics. Is Houston considering a lawsuit against this “doctor”? Has Courson reported the doctor to the state medical board?
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I don’t think anyone would argue that the NCAA’s rule in Koltons case is unfair and the crime doesn’t fit the punishment. NCAA has been that way for a very long time. But he subjected himself to the punishment by taking it in the first place. Even if a licensed doctor did give it to him, why? And the parents would have to know since he would’ve only been 17.
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There is a difference in knowing that you broke a rule/intentionally broke one and what Kolton is going through….
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Sure as hell…he knew. He’s a smart kid…and smart enough to know exactly what he was injecting. Not buying the doctor story…sorry.Claiming ignorance on top of that is just a plea to the NCAA. Not even sure if doctors can administer it….Much less to a 17 year old. Not sure if deca is even made in the US.
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You’re missing the point. The question is whether there is, or should be, a difference between being penalized and being excessively penalized. And the yardstick by which penalties are weighted and measured is constantly moving. Across the social spectrum. To wit: Did John Sinclair deserve 10 years in prison for two joints back in ’69? No. Was that the law at the time? Yes. Did reasonable people eventually determine that such a penalty was excessive? You betcha.
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I would think that believing Houston is not too far a stretch from believing Barry Bonds as well. Yes, Houston was much younger, so there’s that. But otherwise, an athlete with a D1 scholarship doesn’t know he’s getting shot with a banned substance? C’mon.
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How did he make a bad choice when he didn’t know he was being injected with a banned substance?
This is the first time I’ve read anything about this incident. Unbelievable.
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Norandren is the vet version. Deca was once the most used steroid as a base in an injection stack of hormones. I don’t think it is that popular anymore as it is very easy to detect and it is not unusual to detect it up to 18 months later. The N retention improves protein utilization in muscle cells. That helps bulk and cut. It also reduces cortisol absorption, which reduces pain from an injury. I’m guessing that is why you used it. The affect on tendo repair are overstated. Pain is a useful thing though. It keeps you from making your injury worse by reminding you your injured so you don’t stress the injury. So you might have made your injury worse by using the drug and masking the injury. The enhancements achieved through use of this drug last about 3 weeks …dissipating over this time frame. Whatever advantage Houston sought to achieve has long since passed. So if the rule is there to prevent an advantage, that slight edge has long passed. Letter of the law or intent of the law Mr. Keese. Which do you prefer?
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Most gains are minimal, 5-10lbs at most. Cortisol benefit is very minimal or noticeable. Deca was widely used by MLB pitchers for years until HGH.
I agree with what your saying which in most part is true. NCAA is a bitch organization I know. But the problem is Koltons choice more than pointing fingers at the NCAA for the actual punishment. We knew before all this that NCAA is unreasonable.
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We did, but did a 17 year old kid know?
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Keese, you’re a meat head…,.
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If he lied about the procedure, would not the NCAA, Georgia, or the SEC asked the “alleged doc”. What is the life of the steriod if it is banned? There has to be some medical documentation on it. The rule has no exceptions from the NCAA even though the substance never decreases within the body over a period of time.
Has UGA made a hire for a baseball coach? There are some rumors or mention on the websites
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If I remember right, The Doc actually was admitting the incident before he lawyered up.
Damn Lawyers… Doing the $ liability NPV math and talking to insurance companies and tossing about exceeding coverage and w/o proper supervision of nurses and treble damages and etc ad infinitum…
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There are “damn” developers, builders,principals, preachers, doctors, etc. I don’t get the damn lawyer meme. On average in Georgia there are about 900 grads competing for 800 spots. A lot of work and expense to enter a tough profession without any guarantees. You gotta want it to go through all that work.
just sayin’
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res ipsa loquitor, am a member of the State Bar, chuckle…
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LOL. Guess I need to engage my sarcasm meter huh? At any rate I have not seen “res ipsa loquitor” since my college days……. and it had nothing much to do with the legal profession.
“Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish—a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow—to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested . . . Res ipsa loquitur. Let the good times roll.”
My youngest takes his LSAT this June. In Gainesville for some reason.
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Good luck to your youngest.
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Get him in a class/buy software with sample tests. Any kind of bump in speed is beneficial. Best of luck.
BTW – he needs to start studying Contracts, Torts, Evidence – Now if not sooner. Except for the lucky top 1 % (and not the corch 1%) everybody else is competing on a curve where a 90 is a C.
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^^This. The secret to success in law school is reading the material before starting classes. He’ll know it, nobody else will and he will be annointed in the minds of the profs as one of the top people in the class. Those things become self-fulfilling prophecies. I tried to tell that to my daughter who is a senior in law school but……….
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Thank you gentlemen. His LSAT is the 10th. He says he is ready but the logic part is his weakest section. Pretty niffy internet stuff to help a student prepare. At this point he is practice testing, testing, testing.
“You put the time in …. you get the results.” 😉
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It is time for the NCAA to go away. I think O’Bannon and company are going to make it happen. The inconsistent enforcement, hypocrisy, the total bullshit has to end. Blow it up.
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+1,000,000
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Amen.
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Absolut
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Right now I’m more interested in the truth. Doesn’t change my feelings about “scientific-minded” intransigence toward Kolton, who, no matter what the circumstances deserves to play ball by scientific standards. From 4.0 down to the 2.5 gate opening is comparable to how many angels are on the head of a pin rather than a meaningful measureable amount. When you are looking at 1.5 micrograms/milliliter levels of any substance, it invariably requires a known addition of the substance into detection machinery to substantiate that a correct detectable level can be assumed. The difference cannot be measured for benefit to the user.
Free Kolton from his 1.5 difference. The NCAA impunes the common sense upon which science rests. As a scientist, I’m much more curious about the variability of the detectable amount from sample to sample.. Somewhere in there rests the key to plus or minus detection variability that should encompass 1.5 micrograms.
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Well done!
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Ditto. I am generally a “law and order” person, and agree there should be punishment, but the length of this “sentence” for something: 1) everyones agrees has not been repeated, and 2) gives him no competitive advantage which is the intent of the rule justifies the NCAA to step aside. I had a speeding ticket, but it does not mean I should also be labeled with a Scarlett Letter on my forehead. Original poster should drop the “do the crime means you must do the time” logic….the freaking time has been done long ago. This is petty and inconsistent with the NCAA’s view on drugs as a whole. The organization should be abolished for so many imbecilic actions….this is just another of a long list. Under Emmert, the list is growing much faster than before.
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+1
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I agree with everything you said in your post except I think you SHOULD have a scarlet letter on your forehead. 🙂
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Agree Mayor, and it should be “G” (which I would wear with honor).
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Completely agree! I’ve often wondered as this story unfolded what the measurement error/variability is in this particular data/test.
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Well, UGA, Miami, Penn State, SMU, TheOSU, and USCw are a start.
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One of my boyfriends in high school played football and baseball. Had two knee surgeries b/4 graduating from HS. Emory Crawford Long injected him with all kinds of roids. He got a full ride to pitch in College. He is 58 now and walks funny and his shoulder will never be the same. They treated us like race horses back then. There were no rules about such things.
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