Performance Enhancing Drugs being used to help high performing athletes, has been the point of much debate in the world of BJJ. It is live a issue for the reason that in many quarters the obvious use of steroids is either suspected or an open secret. Some organisations have even turned on a dime regarding the testing of athletes. For example, last year the IBJJF banned some high profile athletes for testing positive for various PED use only to announce a stop to all testing of athletes less than 6 months later and overturn the previously mentioned bans. Most other sports have a very antagonistic relationship with PEDs with strenuous rules and consequences, especially those involved with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). BJJ, on the other hand, is in the wild west. The structure is decentralised and there is a mix of cultures and influences, creating a unique mix of organisations who mostly don't bother worrying about PEDs.
So what is the problem? Why have I got an uneasy feeling watching the culture of our sport evolve?
Some of the arguments for steroids and PEDs go thusly:
These are adults who can choose for themselves and know the risks. Everyone taking PEDs is trying to do their best to put their bodies through lots of training and need the edge to succeed and recover.
Everyone is doing it. Probably the most self fulfilling reason on this list. I sympathize as there is still not that much money for most athletes in Jiu Jitsu and losing doesn't create much hype for your seminars.
It makes the sport better to watch. There is quite a positive element to seeing older athletes able to extend their careers or see Adonis-like figures swagger onto the mats to rip off limbs.
I am sure there are more reasons than the above, but these are some core things that might make you sympathetic to the use of PEDs and I am sure in gym conversations I have even used them myself. I would like to answer some of these and add some more reasons we should all think twice about condoning their use tacitly or otherwise.
Do athletes really 'know' the risks?
All drugs have side effects. There is no such thing as a free lunch, whether prescribed by a doctor or bought over the counter, there is always a chance of the drug in question causing some sort of harm. In the case is steroids and other PEDs, the side effects are well documented. But do athletes, particularly non-professional ones, appreciate what is being risked? I am certain that most professional athletes at the highest level whom take PEDs, do so under the supervision of a doctor, and no trainer wants to put their athletes at long-term risk. However, regardless of doctors supervision, there could be long term unnecessary consequences...infertility, heart disease, increased cancer risks. Long-term problems that look trivial to a 20 year old, are the regrets of a 55 year old who will die before his time. The above though is the 1-5% of athletes that have a well resourced, educated and caring environment. But what about the majority who do not have this facility? The likelihood of nasty consequences is almost inevitable.
The rule of unintended consequences
Again you could say that these are adults that can make their own choices. But is that fair? Professional sports is led from the top. To be the best you must train like the best, as far as you can with a full time job. Therefore, with professionals taking PEDs, a culture is created where the only avenue to be the best (at least in the perception of some) is to join the crowd. No one remembers the person who comes 3rd. Unless that bronze belongs to Lachlan Giles. Which actually may be the exception that proves the rule, but I digress. Surely we should be creating aspirational situations that give as many athletes as possible the chance to have a healthy career and more importantly a healthy retirement.
The future of the sport: kids.
So therefore to the real nub and why I think we should take the banning of PEDs seriously as a culture (not by governed fiat). Children and young people will be influenced and perhaps exploited. I am not saying that there will be injections after kids class, but could a 16 year old see the high echelons of the sport and feel they have no choice? Could older more experienced people guiding them push them towards unhealthy patterns of behaviour? We've seen worse. Most people will not be world champions or even champions of a major. Let alone at Blackbelt or the big stage. Therefore for the health and retirement of the majority we should be railing against the use of drugs to improve performance. Our short sightedness will destroy lives. We need to show kids and young people coming up in the sport that the only barrier to their success is how hard they work.
A caveat.
There are many reasons that an athlete may be forced to use certain drugs that may be considered 'banned' by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) or USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency). Furthermore, what the IBJJF previously offered as drug testing was woefully inadequate, amounting to little more than an IQ test for those cycling their drugs. I would always rather no testing than bad testing. Also, a beautiful element of our sport is the Masters division, and for some of those athletes they may need pharmaceutical intervention not just for their performance. For instance TRT (Testosterone Replacement therapy) made famous by Joe Rogan. In your 40s this could be a good idea in some circumstances under advice from your healthcare provider. I therefore want to stress that I am not arguing from the sort of strict (and yet easily exploited) rules and testing from opaque governing bodies.
What then?
I do not have all of the answers, and as I suggest above, top down dictation is not necessarily effective or fair. Instead I suggest we need to be more critical of a 'winning at all costs' mentality, and each of us should make steps to promote a positive culture based on excellence and sporting honour over spectacle. I am not suggesting condemnation or blame of anyone. I don't think we need any more of a toxic call-out culture. Just a redefition of what it truly is to win at this fantastic sport.
If you need a performance enhancer, just have some Heel Hook Coffee.
Greg