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12 Jan 2009 |
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| On January 9th, Major league Baseball released its annual report of the Joint Drug Testing program. In it was the detail that 106 MLB players have received a Therapeutic Use Exemption for ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD). Now it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to do the math but if there are 30 teams with 40 man rosters that mean 1 in every 12 players has received an exemption for ADHD.
Does this mean that if you have ADHD you should be playing baseball? Those ratios seemed to be really high so I looked it up. According to the National Institute of Mental health 4.1% of adults are actually affected with some form of ADHD. That compares to 8.8% of all major leagues players receiving an exemption for using a drug to treat it. Along with this exemption rate there were also eight positive tests for Adderall, a stimulant commonly prescribed for Attention Deficit Disorder. So those 106 players with the exemption would not have been tested for Adderall. This stimulant has an enhanced concentration of amphetamine salts. Yes, that’s right I just said Amphetamines. That’s what many call “Uppers” “Greenies” and “Speed”. Amphetamines are used to speed up a player’s heart rate. They have been proven to fight fatigue, increase alertness and sharpen reaction time. Athletes have used them to challenge the limits of endurance and cover up the accompanying pain. When the Major League Baseball drug plan went into affect, the big rage was getting steroids out of the game. However, I read many an insider say the biggest problem in baseball wasn’t Steroids. It was Amphetamines usage. Testing for Amphetamines began in 2006. Michael Schmidt recently wrote an article in the New York Times saying “a player who tests positive for the first time is neither penalized nor publicly identified, although he is referred for counseling. A second positive test results in a 25-game suspension. To date, only two players — Neifi Pérez and Mike Cameron — have been suspended for testing positive twice. Two others — Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds — have been linked to first-time positive tests in published reports that they have not disputed.” Back in 2006, Chipper Jones was quoted about Amphetamine usage in baseball saying “It's going to have a lot bigger effect on the game than steroid testing.” In 2005, a USA Today survey found that 35 percent of players were using them. Many a player Do you really believe that an alarming higher rate of MLB players suffer from ADHD, a mental disorder? Looks to me like the Amphetamine problem is still around and indeed real and is now is being covered up by ADHD. Trackback(0)
Comments (8)
  written by konnie.teo, January 14, 2009
Thank you for your post. I also just recently found out about this autism program, never knew that such was available. Did you ever hear about such programs before? Anyhows, keep up your blog posts, look forward to reading them.
written by big o, January 13, 2009
ritalin was the drug prescribed for children diagnosed with ADD .
it's intent was to have a calming effect allowing hyper-active children to be able to sit still and focus longer. for all others it meant only one thing ==> SPEED mothers' little helpers , black beauties , the truckers' friend , amphetamines , and in some circles of college kids the drug of choice when preparing for exams. "amphetamine annie" was a classic song by Canned Heat ... back in the day
written by steve shane, January 13, 2009
I know there was a sprinter, who had ADD since age ~10 and took medication for it. The meds contained a drug that is on the banned substance list, im assuming the IOC list, and the sprinter subsequently failed a drug test and recieved a multi year ban.
I forget who the sprinter was, he was from the US, but I remember an interview with him after the fact and he was like Ive had ADD my whole life, this is what theyve prescribed to me my whole life, why is this now an issue.... Maybe thats why so many baseball players claim to have ADD
written by Calochilus, January 13, 2009
It doesn't need a brain surgeon, rather a psychiatrist to do the math. Given that around 4% of the adult population may have diagnosable ADHD problems and also given that elite sportspeople are a group recognised as having a much higher than normal incidence of ADHD, then the figure of around 12% is a pretty reasonable count.
With the very negative press surrounding ADHD (much coming from the Flat Earth Fringe) it is unsurprising that players with ADHD problems are not outing themselves. It takes a very brave person to subject themselves to the vituperation dished out to public figures seen to transgress societies standards
written by SeanAgranov, January 12, 2009
In quickly researching this article I saw a mention of 2 players that openly have ADHD and talk with youngsters and other about their disorder, neither of them was a high profile player. I also saw a blog mention that Arod is getting this exemption, but I have never heard that he has ADHD. IF you really believe the majority are using the exemption legitimately then i might have a bridge to sell to you!
written by BrianJoura, January 12, 2009
Love the headline.
One thing I think we need to do is break down ADD and ADHD by age bracket. When people throw out numbers like 4.1 percent of all adults, I don't think that's a reasonable comparison to MLB players, who range roughly from 20-40. I don't imagine too many people over 50 currently have an ADD or ADHD diagnosis, so why are MLB players being compared to them? What are the ADD/ADHD rates for people in the same age bracket as the players? I expect that some of the MLB players are using the medication as a replacement for Greenies. But I also think that the majority of players with the exemption probably use the medication for its intended purposes.
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It absolutely amazes me how so many defend athletes who are blatantly utilizing loopholes in the system to mask their drug usage whether it be speed or steroids. I thought it was very amusing to read that this past NFL season two Vikings defensive linemen were sited for using diuretics they claimed were being used for weight loss. Two of the largest men I have ever seen, who's careers are defined by being human walls, state they are using weight loss supplements in season, I feel they should be suspended for just implying we are stupid.