The death of Orlando Bobo this week didn't generate a lot of media coverage. But, perhaps it should have. The 33-year old former offensive lineman died of heart and liver failure in a Dallas hospital last Monday. Bobo played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2004, and retired prior to the 2005 season after a contract dispute with the Bombers. Prior to coming to Canada, he played for several NFL teams, including the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.
All in all, Bobo's death barely caused a ripple in the sports media pond in Canada and the U.S. And, perhaps, that's the greatest tragedy in all of this. Let's examine the facts. A 33-year old man - only a couple of years removed from playing professional football - dies of heart and liver failure. At the age of 33! Okay, class - stay with me now. What could possibly cause the heart and liver of a professional athlete to shut down so dramatically? A 6'3", 299 lb man? I can only speculate, but my informed guess would be S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S.
If "the juice" was in fact a contributing factor to this young man's death, then the CFL needs to use this tragedy as a wake-up call. How many current players are prolonging their careers, and flirting with death, by using performance-enhancing drugs? Is there a valid reason why the CFL does not have a stringent drug-testing policy in place? The idea has been tossed around for years. Perhaps it's time to stop paying the issue lip service and bring in a program that does what is needed - weed out drug cheats, and hopefully prevent future tragedies like this one. I strongly urge new Commissioner Mark Cohon to make this a priority.
All in all, Bobo's death barely caused a ripple in the sports media pond in Canada and the U.S. And, perhaps, that's the greatest tragedy in all of this. Let's examine the facts. A 33-year old man - only a couple of years removed from playing professional football - dies of heart and liver failure. At the age of 33! Okay, class - stay with me now. What could possibly cause the heart and liver of a professional athlete to shut down so dramatically? A 6'3", 299 lb man? I can only speculate, but my informed guess would be S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S.
If "the juice" was in fact a contributing factor to this young man's death, then the CFL needs to use this tragedy as a wake-up call. How many current players are prolonging their careers, and flirting with death, by using performance-enhancing drugs? Is there a valid reason why the CFL does not have a stringent drug-testing policy in place? The idea has been tossed around for years. Perhaps it's time to stop paying the issue lip service and bring in a program that does what is needed - weed out drug cheats, and hopefully prevent future tragedies like this one. I strongly urge new Commissioner Mark Cohon to make this a priority.
3 comments:
agreed. Sounds like steroids to me. This should be a wake up call. Or media should at least be answering/asking some more questions on this one.
In case you didn't know Orlando had been sick and had lost alot of weight, he was on dialysis. He was in the hospital for his speen when he died during surgery. I can personally tell you that he didn't use drugs, as he was my husbands cousin. I agree that the CFL should test for drug use but, you should realize that the world is a ugly place when people make assumptions that they know nothing about. It is saddening to our family that in the wake of a wonderful mans death all you are thinking is the worst. Jholder
I am sincerely sorry for the loss of this young man. It's a tragedy, plain and simple. However, I would still like to know - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that performance enhancing substances were not responsible for the deterioration of his heart and liver. Those two organs are most commonly affected by prolonged use of - among other substances - anabolic steroids.
In the absence of a medical examiner's report, I can only draw conclusions based on the evidence at hand - while maintaining my position on the need for a drug-testing policy in the CFL.
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