Travis Tygart Calls Alex Rodriguez's Steroid Protocol the Most Potent and Sophisticated Ever

By Millard Baker, Senior Writer, Steroid.com

Travis Tygart, the chief executive officer of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), has been called an anabolic steroid and doping expert by the Associated Press.  But being an anti-steroid crusader doesn't necessarily make one an expert on the drugs being demonized. It's like calling the Pope a sex expert.

In Tygart's “expert” opinion, the alleged doping protocol designed by Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch for Rodriguez may have been the most advanced stack of PEDs ever created.

Alex Rodriguez's drug protocol was “probably the most potent and sophisticated drug program developed for an athlete that we’ve ever seen,” Tygart told Jim Litke of the Associated Press.

Of course, Tygart never met a drug protocol that didn't impress him. He made similar comments about Lance Armstrong's PED protocol only a few months ago. 

Lance Armstrong's drug protocol was the “most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen,” USADA said in a statement.

Rodriguez is now the new king of PED use in Tygart's eyes.

Specific details about the steroids and PEDs used by Rodriguez emerged when a federal judge ordered the unsealing of the full text of independent arbitrator's decision in the Rodriguez appeals hearing. Fredric Horowitz's ruling supported Major League Baseball's decision to suspend Rodriguez for the entire 2014 season.

The document identified the following drugs as being used by Rodriguez: human growth hormone (hGH), GHRP 2, GHRP 6, CJC 1295, testosterone cream, testosterone troches and clomiphene citrate (Clomid); it also listed the following over-the-counter dietary supplements: L-glutathione cream, fish oil, melatonin, pregnenolone and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone).

Tygart was apparently dazzled by the number of substances included in Rodriguez's protocol. Armstrong's protocol consisted primarily of two drugs: testosterone and erythropoietin (EPO). But Rodriguez's protocol had many more drugs and, more importantly, it had a lot more drugs with impressive-sounding acronyms!

The assertion that Rodriguez's protocol may have been “the most potent and sophisticated drug program developed for an athlete” is laughable.

The use of peptides such as hGH and growth-hormone releasing peptides has become relatively commonplace among bodybuilders and athletes seeking to enhance their muscle growth, recovery and healing processes. Thousands of such individuals have likely experimented with similar combinations of hGH, GHRPs and CJC 1295. The use of these drugs isn't particularly sophisticated. It isn't particularly new. And it's certainly not among the most potent stacks being used by athletes.

The protocols designed by Bosch don't appear to be any more sophisticated than the peptide protocols regularly discussed on bodybuilding forums. The Bosch schedules and “phases” seem to be created more for the appearance of looking scientific rather than being particularly sophisticated.  

Since the MLB didn't administer any urine or blood tests that could detect the use of these substances, Bosch and Rodriguez didn't even have to concern themselves with avoiding detection.

As far as the addition of testosterone is concerned, athletes (and anti-doping researchers) have known about the so-called “testosterone loophole” for over two decades. Quite simply, drug-tested athletes can get away with using (fast-acting) testosterone at certain dosages and certain delivery methods.

And with regard to the over-the-counter dietary supplements recommended by Bosch, the performance-enhancing effects are questionable.

Given the common knowledge that peptides are largely undetectable and the existence of the “testosterone loophole”, it would not be a surprise to learn that such protocols are widespread in Major League Baseball (MLB) and other sports.

Source:

Litke, J. (January 14, 2014). Anti-doping expert says Alex Rodriguez used ‘potent cocktail of sophisticated PEDs’. Retrieved from //seattletimes.com/html/mariners/2022669916_doping15xml.html