Did Manny Ramirez Taint The Game?
 Friday, May 8th, 2009  by Connie T.

The hope that Manny Ramirez is innocent of utilizing performance-enhancing drugs (or PED) is looking bleaker. The substance that Ramirez was using which showed in his urine samples, according to the New York Times, was human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a fertility drug for women.

Yahoo! Sports reported sources "close to Ramirez" claim the drug was prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction, not for athletic performance. But HCG is also used by athletes to regenerate testosterone after depleted levels due to steroid use, and/or restimulate the testicles; which could tell an even sadder story, that steroid use could have been prolonged over time. And a physician (who has not treated Ramirez) says that Viagra and Cialis are more commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, not HCG. Manny could have applied for therapeutic exemption through the MLB had he had a legitimate medical need for the drug.

He neither did this, nor opted to appeal the 50-game suspension.

Our MVP Cleveland Cavs player LeBron James was asked whether or not he was disappointed to hear about Manny's suspension. He stated, "Absolutely...Because you love the game, you never want to have someone taint the game or try to get an advantage by not doing things the right way. It's definitely bad, but hopefully baseball will get through it because it's a great sport."

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