Are We Rushing To Judgment About James Toney?

I just heard a little while ago that James Toney was stripped of his heavyweight belt by the NY State Athletic Commission. Apparently, Toney failed a drug test, and Commission rules mandate that the challenger who wins a title fight and subsequently fails a drug test is immediately stripped of his title. Which means, the belt goes back to John Ruiz. But before everybody goes nuts about this, let's slow down a minute and really take a close look at what happened. That means you too, Norman Stone.

The substance James Toney tested positive for is an anabolic steroid called Nandrolone. As it happens, Nandrolone is found in many legal, over the counter supplements. It is also possible that Nandrolone can be naturally produced by the body. See the article Nandrolone Explained on the BBC Health web site. Further, it is also possible to test positive for the steroid if you've recently eaten a large quantity of meat contaminated with it. Somehow, the thought of James Toney eating large quantities of meat does not strike me as being at all unusual. Nor does the idea that the meat we regularly buy and eat has been shot up full of hormones, antibiotics, and steroids.

Consider this article by University of Bristol Senior Lecturer Paul May, who writes:

The findings are that dietary supplements themselves are harmless and produce no increased levels of nandrolone. Exercise alone, too, doesn't cause any problems. But a combination of both dietary supplements (none of which contain a banned substance) and exercise, can result in a positive nandrolone test. The reason for this is still unclear, but one theory is that there is a link between heavy training, the dehydration that goes with it, and their effects upon the components of high protein diets. Until more work is done, however, the 'nandrolone mystery' goes on...

The fact is, Nandrolone the substance is nothing new. Atheletes testing positive for Nandrolone is nothing new. And athletes who have later been cleared of wrongdoing after testing positive for Nandrolone? You guessed it. Nothing new. I would suggest that, given Nandrolone's track record for erroneously fouling up athelete's careers and reputations, maybe we should give James Toney the benefit of the doubt, and a chance to prove he is innocent of wrongdoing. Doesn't a Champion deserve at least that much?