Ray Lewis PED Allegations (Merged)

[Paintballguy]

apparently it's not innocent until proven guilty anymore... smh

[RedSkins Fury]

This story looks like a heap of refuse, until proven otherwise.

I hope so... But where there's smoke, there's fire.

[RedSkins Fury]

apparently it's not innocent until proven guilty anymore... smh

That's only in the Court of Law. In general population, it's the opposite.

[Hammerhead]

So they've recorded him twice? Supposedly.

Why wouldn't they release the tape and the accusations at the same time?

The SI authors make it appear that they heard the tape and interviewed Ray about it -- and that he confirmed using SWATs (not deer antler spray specifically). There is no test that Ray failed for a banned substance and there is no definitive way to prove (absent video evidence, witness testimony or Ray's admission) that Ray used the spray. So we are going to be left with a mess where Ray cannot be suspended, the haters will continue to hate and the rest of us have to shake our heads at this bizarre story.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

The article says he called the guy after he tore his triceps against the Cowboys on October 14th.

David Epstein and George Dohrmann write that S.W.A.T.S. owner Mitch Ross recorded a phone conversation with Lewis after the linebacker's injury in October.

Hours after he tore his triceps during an Oct. 14 home game against the Cowboys, Ravens All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis and Ross connected on the phone. Again, Ross videotaped the call.

On the call, the two allegedly discuss the treatment that Lewis would undergo in order to return to the field as quickly as possible.

Ross prescribed a deluxe program, including holographic stickers on the right elbow; copious quantities of the powder additive; sleeping in front of a beam-ray light programmed with frequencies for tissue regeneration and pain relief; drinking negatively charged water; a 10-per-day regimen of the deer-antler pills that will "rebuild your brain via your small intestines" (and which Lewis said he hadn't been taking, then swallowed four during the conversation); and spritzes of deer-antler velvet extract (the Ultimate Spray) every two hours.

"Spray on my elbow every two hours?" Lewis asked.

"No," Ross said, "under your tongue."

Toward the end of the talk, Lewis asked Ross to "just pile me up and just send me everything you got, because I got to get back on this this week."

The deer-antler spray contains IGF-1, which is on the NFL's list of banned substances. Christopher Key - one of the S.W.A.T.S. guys - described the company's products to a group of Alabama football players before the BCS National Championship in 2012. He recorded the conversation.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/t...#ixzz2JOTC8a8s
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else

[NCRAVEN]

apparently it's not innocent until proven guilty anymore... smh

Welcome to the world we now live in.

Apparently if it's on the internet, it's true.

[GOTA]

So they've recorded him twice? Supposedly.

Why wouldn't they release the tape and the accusations at the same time?

What I don't get is why the reporter didn't see the videotape. The stripper told him that he videotaped the call with Ray Lewis. The reporter wrote that and what the stripper told him was on the tape but he never said that he actually viewed the tape. Why use a conversation from a video tape as a source and then not actually view that source?

[HoustonRaven]

You assume too much. This story looks like a heap of refuse, until proven otherwise.

Read the article.

I'm not assuming anything in terms of the SI report.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

What I don't get is why the reporter didn't see the videotape. The stripper told him that he videotaped the call with Ray Lewis. The reporter wrote that and what the stripper told him was on the tape but he never said that he actually viewed the tape. Why use a conversation from a video tape as a source and then not actually view that source?

He doesn't clearly state that he did or didn't actually hear the tape.

So I don't think anybody can jump on the reporter necessarily without someone asking him did he actually hear the tape.

[arnie_uk]

The article says he called the guy after he tore his triceps against the Cowboys on October 14th.

So by the author saying they allegedly said such and such, that means he hasn't heard the videotape? Surely they would want to here it for themselves rather than trusting the word of a former stripper who clearly wants to do everything he can to gain publicity for his product.

Wouldn't that be the logical and correct thing to do?

[arnie_uk]

He doesn't clearly state that he did or didn't actually hear the tape.

So I don't think anybody can jump on the reporter necessarily without someone asking him did he actually hear the tape.

Well he does say they allegedly..... I interpret that to be the swats guy has told the, what they talked about and he hasn't heard the convo himself.

That word allegedly is a key word.

[bt12483]

I hope so... But where there's smoke, there's fire.

Yeah, there is fire. The first line of the SI article reads:

This story appears in the Feb. 4, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated. Buy the digital version of the magazine here.

$$$$$


Also, has Singh been crucified by the PGA?

Vijay Singh, however, remains a vocal supporter. In November, Singh paid Ross $9,000 for the spray, chips, beam ray and powder additive -- making him one of the few athletes who is compensating S.W.A.T.S. He says he uses the spray banned by the PGA "every couple of hours . . . every day," sleeps with the beam ray on and has put chips on his ankles, waist and shoulders. "I'm looking forward to some change in my body," Singh says. "It's really hard to feel the difference if you're only doing it for a couple of months."

Also from the SI article:

Toward the end of the talk, Lewis asked Ross to "just pile me up and just send me everything you got, because I got to get back on this this week."

Did Lewis really say "this" twice, or is that a typo?

Apparently he said that just after the tear in the Cowboys game (Oct 14th). Clearly he didn't return the next week. In fact he was out for months.

Also apparently Hue Jackson was the point of contact for Ravens and SWATS, and also took their products with him to Oakland.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

Where are you guys getting this definite idea that he hasn't heard the tape?

Am I missing a quote where he clearly states that he didn't hear it and he is only quoting what Ross told him?

[GOTA]

So by the author saying they allegedly said such and such, that means he hasn't heard the videotape? Surely they would want to here it for themselves rather than trusting the word of a former stripper who clearly wants to do everything he can to gain publicity for his product.

Wouldn't that be the logical and correct thing to do?

Exactly. It just doesn't make sense that the reporter would confirm the evidence especially since all he has to do is listen to a tape.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

Well he does say they allegedly..... I interpret that to be the swats guy has told the, what they talked about and he hasn't heard the convo himself.

That word allegedly is a key word.

I get that, and we all want to believe this is on the up and up so we will use the words to say what we think we want them to say.

He could be saying allegedly because the reporter couldn't verify that it was Lewis on the other end.

It's a muddled mess.

[arnie_uk]

I get that, and we all want to believe this is on the up and up so we will use the words to say what we think we want them to say.

He could be saying allegedly because the reporter couldn't verify that it was Lewis on the other end.

It's a muddled mess.

aaa, didnt think of that, but wouldn't he say allegedly it was lewis on the phone and he said...

The wording to me is weird. He's worded it to avoid being sued. He doesn't say anything definitive in the article.

[GOTA]

Where are you guys getting this definite idea that he hasn't heard the tape?

Am I missing a quote where he clearly states that he didn't hear it and he is only quoting what Ross told him?

Because the reporter never states that he did hear it. What he writes is "Hours after he tore his triceps during an Oct. 14 home game against the Cowboys, Ravens All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis and Ross connected on the phone. Again, Ross videotaped the call."

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl...#ixzz2JOVm9QIe

Nowhere is there any confirmation that the reporter heard that conversation and isn't just writing down what he was told by the owner of the company. Why mention that it was videotaped and then not mention seeing it?

[NCRAVEN]

There's one big test at the beginning of the training camps. They test for everything. If you pass that one, you're good for the next year. Fail it, and you're subject to random testing.

It's the agreed upon process by the union and the league. He would have been better off taking hGH.

Is this still the case? I seriously don't know - did the two guys in Seattle (Browner and Sherman) or Jackson for us fail a test at the beginning of the year?

[Hammerhead]

It's a muddled mess.

Exactly. And we will never get to the bottom of it. The haters will still hate Ray. Ray will still play and the rest of us are going to have to figure out what to make of this, knowing that there will never be definitive evidence one way or another unless more evidence comes out.

[bt12483]

I get that, and we all want to believe this is on the up and up so we will use the words to say what we think we want them to say.

He could be saying allegedly because the reporter couldn't verify that it was Lewis on the other end.

It's a muddled mess.

It is amazing to me that a well-known magazine such as Sports Illustrated would let an article go out that has so many holes in it.

But hey, maybe to read the rest you have to buy it...