Arnold has jumped on the bandwagon to aggressively control the use of illegal drugs in bodybuilding.
He obviously is not going to make a stand. He obviously has no ethical grounding on the matter. He simply says it was ok for him to use
AAS in bodybuilding because they were legal. But it is not ok now for bodybuilders to use
AAS because they are illegal. He completely ignores the question of whether the
AAS laws are just in the first place.
It was quite hypocritical to make his statements up on stage while standing next to
Dexter Jackson and awarding him a trophy.
Stronger stand: Schwarzenegger calls for summit, more testing for illegal drugs
- Carla Marinucci and Edward Epstein, Chronicle Political Writers
Sunday, March 6, 2005
Columbus, Ohio -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, reacting to growing criticism about pro bodybuilding's connections to steroids, pledged Saturday to "be all over the situation'' of illegal drug use in the sport and called for "a summit" of promoters, athletes and magazine publishers to develop tougher drug testing and enforcement to discourage steroid use.
"I have made it clear that we have to step up the testing, and find other ways to be more aggressive'' in controlling illegal drug use in the bodybuilding industry, Schwarzenegger said.
Using more definitive language, he reiterated his call for tougher testing of steroids and other illegal substances Saturday night as he spoke to a crowd of 4000 at the Veteran's Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio, where he was crowning the winner of the men's pro body-building event called the Arnold Classic. "We are dealing with a sport called bodybuilding, not body destroying," he said, for the first time dealing directly with this issue to a constituency of bodybuilders and hard-core fans, who responded with a smattering of applause.
"We need to do even more to get drugs from our sport, once and for all."
This comment was met with stone silence.
The winner of the Arnold Classic, who will be taking home $100,000 and a Hummer, was
Dexter Jackson, 35, from Jacksonville, Fla. Asked about the governor's proposal, Jackson, who weighs 230 pounds, said, "It would be good," adding that he has never used steroids.
The governor, in an interview with reporters, also spoke briefly about political events at home, saying he would continue to pursue his effort in court to block a reduction in nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals, and will "go the distance" in his efforts to press political reform at the ballot box.
Schwarzenegger said he met Friday at the three-day fitness and sports festival he sponsors in Columbus with officials of the International Federation of BodyBuilders and the editors of leading bodybuilding magazines to discuss tougher action.
The California governor, a bodybuilding icon who is executive editor of two leading bodybuilding magazines -- Muscle & Fitness and Flex -- also said he would insist that his publications deliver a consistent anti-drug message and reject advertising that appears to encourage illegal drug use.
"I think the magazine has not been aggressive in this area, either,'' the governor said Saturday. "I'm going to make sure that our sport and our magazine will do their share to fight it. The problem really is that we want to get rid of the drugs -- period.
"I will do everything; and I have done a lot -- but obviously, I have to do more in order to find ways'' to weed them out, he said.
Schwarzenegger said one way to discourage steroid use could be to make changes in rules for pro bodybuilding competitions that would reward participants more for style, physique and proportion rather than merely huge body mass.
Schwarzenegger made the comments at his fitness festival, which he and a partner have run since 1989. The event showcases about 20 sports and draws 100,000 people and 14,000 athletes to Columbus each year. It is highlighted by the "Arnold Classic" pro bodybuilding competition.
The California governor's continued high-profile participation in the event has raised questions about whether he should do more to influence tougher testing in professional bodybuilding, a sport he is credited with developing into a huge and profitable international venue.
While acknowledging problems of steroid use among competitors, Schwarzenegger also insisted that "I'm extremely proud of this sport'' because he said it has had an overwhelmingly positive influence on fitness and lifestyle.
Now, he said, "the issue is to inspire young people ... and tell them to stay away from drugs.''
Schwarzenegger created a sensation Saturday by walking through the cavernous Columbus Convention Center, visiting booths hawking where nutritional goods and fitness wear. Through the day, he was mobbed by thousands of cheering fans as he signed autographs, posed for photos, and greeted athletes involved in activities ranging from martial arts to cheerleading and swing dance.
But Schwarzenegger was also greeted Saturday by a full-page ad in the Columbus Dispatch paid for by California nurses, who with colleagues from the Columbus area protested noisily outside the Arnold Classic.
The nurses' ad, headlined "Kicking Butt or Kissing Up?'' charged the governor had put special interests over the interests of California's health care, and that he was guilty of "cash register politics on steroids.''
The nurses last week won a key legal victory when a judge called Schwarzenegger's actions to overturn nurse-patient ratios an illegal act. But Schwarzenegger appeared at ease with that decision, saying he was convinced he had done the right thing.
"If I had listened to any of the sideshows throughout my career, I never would have accomplished anything I wanted to accomplish,'' he said. "I love nurses. They saved my butt. I was in the hospital three times.
"It's nothing against nurses. It's that I cannot keep (the patient-nurse) ratio'' because of costs. "The people know, and they're very clear, that we need budget reform and we cannot continue the way we're going.''
The governor's statements brought an angry reaction from Malinda Markowitz, a representative of the nurses association. "I'm shocked,'' she said. "He doesn't respect the nurses ... and he's trying to get himself out of a hole. He needs to understand that union is not a bad word, and the nurses are the union. They're working people.''
Schwarzenegger's Aggressive Effort to Rid Bodybuilding of Steroids 
Linear Mode
