A former Nevada State Athletic Commission Medical Advisory Board Chairman and Chief Ringside Physician, Dr. Margaret Goodman has a private practice as a neurologist in Las Vegas, Nev., but worked more than 400 professional bouts as a ringside physician.
FH: Boxing uses urinalysis to test fighters for illegal drugs, but when did the sport initially begin testing specifically for steroids?
Goodman: That was proposed by [Then-commissioner] Flip Homansky at the time, and I think that it started in 2001 as a pilot program. There was a time where fighters were being educated. So it was in 2001 that the individuals were notified, and then in 2002 the testing was actually begun more uniformly.
FH: Did you feel that the testing was successful?
Goodman: The problem is that you know that fighters are smart, and the people that handle them are smart. Not to say that there are a lot of cheaters out there. Now, we're just talking about anabolic steroids.
But those that were using, often the drugs would be out of their system so that when there was a fighter that was caught, it wasn't necessarily because the testing was so fabulous, and that it's so pervasive, and we're doing the right drug-testing, etc., but because somebody didn't stop using the drugs in time.
FH: Was blood-testing ever considered for implementation by the Nevada Commission during your tenure?
Goodman: Blood-testing, number one, it's not convenient. You would have to have a doctor or a certified technician or a nurse draw the blood. There is more risk of infection, you have to worry about handling it the correct way. So it would take a lot more to draw blood, but for most things, urine tests are adequate.
But if you want to check for everything that you need to check for, given the current situation of drugs that are being abused by athletes to enhance their performances, then you should check for everything that you can check for, which does include things that can only be checked in the blood.
Uniform drug testing in boxing didn't start until 2002, wtf?
FH: Boxing uses urinalysis to test fighters for illegal drugs, but when did the sport initially begin testing specifically for steroids?
Goodman: That was proposed by [Then-commissioner] Flip Homansky at the time, and I think that it started in 2001 as a pilot program. There was a time where fighters were being educated. So it was in 2001 that the individuals were notified, and then in 2002 the testing was actually begun more uniformly.
FH: Did you feel that the testing was successful?
Goodman: The problem is that you know that fighters are smart, and the people that handle them are smart. Not to say that there are a lot of cheaters out there. Now, we're just talking about anabolic steroids.
But those that were using, often the drugs would be out of their system so that when there was a fighter that was caught, it wasn't necessarily because the testing was so fabulous, and that it's so pervasive, and we're doing the right drug-testing, etc., but because somebody didn't stop using the drugs in time.
FH: Was blood-testing ever considered for implementation by the Nevada Commission during your tenure?
Goodman: Blood-testing, number one, it's not convenient. You would have to have a doctor or a certified technician or a nurse draw the blood. There is more risk of infection, you have to worry about handling it the correct way. So it would take a lot more to draw blood, but for most things, urine tests are adequate.
But if you want to check for everything that you need to check for, given the current situation of drugs that are being abused by athletes to enhance their performances, then you should check for everything that you can check for, which does include things that can only be checked in the blood.
Uniform drug testing in boxing didn't start until 2002, wtf?
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