Dee Gordon, a current middle infielder for the Seattle Mariners was suspended for 80 games in 2016 for the use of banned substances. As reported on ESPN.com, the speedy second baseman tested positive for the performance-enhancing substances exogenous testosterone and clostebol, MLB said. A league source told ESPN’s Jayson Stark that Gordon tested positive during spring training. In a statement made by Gordon, he stated that he did not knowingly take the substances and claimed that it must have been included in something that he ingested. However, he also made the statement that he felt that he let his teammates down while apologizing and accepting the punishment. Now to the average person, one would not simply accept a punishment that they had no absolutely no dealings with, which would lead you to believe that he knew in some form or fashion.
Gordon’s suspension could come as a bit of a surprise to most since he was not the typical player seek strength and power to knock balls out the park. Instead he sought to get base hits and use his speed and get the advantage through base running which is where his nickname Flash Gordon came from. What could have led him to use PEDs if he was not seeking out the power to become a home run legend? It is possible that he felt he needed it to become even better after having a breakout year in 2015. If that is the case the risk was not worth it, but to his luck, another team was willing to take a chance on him.
Ryan Upshaw
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/15425125/dee-gordon-miami-marlins-banned-80-games-peds-violation
Group 4-Sport Management Seminar 