At times professional athletes can be portrayed as being invincible because of the amazing things they are able to do in their respective sports, but there are also times when injuries or a dip in form can render them vulnerable and that’s when a usually bad idea can seem like an almost irresistible option.
According to a story via Pro Basketball Talk, former NBA player Tracy McGrady told the guys on NBA TV’s Open Court, that while struggling to make his way back from the knee injuries that plagued him, he considered taking performance-enhancing drugs as a means to get back to the player he used to be.
“I’ve never said this to nobody,” McGrady said. “Because I was playing at such a high level for so many years, and when I had my knee injury, I was doing everything in my will power to get back to that level. Naturally, I couldn’t do it. Because I just didn’t have the strength, I didn’t have the confidence, and I just didn’t believe that I was going to get there doing it naturally.
“I actually considered — I considered — getting an advantage. And whatever that was, doing it illegally … I considered that to get back.”
Check the video out here:
As fans looking from the outside in, it’s sometimes easy to look down on athletes who take PEDs without considering the pressures they’re facing to perform at a consistently high level or provide for their families. It’s not something we can identify or sympathize with so it’s easy to judge but that doesn’t mean it’s any less real to them.