The story of Dr. James Shortt has been dormant for a while, but the upcoming installment of HBO’s “Costas Now” is alleging that there are four additional NFL players who received steroids from Dr. Shortt. If anyone cares to review the details, they can click here to read what I posted on April 1st with regards to this story.
What makes this story so interesting (the names of the players are inconsequential) is Dr. Shortt’s defense that he gave prescriptions to players for the medically legit and necessary reasons of healing and repair, and not for athletic performance.
Now, in addition to dispensing steroids, this Dr. Shortt has been accused of some pretty serious stuff. Two of his patients died allegedly because of his alternative therapies, so he’s not your typical, innocent small-town doctor. On the other hand, any person willing to deal in the steroid trade – doctors, lawyers, gym rats, athletes – are a little on the crazy side to begin with, so Dr. Shortt’s “eccentric” behavior comes with the territory.
Dr. Shortt’s alibi that his prescriptions were for healing and repair will be pretty easy to check out. The authorities will be able to find the dosage info and the refill rate associated with these prescriptions that can support, or refute, the good doctor’s contention.
For example, if the prescriptions for testosterone were written to be refilled every three months but in fact were refilled every month, it would be clear that the drug was being used at three times the prescribed dose, thereby casting doubt on Dr. Shortt’s version of events. However, if prescriptions were not only being written for the proper doses, but were being refilled during the proper time frame, Dr. Shortt is on somewhat firmer ground.
Also worth noting is that none of these NFL players have failed steroid-related drug tests, at least publically.
Why this is interesting is that Dr. Shortt is saying that professional football players who undergo tremendous amounts of mental and physical stress due to the rigors of their job need – i.e. have a medically valid reason – to be supplementing testosterone. And to my knowledge this is the first time that this “steroid defense” has been used.
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