Islanders share opinions on 'roids

BY GREG LOGAN | greg.logan@newsday.com

December 16, 2007

Former Islanders defenseman Sean Hill became the first and so far only player suspended under the NHL's policy against performance-enhancing drugs during the playoffs in April, so the Isles have been paying close attention to baseball's burgeoning steroids scandal.

"I think it's cheating," defenseman Brendan Witt said yesterday. "I would have been the last to think it was in hockey, but obviously, there was a guy last year and he was on our team. You never know until that urine test comes back.

"When I see what's going on in baseball, it kind of sickens me. You've got a lot of role models that kids have looked up to on this list. These poor kids now think that to get ahead in life, you have to cheat, and hard work is not rewarded. It's sad."

Recalling his reaction when informed of Hill's failed test before Game 5 of their first-round playoff loss in Buffalo, coach Ted Nolan said, "I was more shocked than anything. He still claims he didn't do it, and you take a guy for his word. But I just don't believe there's any room for any kind of enhancing supplement for any sport. You see what happened to baseball, and it's a disgrace. We have a wonderful game. We don't need those type of things."

Rick DiPietro expressed skepticism about the primary sources for MLB's Mitchell Report who admitted supplying drugs to the players they named. "You're talking about hearsay from two individual guys who, from what I hear, were worried about going to jail," the goaltender said. "Everyone's innocent until proven guilty."

But Witt believes there's good reason to doubt the authenticity of the improved performance of players such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens so late in their careers. "We all know the human body after 35 is supposed to lose muscle mass, not gain it," Witt said. "I would hope they put an asterisk by their records or if they go in the Hall of Fame, especially when you look at '98, with all those homers that were hit. You realize that everyone was tainted with steroids.

"Guys are going to make the case that it wasn't against the rules at the time, but I look at it that you're putting something foreign in your body that gives you an advantage. It's black and white. You're cheating."