LeBron James is without a doubt, and with the permission of Kobe Bryant, the best basketball player of the 21st century. In addition, he has a charisma that leaves no one indifferent, for better or for worse, which has earned him many ‘haters’ and opponents. In this sense, his performance on the court has never been in question… until now.
Chael Sonnena former Ultimate Force Championship (UFC) fighter, the most prestigious mixed martial arts company on the planet, has been in charge of casting a shadow of doubt on the physical capabilities of a wonder like LeBron, and has attacked the player Los Angeles Lakers accusing him of injecting himself with EPO to show off that musculature and demonstrate that resistance on the court at 38 years old
“we have the same camel, so I know exactly what it takes. EPO increases the amount of red blood cells in the blood, which gives you more resistance in the match. It’s the King in performance enhancers” Sonnen assured this week, that implicitly acknowledged having consumed the same substance with which it relates to LeBron, although in the UFC the prohibitions in this regard are relatively more lax.
In the world of sport, the use of this substance is not sporadic, no matter how doping is persecuted and severely punished internationally. Without going any further, it is not necessary to leave the United States to find Lance Armstrong and his 7 Tour de Franceall invalidated since the day he admitted, in 2013, to having used EPO, testosterone and blood transfusions.
“They got some performance enhancers, like the world understands what LeBron did. It’s like other basketball players listen to what LeBron is doing and say ‘yeah, that doesn’t matter…’“, coined the now retired fighter, questioning the great status of LeBron James permanently, which has become commonplace over the years, while some still wonder how he makes it possible.
The answer can be found outside by looking at the performance of Fernando Alonso with 41 yearsthe one of Cristiano Ronaldo until recently also with 38, like LeBron. What is indisputable is that the Lakers star invests every second of every day in caring for, maintaining and enhancing his body, and that his work discipline is incredible, a common denominator with the aforementioned athletes.
Even so, it is never possible to completely dispel those questions that sometimes come up about performance-enhancing drugs, a serious insinuation like the one this former UFC fighter makes. Doping has always been one of the most thorny and disappointing scourges of sport. The dark side of an activity, a way of life and in many cases, the most serious, a profession, which must always be persecuted and harshly punished.