Stem Cells are Bad, Mmkay?

This is definitely one of the weirdest sports-related stories I've heard in a while. It's almost something that Charlie Sheen in his tiger blood days would get pounded for. But as some of you guys are already familiar, Colts ailing QB Peyton Manning is currently in question after word got out that he took a private jet to Europe for stem-cell treatment in accordance to his injured neck. He's had three neck surgeries within 19 months and the treatment he sought for is not approved by the FDA here in the United States.

Are you serious?

What they tried doing for him--in my opinion--sounds pretty cool and innovative. Basically, the doctors just take stem cells from another part of his body and inject it into the injured area so that the good stem cells would multiply and eliminate the bad injured cells. Unfortunately, a controversy like this is all the more reason why the FDA hasn't approved of this treatment here because he supposedly had this treatment before he underwent his third neck surgery. In other words, it doesn't look like the treatment worked on him at all. Outsiders are seeing the foreign treatment as a last-ditch effort to get Manning back in the lineup, and I'm going to be honest, there's no way someone can say that it wasn't.

Meanwhile, fingers are being pointed because what Manning may have done is illegal. BUT, there hasn't been an official confirmation that this event actually happened. You see, there may be one person that has good news that wants to be spread and it doesn't happen, but there could be dirt from two or three reporters that spreads like wildfire. Why? Because it's national taboo and it's controversial. The fact that Manning was very adamant in wanting to come back to start the season isn't helping his innocence in any way, and this very story is just adding more frustration to Manning and the Colts team. The reason why I put the Colts in that previous statement is because Peyton had just recently signed a new deal and there's a huge chance that this year's salary may be going out the window due to Manning missing the rest of the season due to neck treatments. As more facts are coming to light about what secrets have been kept, we don't exactly know what other bad things might come out of this, such as you know...breaking government laws.

This whole thing just looks ugly. I don't exactly know what's going to happen here. If there is valid evidence that Peyton Manning underwent stem-cell treatment that is banned in the United States, there is a pretty hefty chance that he will face massive consequences for this. Are we talking jail right now? I have absolutely no idea. We've already had a football player jailed for dog fighting rings and shooting oneself in the leg [This will be covered in a later post], but for illegal medical treatment? I don't know. It could happen though. But for right now, Peyton might have made a boo-boo in wanting to come back to play. This is not going to look good on his track record, but only time is going to tell on how the NFL and FDA are going to handle this pickle.

--AZ