Supplements not a steroid scapegoat, says senator

The sports industry should take full responsibility for abuse of performance-enhancing substances rather than blaming dietary supplements and government regulation, according to a Utah senator.

Senator Orrin Hatch this week published an op-ed in the Washington Post, which heavily criticizes sports players and unions for pointing to dietary supplements as a "preposterous" excuse for steroid use.

This kind of blame-dumping is not a first for the supplement industry. Dietary supplements have repeatedly taken a hit across many professional sports categories as they often have been blamed as a delivery system for banned substances - something industry says is misleading.

The actual situation, say industry advocates, is characterized by illegal substances masquerading as dietary supplements rather than legitimate dietary supplements using banned ingredients.