James Newbury, 5th place finisher at the 2019 CrossFit Games and 4 x Australia’s Fittest man, recently posted a message to CrossFit Athletes that choose to take performance enhancing drugs.
“If you’re not gonna follow the rules, GO BACK to the sidelines where you belong.
This is a frustrating topic and even more so for the people who are robbed of the chance to compete or have the thrill of a podium spot taken away because of short-cutters. You have taken something away from someone that cannot be returned.
The earned opportunity to compete on the floor, the privilege to stand on the podium and the ability to celebrate all of their hard earned work because of your ego driven selfishness. It’s so simple. If you WANT to take illegal performance enhancing substances, you are NOT allowed to compete with the rest of us. Get it through your crazy brain.
I’m telling you there are tons of us at the top of every sport who are not cheating our way there.
We put in the hours, deal with the ups and downs and work harder to achieve our goals without exposing our bodies to abusive chemicals. For anyone out there that is contemplating using something to shortcut their way to the top, sit back, have a good hard think about your next actions over an Aloe Vera, spirulina, maca and Irish moss smoothie and I hope you’ll come to the conclusion that YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT!
Maybe then you’ll realise that all you need is a strong work ethic, sunshine, quality water, great sleep, a bit of resilience, probably some better friends and outstanding nutrition. Some athletic ability would go a long way too…… OR maybe go vegan? I don’t know 
I hope this message finds you well.”
Newbury recently suffered a bad accident that left him with a broken back and punctured lung.
The message is especially poignant considering that more athletes have recently been found guilty of breaching CrossFit’s policy.
Five More Athletes Fail Drug Tests at 2019 CrossFit Games
Learn more about PEDs.
10 Banned PEDs in Crossfit and How They Affect the Human Body