The battle over steroids and other medical drug use in sports has been around for decades, moving from a laughable issue in the 70's to a full fledged argument today. Entire careers and records have been shattered and tainted beyond repair by the use of anabolic steroids, yet the practice continues even today. When I think about the possible TRUE number of athletes who use steroids who just haven't been caught yet, I can't help but shudder. What we see as a settled issue may just be the tip of the iceberg, and we're not out of the woods yet. While steroids have been a thorn in the side of the MLB in the past several decades, they have afflicted all sports in some degree.
What I see as the real issue here is not the drugs themselves, because steroids do have a lot of practical medical uses that can change lives, I'm seeing a bigger issue with the athletes themselves and the culture they live in, one that promotes winning at all costs.
In this sort of supremacist society, there is no shortage of people willing to do whatever it takes to get tat extra edge, and in a super competitive training camp setting, many players will do what they need to to stay ahead of the competition. For many athletes, the fame and fortune in front of them outweighs any possible negative consequences and makes taking steroids that much easier.
An interesting topic of discussion has surfaced recently in this debate with the notion of allowing steroids and other drug use in all sports settings and trying to regulate the process instead of trying to stop it. Theoretically, this would allow Brett Favre to play around 15 more years in the NFL, so right then and there, this idea loses my support. However, the proposed plan brings up some interesting ideas. Would we see the majority of pro athletes take advantage of this law and use the drugs, or would most stay clean? You have the "good guys", the Tim Tebows and the Peyton Mannings of the world, who would probably not take the pills, and then you have the notorious roid-heads like Jose Canseco and Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire, guys who popped more pills in one week than the entire cast of The Matrix.
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| C'mon Morpheus, no more fooling around. Both colors, I want your entire supply. |
If players are going to find ways to take the drugs regardless of current rules, would it be better to change our stance and attempt to regulate, control and potentially profit from this habit? Some players would benefit from using certain drugs to recover from injuries and prolong their careers just a little bit longer. The level of competition would be raised as a majority of players reached all new levels of physical fitness, which could make the game more entertaining. Are we willing to open the flood gates to potential problems to reap the benefits that come with drug use in sport? How far will sports fans allow the game to stretch and still watch?
Just because an idea is new and revolutionary doe not make it a good idea, and I think this plan falls into that category. Allowing athletes to use steroids opens up a whole new can of worms, and the sports world is not set up to handle those sort of issues. If we allow steroid use on the premise of making money, it will just further cement the growing belief that sports is, and always has been about money.
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