For anyone willing to pay attention and who is interested in learning about the issue of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sports, these are very interesting times. New aspects of this story are revealed daily and as a result the sports world will never be the same, and will never be viewed in the same way again.
Steroids Are Worse Than Gambling. I’ve been saying and writing this for years, but replace the word “steroids” with the word “gambling” in any of the news accounts dealing with Major League baseball’s pernicious problem and there would be universal dismay resulting in total chaos. Players on steroids, human growth hormone (HGH), and other PEDs have done more to alter the product on the field than any gambling scandal has, or ever could. The 104 players who tested positive for PEDs in 2003, and every player who has used for the past 20 years, have done immeasurable damage to the game.
Pete Rose’s sins pale in comparison to what Jason Giambi, Eric Gagne, Paul LoDuca, and friends have done. The actions of these drug cheats sent a ripple effect throughout the game that affected pennant races, award recognitions, and salary negotiations. Baseball is desperate to avoid any more revelations, as more instances of drug use will serve to further erode the legitimacy of any statistics compiled over the past 20 years.
Drugs-Free Olympics/Sports Not Possible. There’s been a lot of talk about the new anti-doping pilot program being conducted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that is drawing blood regularly from volunteer athletes in order to conduct a longitudinal study and create an athlete’s “passport.” The thinking is that if the authorities can see a long-term picture of an athlete’s levels based on blood and urine tests they will be able to see fluctuations that will reveal PED use. Nice try. It’s a great idea and the only way to catch drug cheats, but this approach will never be implemented, as it is personally invasive and will never stand up to scrutiny in court. There is no way the authorities will be given the responsibility to collect this kind of sensitive information. And as athletes looking to get an edge use the next generation of drugs and therapies, there’s no guarantee that this longitudinal testing would be effective.
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