It appears that our society has so lost its way in matters of right versus wrong and following and respecting the rules that this issue has become clouded. People are actually writing and saying that it's no big deal that Miguel Tejada lied to federal investigators.
The argument for and against the use of these substances is secondary to the issue that the use of the substances isn't allowed. Whether or not there are tests that can be given to detect use, if MLB says testosterone supplementation is not allowed, whether players get tested or not, if they use it they are cheating. And by the effort and energy expended by athletes so as not to get caught using, or admit using, it’s easy to see that these people themselves know that what they were doing was wrong.
There is a debate that can be held regarding the merits of using PEDs. There is a reason for a discussion that deals with the fact that a non-athlete might be able to make use of a breakthrough therapy, where the pro athlete cannot. From a public health standpoint people do need to know what the ramifications are of taking something like HGH.
However, these issues are different than the issue at hand. The governing bodies of sport have the obligation and right to determine the conditions under which participants compete, and that anyone who willfully breaks these rules is cheating and subject to discipline.
Join me on my talk show Performance Enhancing Radio every Tuesday at 8PM EST to discuss the issue.
Article comments
1 - gr
You are correct here. The moral argument should stand on its own: PEDs are cheating. However as you point out writers (as the writer you referred to in the text) appear not to have moral boundaries. Add the lack of moral guidance to distorted understanding of the physical and medical issues, and you have a dangerous situation where the inmates will run the asylum, based on misunderstandings of the facts.
This is disturbing (from the piece referred to above:
"I take cortisone, a steroid, to keep my shoulder and back from screaming. I had Lasik surgery, lasering my eyes, to improve my vision. But with your arbitrary moralities, you are blurring the line for me so much between what is allegedly natural and allegedly unnatural that not even those Lasik lasers help me unblur it. There is no sense of proportionality here. The difference between pain-killers such as cortisone and healers such as HGH isn't nearly as large as the difference between how you react to the former and the latter."
In this writer's view, the banning of HGH and anabolic steroids is 'arbitrary'. I guess he reviewed the entire medical literature to find out that HGH is a 'healing' drug.
I also wonder if he reviewed the literature on how many people who underwent Lasik surgery murdered their families then suicided? Does Lasik surgery cause aggressiveness, liver damage, and cardiac compromise? Steroids and HGH do. These arguments confuse the issues with the facts.
There is a great movement to ignore and subvert the ethical rules of the games. That movement depends upon making up medical facts, or simply ignoring them. It is remarkable that a journalism can take on the mantle of medical expert, moral philosopher, and Constitutional law scholar without any expert training.
Such is society these days. It is up to health professionals, and ethical sportsmen to take back the world perverted by the drug cheats and their apologists.
If not, welcome to a world where legitimate sports looks much like the corrupt fantasy world of pro wrestling. Perhaps Rambo can be elected president in that world...
2 - Jon Haltom
Fabulous article and a great debate started by the previous commenter.
When there are a set of rules in place, they should be followed and enforced. Isn't baseball a three strikes and your out game.
The debate on the usefulness of hgh is a seperate subject. Who cares what Rambo does as long as he is not breaking any laws. I believe that the previous writer is wrong about hgh causing liver damage.
Almost all the side effects of human growth hormone are the result of intentional, abusive, overdosing.
Great stuff. I will be a frequent reader.
3 - sal m
thanks....keep checking in.
4 - The Haze
Another solid article Sal.Can anyone give a round figure of when the breakdown of morals in this country started? I say it festered in the 70's,bloomed in the 80's and burst wide open in the 90's. Cheating has become so prevalent in our society that kids actually believe it's okay to do(as long as you don't get caught)! and if you do get caught.....what happens anyway? There are no consequences for bad behavior, on the contrary, it's kewl too be bad! I can remember when you played a game and cheated,you forfeited that game(see New England Patriots 18-0).What kind of message is this sending to our youth of today? Christ, we have cheerleader moms looking to take out their kids opposition! What a sad self portrait we have painted of ourselves. American Gothic indeed.
5 - Hairynipples
Excellent article, but I will comment more after I Google Roberto Luongo to see if he is really a hockey player. Nice job digging deep to keep Hockey in the top sport pool. Was Golf linked to PEDs before even Hockey in the national eye? Sorry, I keep sliding into a side story of "is Hockey really a major sport?". Another day perhaps.
Is an NHL scandle of PED use akin to a tree falling in the forrest but no one is there to hear it.......
6 - Jesseeejames
Great Article. Cheating is cheating, regardless of anyone's personal opinion. PEDs are banned for a reason. Anyone caught taking them should be punished. An athlete caught using PEDs should face the same consequences as someone who is caught with illegal drugs such as marijuana, or as anyone caught breaking the rules. Admitting that you used PEDs does not clear you of being a cheater. There is NO excuse for cheating.
7 - jake
it was pretty snazy
8 - jason
It was a rather spify article, but there are a few misques, first of all i have been doing steriods for over twenty years now, i have not beeen in trouble yet. My boobs are always hurting though. Im am going to sue this company for making my boobs hurt. I like guys :)