When they start keeping records for Wall Street geeks and network talking heads, then caffeine and face lifts will matter.
What about the children who try to emulate professional athletes? That is what I'd consider the most important reason to ban the use of steroids. If children know that professional athletes can use steroids to enhance their abilities, children will obtain these steroids to enhance their performance. They do it now, if the use of steroids by professional athletes is not stopped, then their use by children will dramatically increase.
The damage done to adults can be severe. The damage done to children could be catastrophic. Do we really want children with superior physcial abilites who die in their teens or early twenties from the use of steroids, or any other banned or illegal substance?
besides their testicles shrinking to the size of raisens.....nothing i guess
and what was wrong with creative people being on drugs...
The big problem is that college kids will have to take steroids to make it to the big league and then high school kids will have to take steroids to get a college to notice them.
I agree. I think using performance-enhancing drugs, to the detriment of long-term health, shows a commitment to the sport rarely seen these days. These guys are, literally, sacrificing their bodies to be the best they can be. What's so wrong about that? If the other athletes don't have the guts to "man" up, to do whatever it takes to win, I don't see how they can cry "not fair." The same steroids are available to them, as much as they want, whenever they want. I say legalize them all down to the high school level, and let's sit back and enjoy these amazing feats of sport, performed at levels only dreamed of fifty years ago.
PLAY BALL!
Steroids allow you to get better results with little effort. There is nothing admirable in it. It's the same as improving golf or tennis results simply by using better equipment, and is in contrast to athletes who do better because of better training regimens and diets, which require discipline and effort.
Thinking about it in an economic model John Lott might appreciate, steroids dilute the ability of athletes to signal effort, because you can obtain good results with less work (or less skill, for that matter). In some fundamental sense what we are paying to see are skill and effort. Steroids thus dilute the value of competition.
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH PLAYERS ON STEROIDS?"
Think about it. If steroids were legal, any athlete who participated in proffesional sports would have no choice but to take steroids in order to stay competitive. Any player not on steroids would be so substandard in their performance they would be unplayable. Thus, proffesional sports would eventually become a freak show featuring impotent, deformed and mindless freaks who's only purpose on earth is to play for the entertainment of normal humans.
Because they are low-life cheaters with no honor, none at all.
Isn't that obvious?
It's cheating. There used to be a day when cheating was shameful and sportsmanship was king. What happened to those days?
Giambi hit 2 home runs in game 7 of the ALCS last year agains the Red Sox. The Yankees would not have gone to the World Series without those runs. Would we have the same result if Giambi were not taking illegal performance enhancing drugs? Maybe or maybe not, but there is no way to tell. Therefore, every player must be on the same level.
Very simple. The players are human beings who have families and lives to live - not cloned beings for the viewing pleasure of sports nuts.
Nothing if they put an asterik by Barry Bonds name if he beats Hank Aaron's home run record of 744 home runs and his single season record of 71 home runs, stating "chemically enhanced".
My husband is the sports nut, not me. However, I would much rather cheer for that player that has sacrificed certain things to get there, versus someone who popped a pill and got muscles as a result. Thats just me.
Why not allow corked bats ? Anyone who doesn't understand the difference between natural talent and drug enhanced talent has a screw loose.
Those who wish to play the sport but are not prepared to fill their bodies with drugs are effectively excluded. Unless of course, they are prepared to play second fiddle to the juiced up supermen who surround them and don't mind getting their butts kicked, week in and week out.
Performance enhancing drugs take sport one further step away from its original purpose.
Good question?
/sarcasm
A couple cups of coffee or tea a day isn't going to do great harm to you, in general. A couple hits of steroids a day, however, will cause damage, and that damage can be tremendous.
As to Ritalin and the other stuff you mentioned, I would say those aren't the smartest choices either.