Posted on 02/28/2005 6:37:57 AM PST by areafiftyone
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has acknowledged using steroids during his years as a champion bodybuilder, said he doesn't regret using the performance-enhancing drugs.
In an interview broadcast Sunday, Schwarzenegger told ABC's George Stephanopoulos, "I have no regrets about it, because at that time, it was something new that came on the market, and we went to the doctor and did it under doctors' supervision."
Schwarzenegger has acknowledged taking steroids, but pointed out that they were legal at the time.
"We were experimenting with it. It was a new thing. So you can't roll the clock back and say, 'Now I would change my mind on this,'" he said, according to an excerpt posted on abcnews.com.
The former seven-time Mr. Olympia said he would not encourage drug use because it sent the wrong message to children. But he said he had no problem with athletes taking nutritional supplements and other legal substances to improve their performance.
The hysteria over steroids confuses me. Good for Arnold for saying, "Who cares?"
Exactly! I personally don't care what someone did in their past (except if it was criminal activity). What's done is done you can't go back and change it. Everyone learns from their mistakes and goes on!
As the father of a skinny 16 year old who plays high school football, I care.
As his father, isn't it your decision whether your child uses steroids?
of course Arnold saying that he doesn't condone it nowadays must be taken with a grain of salt....he regularly visits the mr. olympia and if you can find anyone there (contestant, vendor, fan, janitor) who doesn't "juice" i would be surprised.
Exactly! Wasn't it the 70's when he was competing? In the 70's doctors gave drugs out like candy.
I would say "Well, if I knew now what I knew then, I would probably not have taken them...I also would have invested in Apple and Microsoft too...so what's your point?"
Exactly.
Steroids were LEGAL when Arnold used them. And he got them from his doctor.
No apology needed Arnold.
He didn't. The closest one can reasonably come to that conclusion is that He said, "you shouldn't care about me having used them then". Or, in other words, media - please go pound sand. (I like that)
The hysteria over steroids confuses me.
If you think it is hysteria you are spending too much time w/ the MSM. On the other hand, rent a copy of "Friday Night Lights" and imagine one of those players is your kid and unregulated steroid use is readily available. Ever hear of Lyle Alzado?
He = he (oops)
I'm pretty sure Ronnie doesn't use steroids...(chortle under my breath). Personally I think body building is a pretty cool sport because of the extreme nature of it all. It's sort of like rock climbing or other extreme sports. These guys live bizarre lives, eating mountains of protein, lifting weights and yeah spending oodles of money on steroids so they can eat more and work out harder. Not a sport for everyone, for sure, but I sort of like it.
It will be interesting to see if Ronnie can hold on for another year. Won't that be the record if he gets another Sandow?
I've been trying to, but it's been sold out. I read the book when it came out in the early 90's. My oldest son does running, and the second one does gymnastics.
No, I've never heard of Lyle Alzado. And I never see the MSM ... only what's posted on Free Republic or Townhall. It seems like there's been a lot of coverage on steroid use recently.
My point, such as it is, is that an adult athlete is responsible if he decides to use an illegal substance in pursuit of sports success. A parent is responsible if his child does the same. The coverage and commentary I've seen has tended to obscure the personal responsibility of the user.
Not sure if it'll be a record. Don't know how many Haney had.
Rumor has it that the DEA is fixing to open up a can of whup-ass on the IFBB.
Now, there are likely to be a variety of opinions here at FR on steroid use. Some probably think it is bad and should be discouraged and outlawed.
But I do not think anyone can make the case rationally that steroid use bears one iota of resemblance to the illegal drugs which usually occupies the DEA's time.
To think that bodybuilders are like crack peddlers and should be subjected to the same brute force is truly beyond the pale.
There is not one shred of evidence that steroids leads to other drug use. I know our great President said that, but he's wrong. (not sarcastic, by the way...I like GWB).
If we love liberty at all, we should protest wildly if the DEA cracks down on bodybuilders and treats them like drug pushers/users who use addictive obviously destructive stuff.
At some point, we must simply resist this "it's all about the children" BS and say "no more nanny state".
Finally, GO RONNIE!
It's all about the zeitgeist. Because of the whole baseball thing, steroids are in the spotlight. Politicians will always take the easy score.
We need to differentiate between needs based medicine (e.g. treatment of hypertension) and wants based medicine (e.g. - plastic surgery, anabolic steroids). As long as informed consent is obtained for the latter, with all risks completely delineated, I see no reason why wants based medicince cannot be performed.
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