Steroid talk

[S2M]

I'm gonna break this down, but I'm sure gonna get almost 100% detractors on this stance....

First I'd like to ask WHY steroids are illegal. I hear fans clamor every day about how taking steroids is 'cheating', NOT that they are harmful to the taker.

And furthermore, if the main thing against steroids, in the fans' eyes, is that they enhance performance(read cheating) then one can only conclude that Cortisone should be a banned substance as well. Although not illegal, cortisone enhances performance. You got a wacky knee? Here's a shot of cortisone. Result: Tomorrow I can play on that shotty knee. Extrapolating, cortisone is cheating....

thank you for your time.....

Almost 100% of what the government states is illegal is only illegal because the govt doesn't get their cut of the profits....'nuff said!

[Ehwmatt]

I don't know enough about the biology behind them to make some big case against them and the specific reasons why they are illegal. I know the generalities and physical problems from roid use, but I'll defer to someone better informed than me on that subject.

But, the fact is, they are illegal and they do grant an unfair advantage to those who choose to break the rule over those who don't. The cortisone analogy is compelling but it's just not quite there for me... there's a world of difference between correcting an injury and taking something to allow you to recover at a superhuman rate versus your competitors.

I think that by and large, we still value integrity and honesty in sport (one of the few places we still do), and to many, myself included, the integrity of allowing the combination of hard work and natural ability (i.e., not enhanced by drugs) to better oneself is an attractive part of sports. Yes, there are biological deficiencies and advantages among competitors.

I'm 5'8", I had to play tennis in college instead of basketball, the other sport I love... Even in tennis, the trend is moving towards taller players (a 6'7 guy just won the US Open... you hardly see anyone under 6' out there having success today). I had some marked disadvantages over the taller guys I played... but some big advantages too (bend knees easier, mobility, agility). That's what makes sports fun... being able to pick apart your opponent and his weaknesses, using your strengths to your advantage.

Yes, some guys have ridiculous biological traits (Phelps' body for swimming comes to mind... and yes, Manny's NATURAL hitting ability) and that's luck of the draw. That's something to be marveled at. That's why we watch pro sports - to live vicariously through these superhuman athletes. They are incredibly gifted and we want to see something better and bigger than anything we could ever achieve for ourselves in these players. Part of that rush comes from knowing that these guys are just simply natural physical specimens who have honed their abilities through hard work and natural means. Find out these guys are taking drugs to get there and all of a sudden maybe they aren't so impressive. The other side of that is that it's disappointing to see someone who indeed has SO MUCH natural ability like Manny, one of the best hitters of all time, to be implicated. He didn't need that shit!

Knowing that these guys used artificial means to get there takes away the thrill factor of it - and there's no question about many of the cases, like your own Big Papi. He's a joke! It'd be one thing if the steroids didn't have a noticeable impact, but when the whole way a sport is played on account of illegal doping, it robs the sport of its essence.

Edit: Admittedly, the line gets blurred when you start putting vitamin supplements, protein shakes, and all that kind of stuff into the equation, especially when the legends of yesteryear didn't have access to this kinda stuff. But, if David Ortiz can be the player he once was popping a Centrum Gold and some Magnesium and a Whey Shake once a day, more power to him...

Edit 2: And I guess that above point kinda sums up the whole cortisone analogy and why it doesn't work for me. It's not going to enable someone to perform past their abilities. And I'm just using Manny and Ortiz as examples because (1) I know you know about them and (2) They both knocked my 07 Tribe out of a near-sure WS win . I know there are plenty of players out there to serve as perfect case studies.

[Voyager]

I say they should create a sport where the players can take any drug they want to and then compete. Then they can put any of the players in regular sports who get caught drugging into this special league.

May the highest person lose.

[strangegrey]

My arguments on steroids are well documented and I have zero interest in redebating it. In my eyes, it's 100% cheating...and my opinion is that MLB failed to act using the 'good of the game' clause to fix this problem.
Anyone even remotely associated with steroids by word or action, should have been thrown out on his ass....just like pete rose.


As for cortisone...it should be included...and caffeine, cold medicine, mild stimulants should not be. No one said the current rules are perfect (far from it)....

But I'll say this about Cortisone. Use it with caution....it does nothing to 'repair' an injury. It merely masks the injury. You keep taking that shot to get through a game....and it will result in significant structural damage to an arm. So really, it doesn't help, long run....the way human growth hormone or Steroids do....

[Ehwmatt]

My arguments on steroids are well documented and I have zero interest in redebating it. In my eyes, it's 100% cheating...and my opinion is that MLB failed to act using the 'good of the game' clause to fix this problem.
Anyone even remotely associated with steroids by word or action, should have been thrown out on his ass....just like pete rose.


As for cortisone...it should be included...and caffeine, cold medicine, mild stimulants should not be. No one said the current rules are perfect (far from it)....

But I'll say this about Cortisone. Use it with caution....it does nothing to 'repair' an injury. It merely masks the injury. You keep taking that shot to get through a game....and it will result in significant structural damage to an arm. So really, it doesn't help, long run....the way human growth hormone or Steroids do....

Oh yea, my buddy in college kept gettin cortisone in his knee to make it through his senior season... he's a big dude and his knee was fucked up really bad for a while on the account of his masking the pain.

[strangegrey]

Oh yea, my buddy in college kept gettin cortisone in his knee to make it through his senior season... he's a big dude and his knee was fucked up really bad for a while on the account of his masking the pain.

Yeah, Cortisone is nothing more than a crutch that will make problems worse if over used...so it's not the same as human growth hormone where the only real side effects is growing a head that looks like an ape and having anger-management issues...yet the advantages is a season long boost in numbers.

Exhibit A:

[Ehwmatt]

Oh yea, my buddy in college kept gettin cortisone in his knee to make it through his senior season... he's a big dude and his knee was fucked up really bad for a while on the account of his masking the pain.

Yeah, Cortisone is nothing more than a crutch that will make problems worse if over used...so it's not the same as human growth hormone where the only real side effects is growing a head that looks like an ape and having anger-management issues...yet the advantages is a season long boost in numbers.

Exhibit A:

Entered into evidence, LOL. What a fuckin mug.

[strangegrey]

It's not the mug...it's the size of that head.

[larryfromnextdoor]

it took me a min to find this , then i couldnt believe i did..

this is from Inside the NFL on HBO ..

it discusses that there are no long term studies on Steroids causing health issues and that Lyle Alzado

may not have died from steroids , the finger is pointed towards Aids...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBiSBF25 ... re=related

[Red13JoePa]

First I'd like to ask WHY steroids are illegal.

Spoken like a TRUE fan of the team full of the most offenders