Are Performance-Enhancing Drugs a Serious Issue in Sports?
SodaHead Sports
2012/04/05 19:00:00
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178 votes
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28 votes
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Performance-enhancing drugs have been a dominant topic of conversation in the 2000s. Ever since the revelations of some of baseball's greats using steroids and other "PEDs," it seems like every year a big-name athlete is caught -- or accused. This is the case with No. 1 UFC heavyweight contender, "The Demolition Man" Alistair Overeem, most famous for retiring former champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar.
For years, there was speculation that Overeem was using PEDs, given his rapid muscle gain -- much like Barry Bonds in baseball. On Wednesday, it was revealed Overeem failed a random drug test for abnormal testosterone levels, confirming many observers' suspicions regarding his chemically-enhanced physique. If you rewind to a few months back, National League MVP Ryan Braun of Major League Baseball apparently failed a drug test.
Somehow, someway, Braun avoided suspension due to a technicality and a good defense in his appeal. However, the dark cloud of his alleged PED use still hangs above him. In mixed martial arts and boxing, testing is done by government commissions. In baseball, football, and basketball, it's done by the professional leagues. Is it time that all sports on the pro level adopt stronger drug testing like the Olympics or is the issue of PEDs overblown?
For years, there was speculation that Overeem was using PEDs, given his rapid muscle gain -- much like Barry Bonds in baseball. On Wednesday, it was revealed Overeem failed a random drug test for abnormal testosterone levels, confirming many observers' suspicions regarding his chemically-enhanced physique. If you rewind to a few months back, National League MVP Ryan Braun of Major League Baseball apparently failed a drug test.
Somehow, someway, Braun avoided suspension due to a technicality and a good defense in his appeal. However, the dark cloud of his alleged PED use still hangs above him. In mixed martial arts and boxing, testing is done by government commissions. In baseball, football, and basketball, it's done by the professional leagues. Is it time that all sports on the pro level adopt stronger drug testing like the Olympics or is the issue of PEDs overblown?
I would say this problem is analogous to drug prohibition in society. We all know what rose out of alcohol prohibition, the freakin' Mafia! lol You can't force people to act a certain way, as there will always be people who use drugs for any number of reasons. I just think an open and honest approach to this issue, without mandatory testing, will allow it to play out. If an entire team was free to decide what each individual did, I would bet 9 times out of 10 they wouldn't use extra testosterone or whatever. It's a tough and complex issue, with many motivations behind the use of such drugs, but I don't think for...
I would say this problem is analogous to drug prohibition in society. We all know what rose out of alcohol prohibition, the freakin' Mafia! lol You can't force people to act a certain way, as there will always be people who use drugs for any number of reasons. I just think an open and honest approach to this issue, without mandatory testing, will allow it to play out. If an entire team was free to decide what each individual did, I would bet 9 times out of 10 they wouldn't use extra testosterone or whatever. It's a tough and complex issue, with many motivations behind the use of such drugs, but I don't think forcing people to adhere to a certain law for drug testing will ever solve the problem. Don't forget there are many other substances besides hormones that provide significant athletic gains, like creatine or even some herbs/plants. Is the line drawn only for test or synthetic test and no other substances? How "clean" should these guys be?
If people are upset at athletes taking steroid then they should be just as mad at students who take drugs to help them focus in school.
Granted, I don't either.
My problem is with the concern people have over the affect on the NUMBERS in the game and not the health concerns. People seem more concerned with the possibility that a guy may hit a few more home runs or run a little too fast rather than what the chemicals do to the body and what someone on PEDS could do to someone else in a contact sport.
For example, the biggest handwringing on the topic is done in baseball where the issue always centers around McGwire and Barry Bonds and their records. Thats always the focus. McGwire has been kept out of the HOF first because of pure speculation rather than direct evidence on the issue and now because he has been honest about it. His numbers haven't been revoked and we don't know the actual affect that PED use has on those numbers - but still thats the big concern.
Meanwhile in a contact sport like football - with a plethora of highly bulked up guys hitting each other on a routine basis - PEDs are hardly ever mentioned. Concussions are a HUGE issue in the sport right now but I have yet to here one person discuss the effect PEDs may have on the topic. And further, people who have failed PED test in the NFL are rarely taken over the coals and one player was even abl...
My problem is with the concern people have over the affect on the NUMBERS in the game and not the health concerns. People seem more concerned with the possibility that a guy may hit a few more home runs or run a little too fast rather than what the chemicals do to the body and what someone on PEDS could do to someone else in a contact sport.
For example, the biggest handwringing on the topic is done in baseball where the issue always centers around McGwire and Barry Bonds and their records. Thats always the focus. McGwire has been kept out of the HOF first because of pure speculation rather than direct evidence on the issue and now because he has been honest about it. His numbers haven't been revoked and we don't know the actual affect that PED use has on those numbers - but still thats the big concern.
Meanwhile in a contact sport like football - with a plethora of highly bulked up guys hitting each other on a routine basis - PEDs are hardly ever mentioned. Concussions are a HUGE issue in the sport right now but I have yet to here one person discuss the effect PEDs may have on the topic. And further, people who have failed PED test in the NFL are rarely taken over the coals and one player was even able to keep a player of the year award despite a positive test.
People, the reason these things are banned is because they aren't healthy for the athlete. They have a long term destructive effect on the body and its considered cheating because no player should feel they have to use them and risk those effects to "keep up". There are a slew of other performance enhancing products, techniques, equipment innovations that are perfectly legal and that likely have a greater direct effect on the numbers we worry about. If PEDs weren't destructive its highly likely that they'd be legal and this wouldn't be an issue at all.
My suggestion is always that instead of going on attack mode, we need to create an honest invironment about this. STOP worrying about numbers, especially when we don't know what effect they have. STOP playing attack dog. START discussing this in an open and friendly human environment where we can get past users to come forward to discuss their experiences to try and stop people from using them. And start worrying more about the health issues and across more than one sport. Take a long hard look at the NFL where a jakked up linebacker hitting a WR is much more important an issue than if a 2nd baseman got a couple extra dingers. So many people use this as a tear down issue rather than a rally point for health and it makes me ill.