Cheating in sports

[RR]

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If athletes want to shorten there life by taking steroids let them

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I don't think the players want to shorten their lives. They want a rule agaisnt it so they don't ahve to shorten their lives for a competitive edge. I remember in college studying helmets in the NHL (this was an econ class, so the arguments we looked at most likely were simplified form what really occurred). The players wants helmets to be safer, but it restricted their field of vision so they only wanted to wear a helmet if everyone else had to also.

[BreakfastBurrito]

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Many have chosen illegal ways to separate themselves and this is when you have a problem.

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My main question is based on my lack of understanding of what separates legal and illegal. At the highest levels I'm sure nutrition and supplements are a large part of the 'unleveling' process in the offseason. So from an ethical standpoint, where does an athlete draw the line? Is finding an unknown substance that hasn't been specifically banned but mimics the effects of an anabolic steroid acceptable? If not, what evaluation process can an athlete use to determine if an unbanned substance is simply wrong to use?

In the case of Mark McGwire, some point out that nothing he was allegedly using was specifically banned at the time, but others say he obviously knew it was wrong and cheating. How does one make this determination? How does a governing body determine the line between the most powerful legal supplement and an illegal performance enhancer?

[tdarko]

gumpzilla,

Well this is why I had said there is an extremely fine line and actually it seems when talking about steroids or cheating in sports there are always grey areas and fine lines. Its a tough subject.

Nutritional supplements and creatine aren't illegal is the first and most important answer to the question.

Nutritional supplements aren't unnatural b/c you aren't adding anything unnatural to your body. Athletes eat better than the avg. Joe but even still they don't eat perfectly and when on the road they don't especially. Nutritional supplements is just a way to naturally give your body what it needs to keep it in peak condition. This isn't abnormal.

I am not a creatine expert, there are many in The Gym like Smiley and Thremp and Skunkworks and countless others that could answer your question much better. I am not an expert b/c I don't use it. I did know that you could get enough creatine in your body from your diet though. Maybe someone better can chime in on creatine b/c I am not equip to answer it.

[tdarko]

Burrito,

The highest level of sports are about finding edges like mentioned before. If a player comes across "X" and it makes your muscles grow and enhances your fast-twitch muscles and your game is going to a phase it hasn't been before, and this "X" isn't a banned substance nor is it illegal then why would a player NOT take it? It doesn't matter if the drug BECOMES illegal 5-6 years later such as Andro did (McGwire). You didn't know it was going to be illegal, for all you know creatine could be illegal in 10 years--what are we going to ban the entire MLB? Are we going to "assume" everyone is a cheater now because they were taking a drink that became a banned substance in the league? Of course not.

[ThaSaltCracka]

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I don't imagine players will be getting much bigger than they are currently. Maybe taller.

[/ QUOTE ]maybe not bigger, but certainly faster and stronger.

[g-bebe]

I'm 100% against the use of steroids in sports, or any performance enhancing drugs. I want to go to a hockey game, football game, or baseball game and see the best players in the world play the game, unadulterated. I don't want to see just good players who have bolstered their performance by using drugs. If I wanted to go see guys pumped up on roids, I could go to the nearest gym.

I don't think anyone can argue that at the age of 42, Bonds wouldn't be threatening to become the player with the most career home runs if he hadn't taken drugs. And that's what bothers me.

[ThaSaltCracka]

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I don't think anyone can argue that at the age of 42, Bonds wouldn't be threatening to become the player with the most career home runs if he hadn't taken drugs

[/ QUOTE ] Sports medicine is better nowadays, guys keep themselves in better shape, baseball is a low impact sport, etc.... lots of possible arguments. Also maybe Aaron took them(lol). Blanket statements rarely encompass everything.

[g-bebe]

No doubt that in the years gone by of sport and training techniques, methods of improving stamina, strength and overall performance have come by leaps and bounds. But all you have to do is look at pictures of Bonds in the early 90's and Bonds now.

Bonds circa 92: tiny barry

[THAY3R]

Really the only good case against Bonds would be that he was the only one using steroids, or he was the only one using the very best of the stuff.

These are both not true, and thus we can still conclude that Bonds is one of the greatest players ever.

[THAY3R]

Believe it or not people in their 20's look a whole lot different than when they are in their 40's.