The idea for this post originally came from something I heard. I have some dry skin on my legs and I was told to take fish oil for the Omega-3 Fatty Acids. This caught my attention, because I was recently told to start taking the Fish Oil because it helps with cardio-vascular health. I go to Taekwondo and train the first day after taking this stuff (which taste like ass even though it is in capsule form) and I can feel a huge difference in my cardio-vascular output. Of course it helps that I’m getting past this evil cold, and I’ve been running more often. Anyway, the next morning a letter written by Marion Jones is read by a newscaster on Sportscenter telling her friends and family that she and take performance enhancing drugs (just so you know, today she handed her 5 Olympic gold metals into to the US Olympic committee).
Lets define what we are talking about here:
Supplements - A search for a definition in Google found the following: “Non-prescription remedies not regulated in North America under the same guidelines as prescription medications by the FDA.” These include vitamins, herbs, glucosamine & chondroitin, fish oils, topical creams, and others.
Performance Enhancing Drugs - (Per wikipedia.org) “Performance-enhancing drugs are substances used by athletes to improve their performances in the sports in which they engage.” These include:
- steroids
- beta-2 antogonists
- hormones
- pain killers
- stimulants
- diuretics
- relaxants
- maskers
- The list of nfl prohibited substances can be found here. *Note that most pain killers aren’t on there.
Recent athletes that have been involved in scandels with performance enhancing drugs:
- Baseball notables - Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds (*interesting note, the pitcher that threw his recent home run record breaking pitch the year prior had been suspended for using PEDs. But no one really talked about that)
- Olympics - too many to note, but of course Marion Jones.
- Football - Shawn Merriman (was told that what he was ingesting wasn’t on the list, appealed the NFL then withdrew his appeal) and Rodney Harrison (said he used HGH to heal faster after a severe knee injury), although not illegal user Marc Bulger was a given a shot of a pain makser that is the equivalent to taking 30 ibuprofen at the same time (essentially 6000 miligrams at the same time - which would kill you)
OK, so where am I going with this because it is the same old dribble that we’ve heard forever. I want to know why the nation abhors this so much. I just don’t get it. All forms of media are attacking all these athletes that are doing this. Grand juries are being formed to investigate and prosecutors are marking athletes and using all their power to go after them…over some pills and shots? Seems like a huge waste of taxpayer money to me.
Lets really analyze why this is all illegal. It has to do with 2 things I believe, safety and superstars. I realize that there are people that if this was legal, would take these substances in an unadvised way. Hell the black market of these things already does. Side effects from taking these substances have been identified (cancer, reduction in size of physical attributes, unhealthy size of attributes, acne, aggression issues and so on). I also believe that if this was legalized, the superstars that we have today just wouldn’t look so super. All individual sports leagues have superstars. These people generally bring in more revenues for teams and leagues then others. Anyone who doesn’t believe that should ask themselves why after the 2006 NFL draft (before he ever stepped foot on the grass in New Orleans) did the Reggie Bush jersey become the #1 selling Jersey and how much did the NFL make off royalties from Reebok.
My next question is why shouldn’t it be legal. I know, I know. Its not natural for anyone who takes these to perform. My response is if you have been inoculated and/or used antibiotics would be performing at a different level now without those….generally the level of death. But besides the obvious stuff like that, I take blood pressure medication daily (thanks former employers) that without I can’t have the same athletic output. My sister takes insulin which without she couldn’t break down the sugars that we use for energy. Aren’t those examples of performance enhancing drugs? But you know what, I’ve got a better argument than that. Actually, I have two.
1) I want to see my athletes using these substances for the soul purpose of better athletic response. I want them running faster, hitting harder (in contact sports), more powerful and enduring because I think it would go for the betterment of the individual sports entertainment.
2) In your mid 20s, certain hormones start to be produced less. These descending levels cause you to be more susceptible to injury, longer healing times, not to mention cause the normal ill effects of aging (saggy body parts, decreased functions, muscle loss, decreased skin resiliency, obesity). There is actually a clinic in Las Vegas that you can go to, that will run blood tests to analyze your levels of these hormones. They will compile a hormonal program and give you the prescriptions necessary to acquire them. You must go to the clinic several times a year and although the visits are $3,000 each pop, the results are supposedly worth it. Why shouldn’t we have this type of regulated use be more wide spread and commonplace. We are a culture that looks for millions of reasons to prolong life and extend youth. And with more and more people every day electing cosmetic surgeries, such as liposuction, or are buying skin firming lotions and other crap that just doesn’t work when this alternative does exist just feels wrong to me.
Personally, I don’t know what the right path for supplements and performance enhancing drugs are, but to tell the truth, the current regulations we have in sports seem pretty hypocritical. You know, I take that last statement, back. I do know which side I support and the regulations don’t seem hypocritical, they are hypocritical.