Pubdate: Tue, 14 Dec 2004
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
Copyright: 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Contact: http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/letters/sendletter.html
Website: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28
Author: Joan Ryan

LEGALIZE DRUGS THAT ENHANCE PERFORMANCE

I find myself wondering if the time has come to ask ourselves the radical
question - should we consider making performance-enhancing drugs legal in
professional sports?

Athletes have increasingly turned to pharmaceuticals to push their
performances to the highest and most rewarded levels. Athletes who abstain
from the performance enhancers risk falling below the ever-higher playing
standards and thus risk losing their jobs.

As I understand it, performance enhancers are illegal in sports for two
primary reasons. One is the safety of the athletes. This is an important
concern. Steroid abuse has been linked to all kinds of physical and mental
problems, even death. Like most prescription drugs, steroids are dangerous
when used improperly.

But steroids and human growth hormone themselves are not "bad." Doctors
prescribe them for any number of medical and cosmetic reasons.

So if you concede that these drugs are here to stay in sports, wouldn't the
players be safer if they didn't go to backroom hucksters with no medical
background but rather to doctors who can prescribe and supervise usage
according to a player's medical history, physical condition and professional
goals?

The other main reason performance-enhancing drugs are banned has to do with
the integrity of the game. It would not be fair if "juiced" players broke
the records of old-time players who didn't have the benefit of performance
enhancers.

We'd have to put asterisks by the records, some say. Perhaps they're right.
But I wonder how we take into account other advancements in equipment,
medical know-how, physical conditioning and game strategies that give
today's players advantages over their predecessors.

One could argue that making performance-enhancing drugs legal in
professional sports would help the integrity of the game because the playing
field would be more level. Every athlete would have access to
pharmaceuticals.

These are times in which adults can choose to undergo major surgery simply
because they want thinner thighs or tighter jowls. Despite the risks of
disfigurement and death, we allow them to make the choice.

So I'm wondering why professional athletes shouldn't have the same freedom
to make informed choices and take managed risks for the sake of something as
substantial as their livelihoods.
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