Once again news about Athletes and drugs is surfacing. Hours after the Steelers "stole" (with one foot down) the Super Bowl, CNN's headlines read about sports, but not the football kind. Phelps' apology about a picture that surfaced of him smoking out of a blunt seemed to be more important than "six"burgh. Not more than two days later The judge in the Barry "barroid" Bonds case was deciding whether or not to unseal evidence that Bonds failed a drug test in 2003.
No matter the sport, the media, and public seems to be fascinated by the drug use of our modern "heros". This discussion is centered on the differences between athletes using drugs for recreational use, and athletes using drugs for the purpose of getting an edge.
Most people who know me (or atleast have seen me with my throwback jersey on) know that Dwight "Doc" Gooden is my favorite baseball player of all time. (Although Reyes is coming on fast!) Last week ex-Met employee (and known rat) Radomski stated that he took a urine sample for many players including Doc. Gooden responded through text by saying "LOL". Now, we all know that Gooden has struggled with drug use. Coke was the drug of choice of that championship team of ours in 86' and Gooden was one of the victims. His drug ultimately signaled the end of his career. THIS we know. Gooden was never accused of steroid use until now.
What do Michael Phelps and Dwight Gooden have in common? They enjoyed getting high. What do Barry Bonds and Marion Jones have in common? they both used drugs to get an upper hand over their competition. So what is the difference? Are all drug users/abusers the same? This is a question that does not have an easy answer.
When I first heard the accusation that Gooden had used steroids my heart sunk. While I knew he was a junkie, I could live with that. I could still wear his jersey and be proud. No matter what, he was still one of the greatest talents to ever step on the mound. But, if it was true that Gooden's talent wasn't truely his own, that he was a fraud, that he was only named Dr. K because of something he put in his ass, then everything I ever felt about him would change.
I believe that we respect athletes because of what they can do on the court, the field, the swimming pool. If they want to get a little high in their off time, I'm ok with that. As long as I know that they are not cheating and their ability is true, I am ok with that.
Good post. I have been dealing with this same problem as a sports fan as well. It's been easy for me to villify Bonds, McGwire and even Clemens because they either were not Yankees or at least I didn't care for them as a Yankee. However, with today's news that Arod failed a steroids test in 2003, I am fighting to stay unbiased. I agree with you though, if it's recreational drugs, then I don't mind as much since it only hurts their performance. However, when it comes to PEDs, the integrity of the game is so much at stake. Just the past 2 weeks we have Bonds, Radomski, Phelps and Arod news. What's going on with the game we grew up with in the 1980s?
ReplyDeleteGood one Daniel!! And I wholeheartedly agree. I don't care if Phelps wants to take some bong hits because its none of my business. Juicing up, however, is a whole different ball game (pun intended). Your Doc and my A-rod are each now a disappointment. Our game, "America's past time", is being dragged through the mud. And what is it all for? Paychecks! Big paychecks they don't deserve, but we still have to pay for.
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