You think the athletes are the ones driving the steroid craze? Because they are just all fucking cheaters who will do anything to get ahead and care about nothing but $$$. So they do things such as put their long-term health at stake..and yes the stakes are high indeed..Reggie White might be the most prominent example..or Chris Benoit now..but there are many similar stories that don't get elevated to that same plateau. Of course, you conveniently overlook that people can easily DIE on the football field and even the diamond (I'm not aware of any basketball deaths although Rudy T might've come pretty close..)
You seem to have no clue on this issue and no notion of what constitutes an even nominally leftist understanding of it. Do you recall MLB looking the other way during the McGwire/Sosa chase that "revived" baseball? And of course sportswriters gleefully serving as puffers the whole way. How about the NFL and its extremely lax policy on steroids *right now* (Shawn Merriman being a great topical posterboy).
The only liars, hypocrites and charlatans ARE the sportswriters, vainglorious congressmen out for cheap pub, and the professional sports leagues.
And we haven't even begin to touch on how any of this *really* connects with high school athletes. Another topic your high moral dudgeon seemed to not concern itself with considering for what it is, instead of some absurd cardboard cutout caricature.
And bringing in Vick was so totally gratuitous its not worth commenting on.
QUOTESo fuck all ideas of ethical behaviour? Go ahead and use steroids, lie about it and be emulated by tens of thousands of adolescents who will suffer physically for the rest of their lives for following in the footsteps of assholes like Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Canseco, etc. Right, and lets praise Mike Vic while we're at it.
The way to improve a corrupt and selfish culture isn't to wallow in corruption, deceit, and hypocrisy is it? Not breaking the laws concerning steroid use and not lying about it is now considered a fairy-tale standard of behaviour? Is expecting people not to rob liquor stores also a fairy-tale standard
today? Not to stage illegal dog fights?
I don't follow "ball" sports but I used to be an avid cyclist and cycling fan. Cycling has the same problem baseball does but at least they are finally making a serious attempt to end the mad arms race of performance enhancing drug use. Whether you like it or not these athletes are roll models for children and adolescents and even expecting them to behave "better" than average
is a perfectly fair expectation. That isn't what is being asked of them
in this case however. If athletes don't like it tough shit. Flip
burgers for a living where there is no public spotlight on your behaviour. If you want huge endorsement deals and the privilege of playing professional sports the public has every right to regulate their behaviours within the bounds of the law. Athletes all to often get a pass where "regular" folks wouldn't but even trying to hold athletes to
the same standard as regular folks is somehow a fairy tale standard? Damn, some people love there sports heros beyond all reason don't they? QUOTE
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