Tuesday, December 18, 2007
I didn't, really!
I don't know the answer to steroids. It's more than a simple problem for a simple person to solve. There's too many people involved in sports, too much money, too much power, and too much fame. But it seems few can get past the simple fact that the impact of steroids is much greater than professional sports. It effects everyone, no matter if they follow any pro sport team because we all know someone who is involved in sports at some level. So, should we care if a pro baseball player is juicing? HELL yes! Because the kid in highschool is looking at that player and he/she understands that steriods and HGH can help him/her get to that point. It's a simple equation. But it's not what is focused on by pro sports leagues, the sports media, the mainstream media, or the public in whole. What is focused on by everybody is the impact on sports records, personal achievements, players standing in the sports community, how they are seen by fans, how the sport is viewed by the media and fans, etc.... But not how it effects us (the average person). We don't matter (even to ourselves) in the long run, short run, or any run. We just give our money, our admiration, our time, and our hope that the sport (and players) are something that can give us a sense, a feeling, a glimpse of a few moments of greatness to help us forget the average and sometimes below average lives we live. But it's not worth it. Because it's not only their lives they are destroying, but the lives of the kids and adults they influence into taking steroids and HGH. It's everything good about sports that is destroyed, not the bad parts. The bad part of sports will survive anything.
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Steroids is a troubling issue for exactly the reason you said. It makes teenagers think that the only way they can succeed in pro sports is to inject chemicals into their body. The problem is that if everyone else is injecting chemicals, it's an uneven playing field for the people who are trying to do it honestly.
But unfortunately as long as the only thing fans care about is winning, then pro athletes will do whatever it takes to win. PR almost always goes to someone for being spectacular, for being flashy, for doing highlight reel things. It's very rare that anyone is really treated well by the media and fans for being a good person, a hard worker, an honest player. Yeah, you have someone like Ripken. But in a way, he's the exception that proves the rule.
We need to not accept druggies whether they're on our team or not. We need to not accept cheaters whether they're on our team or not. We need to not accept dishonesty whether they're on our team or not. And something can be technically legal according to laws or the sports' rules but still be wrong.
Whether they like it or not, whether it's fair or not, the fact is that in our society that places some much value on sports, pro athletes are role models for kids. If we condemn cheating or these other things in general but make excuses when it's someone we like or someone from our team, then we're sending the message that what's right depends on who you are or where you play.
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