On Steroids

(I originally penned this in a private email to MJ, and then thought to put it here. As has been discussed publicly on this blog before, MJ and I have divergent reactions to the whole steroid scandal. Rather than just debate it with him on email until we're (a) blue in the face, and (b) cursing the other for not agreeing with our strongly-held positions...I thought I'd open it up here. MJ and I are probably the biggest baseball fans on this blog, and so maybe our views aren't representative of the general sports-following populace.)



I think how one reacts to the steroid scandal depends on answers to the following questions:

1. Is it ok for an athlete to take - for lack of a better term - "unnatural" products that artifically boost their ability to compete in their sport?

- If the answer is no, we stop here. The fan who thinks that steroids are ok in a vacuum will obviously not care about this issue in any capacity, except to get upset about the fact that it is an issue.

- if the answer is yes, we move on.

2. Is the steroid-taking athlete excused from culpability because the use of steroids was (or is) widespread?

- This is the meat of the issue for MJ, I think. It's the "if everyone else was doing it, why can't I?" defense. But it also reflects a question about the impact of a player's use on the game in general, i.e. if stats were inflated across the board, and if the foundation of the game for 10 or 15 years was in part reliant upon steroids, then the playing field was more or less evened by the widespread use.

3. Whatever the answer to #2, is the use of steroids a problem because of the statistical-historical impact on baseball?

- Those who say "no" often argue that players throughout history have sought illegal edges, and that we don't know what guys in past generations might have been taking, so we can't assume that they were clean and that it's only current players who are dirty.

- Those who say yes respond to the opposing argument generally with the notion that - unlike this era - there is not evidence to support widespread cheatng in past eras, and so it is unfair to assume that the sins of today are equivalent to the sins of yesterday.

4. Is the use of steroids excused because of management complicity?

- I don't know anyone who argues this outright, but many argue that players cannot be solely blamed for the steroid scandal. In any event, once you get to this question, you've already concluded that steroids is an issue and that someone must take the blame.