According to the Mitchell Report, the use of anabolic steroids by athletes is not simply an ethical problem or a health problem. Cheating with the use of performance enhancing drugs is a “broader and more nuanced activity” that can seriously threaten the integrity of baseball.
Baseball players who use anabolic steroids are vulnerable to being victimized by gamblers:
[D]rug dealers could blackmail a player to alter the outcome of a game in exchange for maintaining the secrecy of the player’s substance use. Such threats to the integrity of the game are as serious as gambling.
The Mitchell Report noted problems with current steroid education programs in MLB that focus on severe steroid dangers and deleterious side effects:
[T]hese health risks… generally will not deter a player from using these substances. This is because players who use or are considering using performance enhancing substances do not consider them dangerous if used properly. This view is reinforced when players see that other players who they know are using performance enhancing substances arc not experiencing the adverse health effects described in the educational materials.
This makes sense. If steroid use is rampant and the clubhouse, yet no one is experiencing any of the negative side effects, then why would players give any credence to the MLB “steroid education” programs? Perhaps overstating and exaggerating the side effects and related scare tactics are not effective in a drug education program? Read the rest of this entry »
The highly anticipated Mitchell Report on the “illegal use of steroids and other performance enhancing substances by players in major league baseball” was publicly released today. Dozens of writers will offer their commentary on the 400+ page report (including appendices). I am fairly certain my commentary in the next few days will be a departure from the norm.
The first thing that I want to bring attention to is the extent of bias against author William Llewellyn and his exhaustive anabolic steroid reference manual, Anabolics 2007. His 1000+ page reference is the most exhaustive treatise of performance enhancing substances used in competitive sports. Read the rest of this entry »
Two of my favorite steroid writers are John Hoberman, PhD and Charles Yesalis, PhD. I read their books. I read their articles. I have “Google Alerts” set to notify me when they are quoted by the media. I have even invited them to write for my website (and I’ve been fortunate to have Dr. Hoberman write a few feature articles for me).
Several of my friends and colleagues wonder why I enjoy works from these “anti-steroid guys.” While I may have a different perspective regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports, Dr. Yesalis and Dr. Hoberman represent the few prominent “steroid experts” that generally stay above the histrionics and scaremongering.
