As I sit watching the comedy show that is the House Oversight Committee’s discussion on Steroid Use in Baseball, I can’t help but notice the hypocrisy that is going on in the United States regarding steroid and drug use. Watching these Congressmen discuss the “criminal activity” and “cheating” and the “1919 Chicago Black Hawks” scandal, you can’t help but see this as theater, rather than actual government investigating.

The use of steroids exists in sports. In every sport from amateur through the pros, athletes are looking for a competitive edge. Steroids are just one type of drug that athletes use. HGH is another, but unfortunately, most people don’t know the difference between the drugs and just lump them all together. And for some reason, if a baseball player hits a lot of home runs, he is branded a steroid user (proof or no proof), and remains under a veil of suspicion for the rest of their career. In any other sport, they take their suspension and move on. In any other line of work, nobody cares.

Baseball vs. All Other Sports

Let’s start with baseball verses all other sports. To me, the most important aspect of steroid use has become it’s impact on statistics. That is why the only sports that have these ridiculous steroid issues are sports with very measurable statistics that could be improved with steroid use. People can see how steroids equal home runs. They can see how it means running a faster 100 meter. They don’t see how it will improve basketball points per game, or a hockey player’s assists, or an NFL defensive end’s sacks. So those sports are brushed aside and baseball is attacked.

I’ve talked about steroid use before, and how I feel that performance enhancing drugs get a bad wrap. Just because something is called a performance enhancing doesn’t mean that it is a bad thing. Water, red meat, milk, protein Red Bull, and creatine could all be called performance enhancing. But that doesn’t mean that they should all be outlawed or that they are all evil. Steroids do have negative side effects. But they also have many positive qualities that some people just don’t want to address. There is a reason that steroids are prescribed in so many medical situations. Steroid use is not about hitting home runs. That is why more pitchers have tested positive than hitters. That is why historically speaking, those who test positive for steroids have no discernible improvement in statistical performance over those who have not.

Is it possible that the use of steroids and HGH is not as bad for the sports as people say? Yes, very possible. If taking HGH can help an athlete recover from an injury, without making them into a “super-athlete”, why is that any worse than cortisone injections? If an honest doctor says that a cycle of monitored steroid use can help an athlete recover from a terrible injury, would that be so bad? Is Tommy John surgery any less of a competitive advantage than prescribed drug use for a short period of time?

The answers to these questions are unfortunately not what the average sports fan wants to hear. People want to hate Barry Bonds, and they want to find any way to discredit what he has done in baseball. Steroid use in baseball has not had the impact that people want to say it has. Yes, more players are hitting home runs now than ever before. But that blame falls squarely on the fact that the stadiums are all smaller, and because of expansion and the five-man rotation, pitching is ridiculously watered down. If you think that steroids are the reason for a few big home run years, you are sorely mistaken.

So while steroids have no doubt been a part of baseball, there are three truths that are too often overlooked:

1. Baseball is not alone. All sports have people looking to get an edge, it’s just that people can attempt to measure it more in baseball than in other sports.
2. Steroids are not magic pills. They can’t turn a bad baseball player into a Hall of Famer. Yes, they can help a border-line Major Leaguer stay in the show, and they can help an aging star remain a star. But they are not discrediting the game at nearly the level that some accuse them of.
3. If athletes are supposed to be role models, and are going to be held to a higher legal standard because of that, then this society needs to take a look at a whole lot of other professions, and bring the hammer down on them.

Celebrities and Steroids — More Hypocrisy

Why is it when Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds broke home run records, they were treated as cheaters and bad examples for America’s children? People call on Bonds to be hauled off to jail for being such an obscene cheater. They want the records stripped and statistics changed.

But when Johnny Moviestar puts on 40 pounds for his upcoming movie, and goes from scrawny to diesel in three months, we send our children to watch the movie and continue to say, “don’t be like Barry Bonds.”

Steroids are not a sports-only issue. Recently Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean were linked to steroid use. Sylvester Stallone was caught with all kinds of drugs overseas. Michelle Rodriguez has admitted to using steroids.

President Bush started this crackdown on steroids in his 2004 State of the Union address. He said:

“To help children make right choices, they need good examples. Athletics play such an important role in our society, but, unfortunately, some in professional sports are not setting much of an example. The use of performance-enhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football, and other sports is dangerous, and it sends the wrong message — that there are shortcuts to accomplishment, and that performance is more important than character. So tonight I call on team owners, union representatives, coaches, and players to take the lead, to send the right signal, to get tough, and to get rid of steroids now. “

If this is truly about allowing children to make the right choices, then this isn’t about cheating in baseball. When Will Smith bulked up for Ali, is that a good example? With all of Hollywood’s leading ladies sporting size zero’s and eating disorders, is that a good example. I submit to you that Hollywood is doing more harm with regards to body image and nutritional supplements (legal or otherwise), than all of the sports combined. A seventeen year old who wants to be like Roger Clemens and takes steroids will experience negative side effects, and I don’t condone that use in the least bit. But I would rather see that 100 times before I see a seventeen year old girl taking clenbuterol, a horse drug that is often used in Hollywood to lose weight.

There is no doubt that our society worships celebrities (actors, actresses, singers, etc.) far more than they worship athletes. For every one Sports Illustrated type mags, there are 10 US Weekly types. The dangers of drug use in Hollywood are so much greater than that of sports it’s not even funny. Cracked.com made a list of their eight most likely steroid using celebrities. How are these cats a better influence on kids than athletes?

Hypocrisy or Witch Hunt?

I have no doubt at all that celebrities are treated differently than pro athletes when it comes to drugs and body image. Eating disorders in teenagers are considered normal because they don’t like the way they look. But a professional athlete who survives on their ability to perform at the top level taking a prescribed supplement is an issue that Congress needs to investigate?

Let’s be clear here. This is not about fairness in sports. This is about the hatred of certain athletes. This is about people still despising Barry Bonds. Look at the coverage of Barry Bonds not testing positive in his whole career with Shawn Merriman’s four game suspension for steroid use. Don’t be fooled by the coverage of Roger Clemens. Most of it is just people trying to look fair after the way they treated Bonds, McGwire and Palmiero. If Clemens were the first one caught, instead of the last one, there would be a completely different dialogue about steroids in America.

As far as steroids in sports go, I say let’s move on. Yes, a lot of players are using them. But realistically, they are not making a giant difference. Statistically, most players show next to no improvement. Bonds did, so it got blown out of proportion. But nobody wants to just suck it up and give Bonds credit for just being better than everyone. The biggest difference the steroid era has brought us is extended careers, and healthier ballplayers. And if you’re against that, I don’t know what to tell you.

The hypocrisy in this country is outrageous. The same drug to two people, both to help them in their job, and two completely different reactions. When we want to be entertained by a movie, we’ll gladly turn a blind eye to the obvious steroid use. But when we want to be entertained by sports, we want our stars to be squeaky-clean. Drug use is far worse than Hollywood makes it out to be, and not nearly as bad as Congress’s baseball bashers will tell you it is.

Conclusion

Steroids and HGH are drugs. Like any drugs, they can be abused. But also like many prescription drugs, careful use can be beneficial. Let’s not blow out of proportion the positives and the negatives of these drugs. All of these drugs should be kept out of the hands of kids and teenagers. But that just isn’t an athlete’s job. We should not be legislating morality. Parents need to be taking better care of children, and doctor’s need to apparently do a better job of informing the public about the actual pro’s and con’s of steroid use.

Drug use is and will always be a part of society. Athletes will always be looking for an edge, and celebrities will always be chemically maintaining their body image. But it is unfair as a society to let one go, while the other is investigated by Congress. As long as sports and Hollywood continue to pay eight figures to people good at their jobs, drug use will carry on. Stop asking these people to be role models and treat them both equally and I’ll be happy.

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