Cuban is wrong on steroids
Pro Sports
Kabir Gulati
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Sports
Picture a one-gallon tin can full of worms sliding down a muddy slippery slope on a rainy day. That is what Mark Cuban's, eccentric owner of the Dallas Mavericks, recent comments about steroids are. In an era of sports where "steroids" is the most taboo word in all of sport, Cuban feels as though they have a place in sports under correct supervision and if they have no long-term effects.
What?
That was my first reaction.
No way!
That was my second reaction.
As the shock settles and my mind returns to rational thought, I can see the benefit of steroids. Most importantly, they would help improve the product on the field, court, or rink. Better product means more fans, which means more money for the game. That's good for the owners. Also, instead of a franchise being devastated by the loss of a star player to an injury, steroids would be able to bring the player back faster than natural healing.
But there a legal steroid system would be unable to be regulated. Paramount are the implications of a legal steroid system for non-professional sport leagues. We are barely able to police use of the "juice" in professional leagues; expanding use could only lead to rampant abuse.
Although sports evolve and sports science has helped develop stronger and faster sportsmen, steroids do not seem like the next logical step in the progression. It is a favorite pastime for sports analysts and all sports fans to compare players throughout history with the present, and analyze who was the "best ever." With the introduction of steroids that talk gets thrown out the window. Though training methods have improved, players these days still have to deal with the same process of development, constraints of ability, and threat of injury. Think of all the great players that had a great season or two, but injuries plagued their career so they cut it short or their abilities declined early. This is one of our criteria in determining a legend in a sport: longevity. With the introduction of steroids, anyone will be able to bounce back from injury and every career will be 20 years long, thus reducing the magic of a career like Brett Favre's.
In the end, steroids are an all or nothing decision. Either it is allowed in all sports at all levels or we keep working to eradicate it from sport completely…but if the tin can starts to slide down the slippery slope, it will open up and out come the worms.
What?
That was my first reaction.
No way!
That was my second reaction.
As the shock settles and my mind returns to rational thought, I can see the benefit of steroids. Most importantly, they would help improve the product on the field, court, or rink. Better product means more fans, which means more money for the game. That's good for the owners. Also, instead of a franchise being devastated by the loss of a star player to an injury, steroids would be able to bring the player back faster than natural healing.
But there a legal steroid system would be unable to be regulated. Paramount are the implications of a legal steroid system for non-professional sport leagues. We are barely able to police use of the "juice" in professional leagues; expanding use could only lead to rampant abuse.
Although sports evolve and sports science has helped develop stronger and faster sportsmen, steroids do not seem like the next logical step in the progression. It is a favorite pastime for sports analysts and all sports fans to compare players throughout history with the present, and analyze who was the "best ever." With the introduction of steroids that talk gets thrown out the window. Though training methods have improved, players these days still have to deal with the same process of development, constraints of ability, and threat of injury. Think of all the great players that had a great season or two, but injuries plagued their career so they cut it short or their abilities declined early. This is one of our criteria in determining a legend in a sport: longevity. With the introduction of steroids, anyone will be able to bounce back from injury and every career will be 20 years long, thus reducing the magic of a career like Brett Favre's.
In the end, steroids are an all or nothing decision. Either it is allowed in all sports at all levels or we keep working to eradicate it from sport completely…but if the tin can starts to slide down the slippery slope, it will open up and out come the worms.
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