Monday, July 29, 2013

Performance enhancing drugs. Here to stay?

While I certainly agree with the vast majority that PEDs should have no place in sports, perhaps it's time to look at things from a different perspective.

Major League Baseball is currently front and center in such news with it's recent suspension of Ryan Braun, and others, notably Alex Rodriguez, likely to follow in the wake of the whole Biogenesis affair/scandal. But let's not kid ourselves. PEDs have not only been around for a long time, but have permeated many other sports as well over the years.

The Olympics and the Tour de France come to mind, but it went way beyond that. Back in the day, many NFL players popped their "greenies", and got their "turn you into a psychotic zombie wrecking machine" shots just before a game and returning to the field for the second half. Thing is, back then, even though it was largely unknown to the public, it's probably a pretty safe bet to say most people wouldn't have cared anyway. It's football. Go kill each other, boys. What great fun this is to watch. And hey, as the late Peter Gent, a former NFLer himself, pointed out in his book North Dallas Forty back in 1973 -- if you're getting down in a 3-point stance and the guy across the line from you has his eyes sunken back in his head, is twitching and drooling, and mumbling something about tearing your mother's head off when he's done with you -- you just might want to have a serious dose of whatever that guy is on-- so you can merely survive what's about to happen next. Did that make it right? Of course not. But that's the way it was. And nobody cared.

Times have changed. Who knows what sort of PEDs have been used in various other sports over the years? Certainly not yours truly, but I'd bet they've been around far more than we know.

Which brings me back to the other perspective mentioned above. Let's look at a few harsh realities.

1). There always have been, and always will be those those who attempt to gain an unfair advantage on their competitors. From Wall Street shysters to loaded dice in a back alley crap game, it's going to happen.

2). In the world of sports, sometimes just the slightest edge can make the difference whether an athlete is successful (see medals, fame, and millions of dollars) or winds up back in Podunk bagging groceries at their local Kroger store. Given those two life choices, the temptation to cheat is understandably high.

3). In the world of sports pharmaceuticals, it's a never-ending chess match. While athletes are "tested" far more often than in the past, and the laboratories that analyze these samples continue to get more sophisticated in their techniques to expose cheaters -- few would doubt the "other side" remains equally busy. In other words, as I write this, there are chemists out there working on the next generation of PEDs that are not currently detectable. The labs will figure that out as well in a couple years, but by then the mad scientists will have moved on to yet their next creation.

While it would be great for any and all PEDs to finally go away, all the rules, regulations, and suspensions aren't likely to stop them.

Let's get real. Regardless of how good/bad an actual product may be, as long as there's a market/demand for it, there will be those working tirelessly to provide it. Cha-ching.

Remember "prohibition"? How did that work out? Bathtub gin, speak-easies, and gangsters slaughtering each other on the streets. Without prohibition, people like Al Capone and Detroit's Purple Gang never would have come into prominence. No need for Elliot Ness and his Untouchables either. The people found a way to drink anyway -- because they wanted to.

Fast forward a few generations and cannabis has morphed from being the "demon weed" that would surely drive one insane into modern-day medical marijuana cards in many states. It's not only legal to use it, but also to grow and dispense (deal) it. Despite the current resistance and blustering of some, it doesn't take much imagination to foresee what the end-game there will be in 10-20 years or so. Oh my. Times are changing indeed.

Whether I, or you, like it or not, pharmaceuticals in the world of sports likely aren't going away either. The powers-that-be can fight it all they want. Like the big bad wolf, they can huff and puff and blow a few houses down, but the sad truth is, in the end, they're basically waging a very costly guerrilla war against a faceless enemy that constantly morphs into something different.

Bottom line? MLB can smack all the players on their current Biogenesis hit list with long suspensions -- even lifetime bans. But if they really think this will deter some future athletes from crossing into the "dark side" so they can make millions, as opposed to cooking french fries for the minimum wage, they're only fooling themselves. Of COURSE, there will be those willing to roll the dice. It's human nature.

Somewhere, in their own laboratories, rather highly paid chemists are quite busy right now developing the next generation of undetectable not-so-goodies for those who would partake. They'll never even be identified, let alone suspended and held up to public ridicule. For that matter, if their latest concoctions are successful in going undetected for a year or two, they might well get a big fat bonus in their paycheck.

No doubt, they are aware of MLB's current witch-hunt going on. They understand examples have to be made, and a few more cows are likely headed to the slaughterhouse.

And I suspect the chemists chuckle -- and get back to work.













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