What About Spinach or Wheaties?

Using steroids constitutes cheating. There's a reason that they disqualify athletes who use them. Because it's cheating. There's a reason why athletes who use them don't publically announce that they're using them. Because it's cheating.

Did I mention that it's cheating?

Barry Bonds. Mark McGuire. Rafael Palmeiro. These are just a few of the suspected cheaters. They aren't the only ones.

Recently, the Feds raided the home of Jason Grimsley, a (former) relief pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was using Human Growth Hormone. In fact, he was getting it mailed right to his house. He apparently was cooperating with the Feds in an investigation. When he decided that he wasn't going to cooperate any more, the Feds moved in. Now he's talking again. Amazing how the prospect of time in the big house will loosen lips.

HGH is the newest and greatest performance enhancer, and, according to Grimsley, plenty of players are using it. Why? Well, according to MLB and the MLBPA, there's no reliable test, so they aren't going to look for it. The World Anti-Doping Agency used a test at the last 2 Olympics, but it's a blood test, and no one want's to "invade the privacy" of players by subjecting them to a blood test. I guess it doesn't invade their privacy by having them pee into a cup.

Steroids is like a computer virus. As soon as one is detected, a new one comes along that's not detectable. As long as athletes are willing to sacrifice health and safety in order to gain an advantage, there'll be a market for performance enhancers. Too bad that it's not just the pros that are doing it either. Think about the high school kid looking for that little extra to get himself a college scholarship. His sports heroes use it, so why shouldn't he?

What's the solution? I don't know. I just hope that these recent events will cause someone to think twice before the decide to start using.