facing the steroids issue?

I'm a professional athlete (track and field -400m flat, and 400m Hurdles) and it really gets to my nerve when people with no clue of sport in general state something like: "they (those who took something) should be punished OR they don't deserve the prize OR that's a disgrace for the sport OR ... " you know what I mean ...

First I want to say that No.1 of your drawbacks is NOT correct. It's proven that 'supplements' are not the one the kill athletes. It's the amount and timing that COULD (in a very small chance) damage one's vital organs. And that said, a big amount of alcohol taken in a bad time CAN ALSO kill, so STEROIDS don't kill. Some athletes are just plain stupid and greed and lazy that they take too much when they shouldn't.

Secondly, and I can't stress this enough, at virtually EVERY final of every 'serious' sport (track and field, cycling, swimming, football ...) EVERY athlete has taken one sort of another 'illegal' supplement. And as for the winners, THAT'S 100% true !!! Every medal that has been won in the last three or more decades of every 'serious' event of every 'serious' sport in every Olympics, World or other championship HAS BEEN WON WITH THE HELP of supplements.

I'm a part of National Track 'n Field Team, and I've been to many events, and let me tell, even at lower grade events supplements are all around.

There are so many issues on the subject, I'd lose hours just writing and still won't be able to present you the situation of professional athletes.

Every single one of them has spent their life and so much more energy than 'usual' people (10 lives worth) no matter they had supplements or not. Don't think that if they took something they don't train. Oh they do! They train every single moment of their lives. Supplements are just so that they don't destroy their bodies! They spend so much more Jules of energy, so much more calories, so much more amynoacids, they PRODUCE so much lactic acid, a 'normal' body would've DIE in an instant. They must 'refill' themselves after every training, or they would destroy their organs for good, if not die.

The process of taking supplements nowadays is precisely observed, medically, scientifically measured that nothing is left to chance. You people must understand that as the athletes' eternal struggle to improve what nature has given them, to be better than 'normal', and let me tell you -THEY ALWAYS succeed!

Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that some supplements which are banned now were not banned 5, three even a year ago. What does that mean, a champion was taking something that was legal at the time, now they ban it, and we should take his medal !?

So you see, nothing is black and white, and together with the fact the virtually EVERY TOP ATHLETE uses some sort of an 'illegal' supplement, my opinion would be that if nothing else, 'doping' should be LEGALIZED !!! and that way there would be less chance for young and inexperienced athletes overdosing themselves, since everything would closely monitored and observed.

And YES if I had the chance to take some I WOULD, but I come from a small and poor country and don't have the money or 'professional support' to take such supplements.

Sorry for the long answer, but THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, and I feel personaly involved in the subject, and it's just me trying to make a point.

Thanks for every one who will read it.

Good question! From the perspective of the average fan who might play a sport casually it is pretty easy to say NO! It is the ethical and moral thing to do afterall and most of us in our right minds understand the effects physically, legally and morally of choosing to say yes. However as a former athlete that had options and college offers for both baseball and football and even a chance to be drafted late by a major league team I can offer a different perspective. Myself and over a dozen other top local athletes (including a QB that played 12 or 13 years in the NFL) worked out at a local gym and were set up with trainers by either high school coaches or others. And guess what....these trainers happened to have "supplements" that would improve our "abilities". I played in the early 1980's so this problem has been out there for far longer than the professional sports people would want us to realize. Also back then there was not nearly the pressure to take these things as there is today but nonetheless there was incentive. Enough so that about one half took them, the other half did not. Of our group 4 guys either played a professional sport or signed a professional contract and made money. 3 of the 4 took the steroids (the QB was the one who didnt) which means 3 or 4 others took them and got nothing other than local newsclippings....the same thing that the ones that chose not to got. I know that at least 2 that got money did so only because they took them, they were fringe "pros" as users. So was it worth it to them? In terms of dollars...YES, they got pretty good money. In terms of the other issues...I really dont know as I have not had contact with either in 20 years. I was offered full ride scholarships to a few schools for baseball including a Big 10 school but suffered an injury before I got a chance to accept a scholarship (and every school withdrew their offers).

I was one of the group that chose NOT to take steroids but to be perfectly honest I completely understand the reasons behind the decisions from the ones that did.... the money is not the only motivating reason to experiment. Once you are a heralded athlete, if even only at the local level it is a feeling that is hard to describe and only leaves you craving more. So logic sometimes takes a back seat to the high of being a "local legend". I am grateful that I chose the path that I did and owe a lot to family , friends and faith for giving me the strength to make the right decision. But on the other hand I completely understand why todays athletes sometimes make different choices than what you or me might chose.

Personally, I wouldn't take it, because it's cheating, and I don't like to cheat. I don't cheat in golf when no one is looking, and I don't cheat on video games when no one even cares. Here's how I look at it: I love winning....maybe more than anything else in the world. If I cheat to win, the victory doesn't feel as good, because inside, I'm always wondering if my illegal advantage was the only reason I won.

I don't see what's so hypocritical about it...I'm only talking about the big names in baseball tied to steroids, here, of course. But these guys all had their millions of dollars doing what they loved--they didn't NEED the pill or the cream in order to make a living and "set their children up for life." Their children were already set.

Even worse, some of these guys set RECORDS using steroids. Maybe I'm just old school, but how are you going to sit there and smile and take in all these accolades knowing you cheated?

F--- baseball.

No, I would not. It may sound corny but there is an even more important issue. It's called integrity.

no , i would not take it !!!! -- you are raised in this world to

adhere to a code of conduct / ethics -- you are taught the

rights / wrongs of society !!!! -- your ethics are your

guideline thru life -- when u face a crisis in life your beliefs

will see u thru -- we do NOT live in the wild, wild west !!!!

we do NOT do whatever .... whenever !!!!

would they take the money away if i got caught? if so, then no the risk is not worth it...if not then yes, i would definitely take it

No, I wouldn't take it.

NO