<p>Barry Bonds has now broken the world record and is suspected of steroid use. Should he be recognized as the title holder?</p>
<p>The recent leader in the Tour de France was disqualified for doping.</p>
<p>Can any athlete compete in the world today without a “little something extra?” </p>
<p>Is it to be expected as the “norm”? Does it matter? Is it cheating?</p>
<p>IMO, the two examples are different. Doping has long be illegal in cycling, but steroids were only banned in baseball a few years ago. It was only 2003 that the baseball puhbahs decided to do anything about performance enhancing drugs. </p>
<p>If Barry juiced (no proof yet), he did it when it was not illegal. Moreover, it is highly likely that he was seeing pitches from pitchers who were also using performance enhancing drugs. He was hitting balls towards defenders who were also users. [Take a look at the Rocket’s wins as he hit his 30’s. He had several years of 10-11 win seasons, but all of a sudden he’s back to 20+ wins. Hmmmmmm</p>
<p>After the '93 strike, attendance was down 20% bcos fans were mad as heck. All of a sudden, hitters started to hit – home runs and averages started to climb – and fans came back to the ballparks. The nation was mesmerized by Sammy and Mac. Owners, including current Commissioner Bud Selig, management, and union essentially ignored drugs until the Congressional testimony in '03.</p>
<p>Barry maybe the Poster Child for all baseball players who were (unproved) juicers, but, yes, he should be recognized as the title holder. Barry should not be the scapegoat for Baseball burying its collective head in the sand in the '90s.</p>
<p>My H brought up a good point-
Bicycling- is not considered a contact sport. Use of steroids is not going to harm other cyclists.( same with running events)</p>
<p>However- in baseball- (where part of the game is either using a bat or throwing a hard ball at other players), in football and in basketball, you do have much more potential for harm if using medication that makes you unpredictable.
Bonds should be in the record books, but with an asterick, indicating that while the medication was legal at the time- it is no longer legal</p>
<p>If you go after barry, you have to go after the whole sport, as bluebayou commented</p>
<p>What is bad about the doping is that teens think it is necessary and it can cause great health risks, especially if they go online or wherever to get the drugs</p>
<p>that is where the resonsibility of sports players should be, keeping kids safe</p>
<p>Great, informative posts. I really don’t know where I stand on the issue.</p>
<p>Kitty, while I understand your husband’s comment and point of view, I think cycling can be very dangerous.</p>
<p>So Babe Ruth only got to play against other white players (many of whom weren’t nearly as good as those who were playing in the Negro leagues at the time.) Should we put an asterisk next to his name?</p>
<p>Hank Aaron played during the time of the “juiced ball” - the manufacturing facility for major league baseballs was changed, the centers of the balls changed, and homerun numbers began to soar. Should there be an asterisk next to his name? </p>
<p>Take a look at the dominant pitchers in the steroids era - 300-win seasons, strikeouts going through the roof. Something we’ll likely never see again. Do we give Bonds extra kudos for hitting homeruns off the (suspected) juicers? </p>
<p>I don’t know whether Bonds was a juicer. I do know that not a single drug test he has ever taken has come back positive (which is more than can be said of some of his fellow colleagues in the same period.)</p>
<p>I think that Bonds did test positive for amphetamines- however perhaps not steriods?
I agree with CGM that these examples are detrimental to kids who imitate their heroes- even if performance enhancing drug use are just rumors.
It must be even more harmful to kids who are still growing.</p>
<p>If adults just blindly take whatever someone puts in front of them- how can we expect kids to be different?</p>
<p>ek:</p>
<p>racing down a mountain at 60+ mph is mighty dangerous, contact sport or no.</p>
<p>right I agree it is dangerous- and I can see that someone in a roid rage, could be very dangerous to co- competitors in that circumstance.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as ‘roid rage’. Hormonal fluctuations occur, but 200 mg of Deca wouldn’t transform someone into a crazed psycho…Just ignorance spread by media.</p>
<p>No fan of Barry Bonds here. Not at all. And I do think his record is probably tainted; although as bluebayou says … no proof.</p>
<p>OTOH, I was thinking today. It does mean something. After all, lots of other baseball chaps were doping as well. And he’s the only one who’s done this.</p>
<p>So I’m not dissing him mentally quite as much as I was before.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as ‘roid rage’.
Then why are steriods illegal?</p>
<p>[tranquilizers and pain medication didn’t make him crazy](<a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19810373/”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19810373/</a>)</p>
<p>lets talk about the prowrestler who slaughtered his family, yeah, no roid rage there</p>
<p>Iloveagoodbrew, if you are using steriods, please de very careful</p>
<p>I also hear they shrink the gonads</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t use steroids. I don’t plan on it either any time soon. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>They shouldn’t be by law, but its obvious why they are in professional sports. They allow you to compete at a higher intensity and recuperate faster than you normally could.</p>
<p>Chris Benoit slaughtered his family. Correct. Due to steriods? Har har. You would be hearing about a pro bodybuilder family massacre every day then. </p>
<p>p.s. emerald and citygirl mom…Do you have any idea what a steroid is, let alone what effect they have?</p>
<p>ek:</p>
<p>side note, but HGH is prescribed for slow-growing kids all the time, so it ain’t illegal.</p>
<p>He is the record holder. There is no dispute about that.
Having said that, his record will forever be tainted no matter what he says. If it could be proven that he took steroids, then the record could be taken away. Seems that would be hard to do at this point.</p>
<p>I’d like to think an athlete can compete without a little extra. And if he can’t, then the record isn’t worth much. Personally, if I had to cheat to do it, it wouldn’t be worth it.</p>
<p>I don’t believe it’s the norm. Yes it matters. And yes it’s cheating.</p>
<p>ILOVEGOODBREW - You seem to be offering a lot of medical advise. Why don’t you tell us what a steroid is, it’s actions, effects, side effects, doses, different types and different effect of each type? How do you know? </p>
<p>You asked others if they knew. Tell us.</p>
<p>Honestly, no. This would take up a lot of pages to type. Instead, why don’t I recommend you books that I have read? </p>
<p>Metabolic Regulation: A Human Perspective by Keith N. Frayn </p>
<p>Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism by Gropper</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Mostly they are not illegal for real patients to own and use. Except for a few underground “designer” steroids, most anabolic steroids are legal prescription drugs with legitmate medical uses. And provided you got them under a doctor’s legitmate prescription, it is not illegal to take steroids. Same with HGH or EPO.</p>
<p>When they say “illegal” steroids they usually mean that it’s forbidden by some private athletic organization or other such as MLB. NBA, NFL, NCAA, or the Olympic committee for athletes to take them. But that is a separate question from actual illegality under the law. </p>
<p>Athletes who dope are usually guilty of both types of illegality, since they seldom have legitimate medical needs or valid prescriptions for the drugs.</p>