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It had to start somewhere. Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun has just become the first player in Major League Baseball to successfully challenge a suspension for a positive drug test. He's back in the game just in time for spring training. Now for the big question folks.
Why was he ever "out" of the game to begin with? The MLB says it had some of Braun's urine and they said it contained “insanely high levels” of testosterone, pointing to the use of performance-enhancing drugs (aka steroids). So what? Even if it were true (and I'm not saying it is -- dude just overturned that suspension, remember?), isn't that Ryan Braun's problem, not the league's?
What I'm saying may be considered blasphemy among diehard baseball fans and parents alike. No one wants their wee ones looking up to some guy who is using a drug that will give him 'roid rage, make his gonads shrink, and seriously damage his heart. But I'll say it again: all of those seriously screwed up side effects happen to the guy (or gal) who is taking steroids. It's their problem in the end.
It seems that Ryan Braun got this whole thing thrown out on a technicality. Pretty reputable sources are saying he complained about the testing process, and it worked. So it is still possible that he was using some sort of performance enhancing drug. We don't know, we will probably never know, but it is possible.
So what if he was? Look at all of those awful side effects. He'd be the moron (sorry, but it's true) who willingly risked them just for a little improvement in his game. What does that say about a player?
Instead of banning steroid use in Major League Baseball, I wonder what would happen if we let these guys go ahead and shoot themselves full of synthetic hormones and deal with the consequences of their own stupidity. Allow a guy to be hoist with his own petard. What a message THAT would send to other players and kids: seeing what it really did to them in the end. We could make it unattractive!
But, but, but that's unfair, right? They'll have an advantage over their competition? They will be able to hit harder, run faster, blabbity, blah, blah, blah? Yes ... if they're dumb enough to take the risk. But in the end, who is going to get hurt? Really ...
What's your take on the steroids in sports scandals that continue to crop up?
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