Steroids are a modern-day conundrum. Sneaky sport-farks have used, do use, and will continue to use them.

It all goes to character and ethics. Sad.

Any athlete not willing to give 110% shouldn't be a professional to begin with. After all, it's not like EPO doesn't simulate a natural substance.

I blame the drug testers.

FTA: It was the fourth gold and sixth overall medal stripped from the 2000 U.S. track contingent in eight months for the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

lantawa: Steroids are a modern-day conundrum. Sneaky sport-farks have used, do use, and will continue to use them.

It all goes to character and ethics. Sad.

Drugs and doping have been in all and every sport since just after the beginning of all sport. It's all about energy and endurance. It's always been easier to get some speed and HGH. Or whatever the drug of the time was.

Did you really need 2000 relay teams?


/NYOK NYOK NYOK HERE ALL NIGHT

alvin and calvin? siriusly????

Why ANYone watches these thoroughly corrupt sports eludes me.

Tr0mBoNe: Drugs and doping have been in all and every sport since just after the beginning of all sport. It's all about energy and endurance. It's always been easier to get some speed and HGH. Or whatever the drug of the time was.

The issue is not performance-enhancement. It is performance-enhancement that is specifically in violation of the rules of a sport. There is no difference between cheating via use of banned substances and attempts to fix contests.

I have never understood why anyone cares about performance enhancing drugs. Seems to me that they should be encouraged.

I hear they are also thinking of stripping Coroebus of his medal in the stade.

Just make Performance-enhancing drugs mandatory for all athletes. This way everyone is on a level playing field, and the retirement pension payouts will be less.

Wow, stripping the whole team of their medals because one performer stepped forward is really going to encourage people to do the same.

The IOC is comprised of a bunch of corrupt farks anyway.

Dammit Pettigrew!

If you are going to tell on yourself do it before the fookin race not 8 years later. You could have been replaced in the rage. Now you screwed the rest of the team out of their medals.

I hear they are also thinking of stripping Coroebus of his medal olive branch in the stade.

Hi, i fixed that for me.

If that photo is labelled correctly, he's the skinniest one of the four.

Nice. Let's see pro baseball or football players undergo a quarter of the testing that cyclists have to endure. Oh, wait, we don't do that in the land of the free, we should trust that they're clean.

/uh huh
//...right

I find it hard to believe that anyone who wins like that cannot be ashamed once they're on the podium. It's like winning the stanley cup when all you had to play against is the Leafs. Maybe penalties should be harsher, like if 1 countries swimmer gets caught doping then that countries entire swim team is disqualified. At that level there is no way that an athlete can take anything without trainers, coaching staff or other testers finding out beforehand.

/sorry about the Leafs dig
//Not enough hockey threads lately.

Performance-enhancing drugs may make sports more interesting to watch, but we'll all be paying for it when our sports hero of choice starts to resemble Mr. Potato Head.

bronyaur1: The issue is not performance-enhancement. It is performance-enhancement that is specifically in violation of the rules of a sport. There is no difference between cheating via use of banned substances and attempts to fix contests.

Isn't that begging the question? Generally, when we say something should be illegal, we are saying that there is something unethical inherent in its use.

I'd agree that it's wrong for athletes to take substances specifically banned by whatever governing body they operate under, but that doesn't address why those substances should be banned in the first place.

And why should they? I've made this point before, and I'll make it again: I can see no difference between PED use and any other training regimen, special dietary plan, or corrective surgery.

And it's not as if these athletes can just take some steroids and get better - they have to be used in conjunction with their training plans.

I just don't see why such substances should be banned, particularly since the Olympics and other sports have long since given up the "amateurism" pretense.

I blame the stat geeks!!

coco ebert
Wow, stripping the whole team of their medals because one performer stepped forward is really going to encourage people to do the same.

The IOC is comprised of a bunch of corrupt farks anyway.

I guess not doing anything about it is the way to go? Like I said majority of the time someone else knows of the doping. Usually part of the team or coaching staff.

coco ebert: Wow, stripping the whole team of their medals because one performer stepped forward is really going to encourage people to do the same.

The IOC is comprised of a bunch of corrupt farks anyway.

It's hard to win a 4x100 if you only have 3 runners. They're just trying to make the other sports catch up and get with the program. Football is terrible... Baseball has STB... as far as we know, all the hockey players are on speed... poker players take stimulants, both legal and otherwise. It's all about a competitive advantage... it's not cheating unless there's a rule against it.

Pete Rose for MLB Commissioner!!

someahole: I have never understood why anyone cares about performance enhancing drugs. Seems to me that they should be encouraged.

For a lot of people, sports aren't about seeing big muscles move fast, its about seeing the willpower and determination athletes possess to overcome human limits. Its where the phrase 110% comes from. You give it your all, and then keep pushing. Steroids are a loophole in this, it allows them to get the benefit without as much input. It cheapens the status.

Of course, then there are people like you who think that sports is how many home runs you can hit, how fast you can run, and just general statistics.

Obviously, I'm not the only one who feels like this. Look at the original Rocky. It wasn't about who won, or who was stronger. In the end, it was about the determination and willpower to go the 15 rounds.

I hope Johnson's name doesn't get sullied because of that douche Pettigrew. The way he smashed his own world record time in the 200m in Atlanta in '96 was one of the greatest athletic performances I've ever seen.

Only_A_Lad: bronyaur1: The issue is not performance-enhancement. It is performance-enhancement that is specifically in violation of the rules of a sport. There is no difference between cheating via use of banned substances and attempts to fix contests.

Isn't that begging the question? Generally, when we say something should be illegal, we are saying that there is something unethical inherent in its use.

I'd agree that it's wrong for athletes to take substances specifically banned by whatever governing body they operate under, but that doesn't address why those substances should be banned in the first place.

And why should they? I've made this point before, and I'll make it again: I can see no difference between PED use and any other training regimen, special dietary plan, or corrective surgery.

And it's not as if these athletes can just take some steroids and get better - they have to be used in conjunction with their training plans.

I just don't see why such substances should be banned, particularly since the Olympics and other sports have long since given up the "amateurism" pretense.

pretty much this

Does anybody care? I don't even remember the 2000 Olympics.

They're supposed to be role models! Think of teh children!! Hell, I say let them use the juice. I want to see some unnatural feats of strength out there.

ultraholland: They're supposed to be role models! Think of teh children!! Hell, I say let them use the juice. I want to see some unnatural feats of strength out there.

coco ebert: Wow, stripping the whole team of their medals because one performer stepped forward is really going to encourage people to do the same.

The IOC is comprised of a bunch of corrupt farks anyway.

Agree...by this logic the Yankees should be stripped of their Series titles when they had Clemens and Giambi.

Strike Pettigrew from the record books and take his medal, but don't shaft his teammates.

Marcus Aurelius: Any athlete not willing to give 110% shouldn't be a professional to begin with. After all, it's not like EPO doesn't simulate a natural substance.

I blame the drug testers.

Olympic athletes are not allowed to be professionals, the Olympics of for amateurs only.
In fact, being found to be a professional athlete can get your medals stripped (new window) just as fast as dipping yourself in a vat of steroids can.

So are you guys underestimating how unhealthy these drugs are or the number of people who are actually athletes?

rcain: Olympic athletes are not allowed to be professionals, the Olympics of for amateurs only.

I'm guessing you've never seen Olympic basketball, hockey or baseball?

/Clue
//get one.

rcain: Olympic athletes are not allowed to be professionals, the Olympics of for amateurs only.
In fact, being found to be a professional athlete can get your medals stripped (new window) just as fast as dipping yourself in a vat of steroids can.

Welcome to 1992. The only sport with amateurism requirements these days is boxing.

You might remember the past four Summer Olympics, where the USA (and every other country) has fielded its professional basketball players? I seem to remember that being kind of a big deal.

rcain: Marcus Aurelius: Any athlete not willing to give 110% shouldn't be a professional to begin with. After all, it's not like EPO doesn't simulate a natural substance.

I blame the drug testers.

Olympic athletes are not allowed to be professionals, the Olympics of for amateurs only.
In fact, being found to be a professional athlete can get your medals stripped (new window) just as fast as dipping yourself in a vat of steroids can.

Um. What are you high on? Jim Thorpe was a LONG time ago. ALL the olympic athletes are professionals now. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant will be playing basketball for the US. Don't tell me they're amateurs. Michael Phelps? Pro. The list goes on....

I think it was on NPR that they were going to have a debate about steroid use and other performance enhancing substances. One person said that technically shoes enhance your performance. I would have liked to hear that debate.

I do understand that steroids to awful things to your body over time and that's why they're frowned upon, but considering the impeccable shape that these athletes are in, would it really be so awful to return the the days of nude olympics?

I do understand that steroids to awful things to your body over time and that's why they're frowned upon, but considering the impeccable shape that these athletes are in, would it really be so awful to return the the days of nude olympics?

Yes. I really don't want child porn charges brought against me when I record "women" gymnastics events.

rcain: For decades the Soviet bloc fielded teams where every single athlete was subsidized by the state, with free housing, training & stipends. Yet that qualified as "amateur".

The rule permitting professionals simply legalized the obvious.

Well, hey my bad. I always thought the Olympics were amateur.
Personally, I don't give a rats ass about the sports world, and this shows it.
I apologize if my comments were offensive, which I can see they clearly were.

I'm sure a couple more will chime in, feel free to bash, because it will add that extra inch of the ladeez.

/The snark on fark is amusing.

teribeth: I do understand that steroids to awful things to your body over time


Well, from a certain perspective, so do weightlifting, sprinting, and boxing, to name a few.

To me, watching most sports is incredibly boring. So I think that athletes should be required to take performance-enhancers, bad for health or not... just as long as I am more entertained.

Better yet, let the Japanese come up with new sports ideas.

teribeth: I do understand that steroids to awful things to your body over time and that's why they're frowned upon, but considering the impeccable shape that these athletes are in, would it really be so awful to return the the days of nude olympics?

your newsletter, please.

Are they just getting around to testing the pee samples now?

Oh, yeah. It's not like the U.S. is judged on a different standard in these matters than other countries. Like when Floyd Landis was stripped of his Tour de France win, and the Spanish runner-up was also found to be doping, and also stripped of his win. Oh, wait, he wasn't...he was given a retroactive "medical waiver." Just like, I'm sure, if he'd been an American...

/can you guess the dominant tone of my post?

More Americans should come forward and admit to cheating, instead of being pathetic cowards.

All the US does it cheat, lie and steal. The entire culture is been built up off of these values. I'm ashamed (as are many of my countrymen) to be so geographically close to that dumpster.

Rethorn: someahole: I have never understood why anyone cares about performance enhancing drugs. Seems to me that they should be encouraged.

For a lot of people, sports aren't about seeing big muscles move fast, its about seeing the willpower and determination athletes possess to overcome human limits. Its where the phrase 110% comes from. You give it your all, and then keep pushing. Steroids are a loophole in this, it allows them to get the benefit without as much input. It cheapens the status.

Of course, then there are people like you who think that sports is how many home runs you can hit, how fast you can run, and just general statistics.

Obviously, I'm not the only one who feels like this. Look at the original Rocky. It wasn't about who won, or who was stronger. In the end, it was about the determination and willpower to go the 15 rounds.

Drugs aren't really a loophole, they just raise the bar. Its not like the guy on steroid is pushing any less hard, he's just getting an advantage via biotech, in the same way athletes benefit from other technologies. I suppose your right, I only watch sports to see people accomplish super-human feats. I don't see where "determination" and "willpower" alone make for an interesting game. If you want to see that watch the special olympics.

PrinceofFark: More Americans should come forward and admit to cheating, instead of being pathetic cowards.

All the US does it cheat, lie and steal. The entire culture is been built up off of these values. I'm ashamed (as are many of my countrymen) to be so geographically close to that dumpster.

4/10 on the trollometer. Yes, only US athletes cheat. Not the East German womens teams that were likely doing it as early as the 1972, not the Chinese swimmers, certainly not the Italian bicyclists.

rcain: Well, hey my bad. I always thought the Olympics were amateur.

Once upon a time, they were:

(from wikipedia)
It gradually became clear to many that the amateurism rules had become outdated, not least because the self-financed amateurs of Western countries often were no match for the state-sponsored "full-time amateurs" of Eastern bloc countries. Nevertheless, the IOC, led by President Avery Brundage, held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism. In the 1970s, after Brundage left, amateurism requirements were dropped from the Olympic Charter, leaving decisions on professional participation to the international federation for each sport. This switch was perhaps best exemplified by the American Dream Team, composed of well-paid NBA stars, which won the Olympic gold medal in basketball in 1992. As of 2004, the only sport in which no professionals compete is boxing (though even this requires a definition of amateurism based on fight rules rather than on payment, as some boxers receive cash prizes from their National Olympic Committees); in men's football (soccer), the number of players over 23 years of age is limited to three per team.

For those of you who think that performance-enchancing drugs in professional sports are no big deal, you gotta remember that for every professional athlete that does it, there's an asshole parent somewhere willing to give it to their kid to live their dreams through them. Guess where they got the idea?

Excellent example = Jackass Parent

ComicBookGuy: Oh, yeah. It's not like the U.S. is judged on a different standard in these matters than other countries. Like when Floyd Landis was stripped of his Tour de France win, and the Spanish runner-up was also found to be doping, and also stripped of his win. Oh, wait, he wasn't...he was given a retroactive "medical waiver." Just like, I'm sure, if he'd been an American...

/can you guess the dominant tone of my post?

Hello Kitty?

jekostas: For those of you who think that performance-enchancing drugs in professional sports are no big deal, you gotta remember that for every professional athlete that does it, there's an asshole parent somewhere willing to give it to their kid to live their dreams through them. Guess where they got the idea?

Excellent example = Jackass Parent

Which is why they should be regulated like alcohol and tobacco.

PrinceofFark: More Americans should come forward and admit to cheating, instead of being pathetic cowards.

All the US does it cheat, lie and steal.

Well, duh. You don't get to be the world's only superpower by asking nicely.