Comments on: Accepted Performance Enhancements vs. Steroids

By: AliceWonderland42

AliceWonderland42 — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:10:00 +0000

By: Increase Quality of your Life

Increase Quality of your Life — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:21:17 +0000

I didn't think steroid isn't a good choice. thanks for sharing

By: imihaiu

imihaiu — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:16:24 +0000

We've all seen record breaking, unforgettable performances from athletes who didn't have to buy legal steroids but created something with their incredible will and perseverance. Respect to those people and whoever needs these artificial boosts should face the consequences.

By: ErezEldon

ErezEldon — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:06:24 +0000

We see athletes as the modern gladiators. We admire them for their strength, skill and dedication. We also admire medicine for it's advancements. What I wouldn't like to admire in an athlete is medicine. Another idea would be to allow all of them to use whatever they want and a freak Olympics. Than anyone who wants a personal upgrade will be able to buy steroids online. I'd get them myself if I knew there are no damaging side effects.

By: ErezEldon

ErezEldon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:06:24 +0000

There are a lot of pro and cons related to steroid use. I have come across many pharmacies that sell but I don't remember ever reading about hair loss related to them. What other side effects can appear if they are used in prescribed quantities?

By: Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day « Tropophilia

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day « Tropophilia — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 04:54:02 +0000

[...] Accepted Performance Enhancements vs. Steroids – Taylor delves into this intriguing – and highly relevant – ethical dilemma. [...]

By: Taylor

Taylor — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:32:02 +0000

As a follow-up, here’s a really thoughtful post from Open the Future on the implications of medical technology in sports (citing the same story I linked to talk about prosthetics):

http://www.openthefuture.com/2008/01/technodoping_and_the_new_olymp.html

By: Taylor

Taylor — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:58:21 +0000

I think Lasik is a much easier example than others. Gladwell offers two other examples that give me pause in another post (http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/2008/01/the-war-on-drug.html)

From the January 14, 2008 Sports Illustrated:

Page 36: “Then, on a late touchdown run against Arkansas on Nov. 23 [LSU quarterback Matt Flynn] separated his throwing shoulder. Two painkilling injections allowed him to stay in the game.”

Page 51: “In the moments before kickoff, some players listen to metal and some listen to rap. Some talk to God and some talk to themselves. Seattle Seahawks defensive end Patrick Kerney wraps a black graphite glove around his neck, wires it to the portable neurmuscular stimulator in his locker and sends small currents of electricity into his body. He literally energizes himself . . . When Kerney goes home to his house in Bellevue Wash., he climbs into a hyperbaric chamber to infuse his body with oxygen. Then he falls asleep under silver-threaded “earthing” sheets plugged into an electrical outlet. . . ”

The point is that neither athlete broke any laws or violated the rules of their sport…and I’d wager that medical doctors performed the injections (example 1) and helped set up the system described in example 2. Steroids might hurt little Johnny’s development, just as a slightly older Johnny might suffer from a high school or college coach with no scruples about keeping his athletes on the field through painkillers, etc even at risk of further injury. If the coach is violating nothing other than our gut feeling that it’s not right, how do we change laws or rules to REALLY protect kids and athletes alike?

By: Bruce

Bruce — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:02:22 +0000

I think there is a line that can be drawn: if Little Johnny plays high school baseball and idolizes Barry Bonds, but has poor eyesight, he could get lasik surgery and repair his eyes with little side effects (although lasik is not recommended for anyone under 18, since eyesight is normally changing during those years). But if Johnny idolizes Barry Bonds and takes steroids thanks to his role model, he could end up seriously hurting himself in the long run.

Gladwell is right, though, in that this point is not made clear enough: we’re really trying to protect kids, not our home run records.