What's wrong with taking performance enhancing drugs? Isn't everything that an athlete does designed to enhance his/her performance?
Kestrel
Yeah, but I think it has been labeled as "cheating". Is it really enhancing, or is it adding? How about an exoskeleton with hydraulic boosters to enhance ones strength? Exercise can enhance your body, but many think these drugs give you something that you don't have. How about blood dopping, injecting extra red blood cells? How about the fact that taking many of these performance enhancing drugs has been shown to be unhealthy?
Using the text book when taking the test is cheating in some classes, isn't cheating in others. Society draws the line, and it can move from time to time.
Personally, I think taking performance enhancing drugs is wrong. I don't feel that it is a huge crime, but still slightly on the wrong side of the line.
Cap'n Slappy
I agree with Kestrel but I think the case most people are talking about right now is Barry Bonds. Did Bonds cheat? I don't think so. If he took some kind of drug that wasn't an illegal substance at the time how is that cheating? He's never failed a random drug test. The problem most people have with Barry is that he's an ass and doesn't care who knows he's an ass. The baseball world wants the Hank Aarons and Mickey Mantles and when someonce comes along that doesn't fit the mold it becomes a problem. I personally don't like Bonds but he sure can hit a baseball.
Kestrel
Yeah Pirate, that's a case of rules not keeping up with medicine.
But one wonders how this impacts records. I mean, how fair is it to make a new record for home runs when you are taking a new high tech drug that wasn't around when the record was last broken. I feel it is a grey area, but I still feel uncomfortable saying someone is better at making home runs (when taking this new drug) than folks in the past who didn't take that drug.
slash
Everything that changes affects the records. In baseball for instance the season is 8 games longer than when Babe Ruth played. "Relief" pitchers were not used the way they are now. I don't think anyone will ever win as many games as Cy Young because they won't ever pitch enough to do so. He had 511 wins and 316 losses. Both are records. I don't think you can compare one era to the next.
