We’d have stronger and faster players, literally a super race of athletes, doping it up to boost gameplay. What’s not to like? Well ….
Doping has a negative connotation in sports. For example, Russia was barred from the Olympics for doping. But what if we were to legalize some recreational PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs). Hopped up on steroids and other drugs, athletes would be able to run faster and last longer than ever.
Lance Armstrong, the former winner of the Tour De France, was suspended for violating the league’s drug doping policy. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Chile’s World Cup soccer team captain had to miss the World Cup because he unknowingly took tea laced up with cocaine. But it doesn’t have to be that way, either.
Scenario A: The U.S. team is tired and, as the game slows, the team loses to Belgium in extra time. Sound familiar? Well, it happened in 2014 on a fateful night in Salvadore.
Scenario B: The U.S. team ‘spiked up’ during halftime. Supercharged, America wins!
Ethical obligations say it couldn’t happen. At least not now. Cheating for athletic advantage isn’t kosher. Kids look up to athletes and may follow suit, and we would then exacerbate an already raging drug epidemic.
However, there is an alternative: doping that is properly controlled and regulated with safe PEDs available to players. Coaches might benefit from better playcalling. And who knows? Refs could use PEDs to improve their officiating.
Doping could add a whole new dimension to sports IF properly managed. So, I’m calling on all leagues to flip the switch. Let’s bring back tobacco gum and tar-lathered baseballs. Do what it takes to win!
(…just don’t tell the kids about it.}
