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November 20, 2003
Drugs, Sex and Sports By Tom Smith Andrew Sullivan apparently approves of this notably superficial and stupid comment on drugs in sports appearing on Slate. So what's all the hysteria about drugs for? Here's the idea. Using drugs in sports, especially high level sports, is cheating. At the highest levels, margins of victory are very small, and drugs can easily be the margin of victory. We do not want who wins to be determined by who has the best anti-detection technology, or who is willing to do the most damage to their kidneys or liver. It corrupts the sport, and may have already ruined some sports, such as professional cycling, beyond repair. Talk to professional cyclists off the record, and after a few legal drinks, and they will tell you amazing stories about the lengths cyclists go to to dope themselves and hide the evidence. I hope Lance Armstrong is telling the truth when he says the only thing he is on is his bike, but I admit I doubt it. And the fact that many of the Olympics promotors are corrupt is no excuse for the athletes themselves to cheat. The whole idea of athletic competition is to create an arena governed by rules so that victory and merit correspond. It is an artificial exercise in nobility of body and spirit. Not rigorously enforcing rules against drugs would undermine all of that. |