Wait. I thought your article was arguing against this sort of attitude by example, until I reached the last line.

Are you saying that you think what you were doing to your younger self was a good thing? That you aren't lucky you didn't seriously damage yourself?

First, I had the good fortune to hear Ms. Fey on the radio during her book tour. She is refreshing and honest, as was her posting regarding steroids and athletes.

The use of steroids and any other substance that may cause enhanced performance is inevitable. The only unknown is the possibility of getting caught.

If steroids, hgh, and whatever else is out there was made legal and above board, the only real difference is that the users would be supervised by more credible physicians, and blood tests to monitor the effects would be more available.

As she pointed out quite well, it was still Marion Jones running on the track. All the steroids in the world won't make an ungifted or unmotivated person run at the highest levels; only dedication and ability do that.

Since the use of these substances is inevitable, legalise them for everybody, make access and research open, and drop the silly facade of drug-free athletes.

but wasn't your last article a long complaint that by advertising in Olympic events, McDonalds is doing harm to the collective? And that no decent athlete could possibly want that harm incorporated in his diet?

Now you write that athletes should be allowed steroids and that it would have been on your menu had you had the opportunity.

I'm just sort of stunned by the "combination" of those claims; Steroid use and it's effect on young people, OK. Big Mac, bad.

Huh.

Let there be a Games for non-steroid users only and one for those who do use steroids.

Both would attract attention / fan support; the former being supported for its integrity and the latter to see mutant beasts on HGH, etc. rip the 100 meter dash off in less than 9 seconds, etc.

Sure, the roid-letes may die of heart attacks at 35, suffer infertility & other medical ills...but that's their choice, isn't it? We can choose to be entertained by it as well. It's all fair - once the 1005 clean athletes get their own shots for glory in a fair, separate event(s).

"100%"

Darn typos!

Anyway, I believe my suggestion would be a feasible libertarian solution to the problem...

Jennifer, you've got a pretty strange sense of priorities, lady.

Not only are your ethics and reasoning screwed up, I hope your liver isn't too screwed up from taking handfuls of Advil every day. Advil, Tylenol and similar OTC drugs are the number one reason that people show up in hospital E.R.'s in need of a liver transplant. Believe me, I had to get a transplant, and after 30 invasive procedures and operations, it's no fun. Your whining about pain does not impress me, I've been through worse. Since most hospitals don't do organ transplants, they are sometimes out of luck.

There is no comparison between a super-springy floor mat and performance enhancing drugs. A floor mat is used by all competitors and provides an equal advantage for all. Athletes who cheat and take these drugs have an unequal advantage over the honest athletes who try to win the hard way-by following the rules! Your attitude demonstrates what's wrong with sports these days. Any athlete who cheats to win has a hollow victory, and has to live with the fact that they cheated. If you had any ethics, you would be able to grasp this principle.

Every competition has just one winner. Everyone else is a loser. Winning is the only thing that counts. Do what you have to in order to win.

must.

win.

any.

cost.

Otherwise, you are a loser.

Anyone got a tissue?

Some of the comments in the story as well as at the end of it are amazing.

The attitude is there. The win at any cost attitude. Does anyone think that that attitude will go away for the ones that have it? The ones that are willing to cheat now are the ones that will be willing to cheat if it was all legalized. So, for just a minute, pretend it's legal. "Legal" being the administration of steroids and EPO and HGH and whatever by a doctor. Now all of a sudden the playing field is level! WAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOO! WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!

You know how long that level playing field will last? Less time than it takes to win the Kilo on the velodrome. About a minute. The same beings will be competing. Humans. They will cheat. The new level playing field will be sideways immediately as they continually look for ways to beat the NEW system. Give me a break! They don't honor the old system so it requires oversight. The new one would be exactly the same. Stop it at zero. Don't increase it to 11 and then try to stop it there.

Steve

So wait, if steroids aren't a problem, are you also saying bulimia and laxative abuse by young gymnasts is something that should be dismissed as part of competition?

This piece, I think, needed to go through a few more discussions with whatever editor handled it. There's an interesting description of the desperate, self-destructive steps taken by young people who lose perspective to the point where they will endanger their own health in order to gain a competitive advantage, and then there's a total non sequitur into a shrug of "which is fine, whatever" at the end.

I don't understand what the piece is supposed to convey at all. It's really just a sensational description of horrifying self-abuse with potentially devastating long-term health consequences followed by a sort of "so you can see why none of this matters" conclusion. I'm just really confused. It's not even a matter of agreement or disagreement; it simply makes no sense to me how the first several paragraphs support the final point rather than proving the opposite. It's like laying out all the evidence that the earth is round and then closing with, "So as you can see, the earth is flat."