Saturday, December 15, 2007

it does not add up





afederalgrandjuryisoverkill
There is a big fuss going on about baseball players who use steroids. And I cannot understand why.
Baseball players are entertainers. They perform on television. The money that television pays is one reason these entertainers make the outlandish amounts of money they make.
Television gets its money from selling advertising. And a prominent advertiser is Beer.
Beer is a drug. Alcohol is America's number one drug problem, by a wide margin. The statistics are easy to find, so I won't repeat them, but the bottom line is that alcohol ruins lives, breaks up families, and kills people.
Now, people say that steroids are a drug. The use of steroids is "cheating".
So, the players have to be steroid free to sell alcohol.
Athletes use their bodies to make a living. Baseball players don't abuse themselves as much as some sports, but they still push themselves. Throwing a curveball is not a natural act, and it takes a toll on a pitcher’s arm. But we allow, even encourage this kind of self abuse. If a player wants to use chemicals to enhance his performance, knowing that he is putting his future health at risk, should he be allowed to make this choice? They are required to push legal drugs when they play on television.
The players are also relentlessly tested to insure that they don't use other forms of chemical entertainment. Just like the rest of the working population in this formerly free country. And every time they play on television, they promote alcohol use.




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