Haynes.tv

As you all know, Floyd Landis an American Professional Bicycle Rider recently won the most coveted event in his sport, Le Tour De France. Shortly after winning it he failed a drug test saying he had a high testosterone level and he could possibly have his trophy taken away. Now he has joined up with a group of other extraordinary athletes who have had their reputations ripped up by the media, because of steroid accusations .

Illegal substances however has now become the biggest thing in sports from Justin Gatlins recent testosterone test in track and field to Barry Bonds ongoing criticisms and questionings in baseball. Speaking of Barry Bonds his whole Steroidal controversy in baseball has been very huge and a hot topic in sports news. For one thing he has given ESPN a load of stuff to talk about; he even has his own reporter (Pedro Gomez) who just reports on Bonds. In addition, he has his own show on ESPN called Bonds on Bonds which is Barry Bonds talking about the entire controversy. Then to cap it all off just about every 4th episode of Outside The Lines with Bob Ley features a story on Bonds or at least Steroids. Another great athlete ruined by steroids, Justin Gatlin, who could have destroyed a great track career. He won a gold medal in the 100 m at the 2004 Olympics and a shares record for fastest 100 m race ran tied with Jamaican Asafa Powell.

Another one of the guys in this group is Mark McGwire the man who hit 70 home runs in 1998 and 65 the following year having his two best years at the ages 34 and 35 and hitting a total 583 home runs career. People saying it was fishy how his two best years were somewhat late but the truth being told he had plenty of great years through his entire career. They also said that he was an abnormally large man, well truth be told he was always a big man. With him being eligible for the Hall of Fame class of 2007 all the predictions say he will not be accepted. Which is just too bad because he may or may not have taken steroids, nevertheless the assumption is he did take steroids. Barry Bonds may have worse luck than McGwire as he did get substantially larger but i mean, hey, there is such thing as a gym. It has just become something we just hear too much: great accomplishments and careers ruined by steroids.

For one thing we can ask is what about all the others? As we all know there is plenty of names who take steroids but not so many of them are remembered for it. What about the guy who came in fifth? Nobody cares whether he took performance enhancing drugs. What about that guy who hit 23 home runs, 88 RBI’s and had a .279 average nobody cared that he took steroids. Its only the great ones, the accomplishments we all dream of. They are the ones who are accused of taking anything that might make them perform to a higher level. In this group of athletes who have performed in the closest to perfection there is a majority who have passed every test. Every test thrown at them comes out with the answer negative .

Well, are all these big names really taking steroids? Have most sports been taken over by the act of cheating? Well I just don’t know, I just think people should be congratulated for greatness not scolded especially when science shows innocence.

If I have accomplished nothing else with this article I would just like to discourage anybody who would consider taking steroids; it is cheating and it destroys your body and not to mention your manliness (or your womanliness) and your complexion.

Zach Seites-Rundlett