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Entertainment Enhancing Drugs

          The bat cracks, a single gasp comes from the stands and every head swings around.  The hopes and aspirations of sixty-thousand people hang from that one tiny ball.  That is an amazing that to experience.  Everyone knows it.  That’s how seats get filled, that’s how TV deals get closed, that’s how contracts get signed, jerseys get sold, billboards go up and commercials get filmed.  Baseball is entertainment and the MLB is a business.  They’re not there to bring you closer to your father or help you pass life lessons on to your son.  This is not where boys become men or men become heroes.  The MLB is where men become millionaires.  So what’s my take on juicing in baseball?  Well, the owners and managers have no qualms about exploiting the drug abuse of others for their own benefit.  The players are grown men and have made their own decisions.  They know the health risks of steroids and H.G.H by now; they certainly know the rewards.  And the fans?  They’re happy, don’t let them tell you otherwise.   A fan saying “I did not know they were juicing, I just wanted to see homeruns,” is one more example of plausible deniability to add to this whole scandal.  So aside from the hypocrisy of the fans, I have no problem with performance enhancing drugs in sports.       

            That’s my opinion.  I’m actually not quite that passionate about it.  I sometimes fancy myself a better writer than I really am and try to show off.  Sorry for the overblown intro.  But I do have some thoughts.  I pay little attention to the whines about the purity of the game and the sanctity of the records and the wa wa wa.  And I’ve heard all of the counter-points; every era is different, Ruth only played against whites, Aaron never faced sliders until the end, etc.  I’m not gonna make those again.  But will address an argument that I have a little more respect for.  The one about the kids.

            People say that professional athletes are role-models, or at least should be, and they set bad examples by cheating.  Uh, okay.  They say kids in collegiate, high school, even middle school levels of sports are using performance enhancing drugs.  And that pro-sports are to blame.  Hmmm, maybe.  If I were arguing I would say that private entities, no matter how large, are not responsible for other people’s children.  Then I’d conclude with, let MLB deal with their players and let the NCAA, high schools, and little leagues with their own players.  (Obviously, the government should be able to intervene when minors are involved.)  But I don’t wanna argue with you today.  I know your hearts are in the right place and I do appreciate the sentiment.

            What I do want is to introduce a new perspective.  I see performance enhancing drugs everywhere, in every form of entertainment.  Actors and comedians use drugs to help slip into a role.  The words writer and alcoholic are basically synonymous.  And how many rockstars have died from heroin since you started reading this column?  Even classical musicians rely on beta-blockers to calm their nerves.  But they don’t seem to receive the same criticism.  Yes, controversy circles some celebrities and their drug usage.  But most people take issue with the images they portray and the lifestyles they promote.  The work itself is not discredited.  No one’s ever threatened to take back a Grammy or put an asterisk next to record sales.  Kurt Cobain was called a lot of things, but never a cheater.  There are no cries of foul play.  What about the artists that don’t do drugs?  The ones that suck.  Where’s their violin?   

            You might say that music and entertainment aren’t competitions.  Not they way sports are, therefore fairness is irrelevant.  But I wouldn’t say that to the millions of actors trying to make it in L.A. or the thousands of garage bands around America, all of which are spit in an ocean.  I wouldn’t even say it to the independent labels and productions competing with giants, or the giants themselves that lose numbers to internet piracy.  Entertainment is very competitive.

            And who’s part of that competition?  Who’s in that ocean?  A lot of them are kids.  Children join drama clubs and creative writing classes.  Some play instruments or write poetry.  They have dreams of success just like a varsity letterman does.  These kids have role models, specific routes they want to take, and goals they hope to achieve.  And they aren’t stupid.  They see celebrities doing great things everyday, some of which are aided by drugs. This is true in all of entertainment.  Is it a problem?  I guess.  If it’s a problem in sports then it’s a problem all around.  But for some reason only athletes are demonized.  Congress isn’t questioning the record industry, and they’re not indicting Robert Downey, Jr.  He may get arrested from time to time, but he also stars in movies and wins awards.  Kids see this.  The ones that want to be like him do.