Chapter[ II. MLB & Other Sports Must Combat Illegal Use of Performance Enhancing
Substances ]
Section[ Introduction ]
II. Major League Baseball and Other Sports Must Combat the Illegal Use of Performance Enhancing Substances
The illicit use of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances
by players in Major League Baseball is a problem that must be addressed, for a number of
reasons. First, steroids, human growth hormone, and similar substances pose significant health
risks to those who use them. This is especially true of illegal users, who often obtain dubious
products (contaminated or otherwise) from black market sources, self-administer these
substances with no medical supervision based on advice gleaned from internet sites and fellow
bodybuilders, and use these substances in amounts that far exceed those that are prescribed by
physicians for legitimate uses.
Second, beyond the dangerous effects on players themselves, the public
perception that players in Major League Baseball use these substances contributes to their use by
young athletes, who in turn cause themselves great physical harm. Adolescents might be at even
greater risk of harm than adult athletes from the use of these substances because the intense
hormonal changes of adolescence can exacerbate their adverse psychiatric side effects.20
Third, the illegal use of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, and similar
drugs poses a significant threat to the integrity of the game of baseball. The widespread use of
these substances raises questions about the validity of records and their comparability across
different eras. Because such use is in violation of law, professional baseball players who do so
can place themselves in a position of vulnerability to drug dealers who might use their access and
knowledge of violations of law to their own advantage, through threats intended to affect the
outcome of baseball games or otherwise.
20 Restoring Faith in America’s Pastime: Evaluating Major League Baseball’s Efforts to
Eradicate Steroid Use: Hearing Before the H. Comm. on Gov’t Reform, 109th Cong. 307 (2005)
(statement of Dr. Kirk Brower).
4
Finally, and very important from my perspective, the illegal use of these
substances by some players is unfair to the majority of players who do not use them. These
players have a right to expect a level playing field where success and advancement to the major
leagues is the result of ability and hard work. They should not be forced to choose between
joining the ranks of those who illegally use these substances or falling short of their ambition to
succeed at the major league level.
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