Should professional sports players be banned for life if they are convicted for steroid use?

[ZombieHorde]

Poll question: Should professional sports players be banned for life if they are convicted for steroid use?

By "banned" I mean no longer allowed to play sports on a professional level, such as MLB.

[kenfrequed]

1. Hmm

Should have included an 'I don't care' option.

[ZombieHorde]

3. Why would you click on the tread if you don't care? nt

[kenfrequed]

15. Actually

I also unrecommended it. It seems like a pointless question that doesnt really affect 99.99% of the population. So my comment sort of stands.

[ZombieHorde]

16. If you bothered to do all that, then you must have some interest.

"doesnt really affect 99.99% of the population"

It affects those who care about sports stats, crime and punishment, and the war on drugs.

[regnaD kciN]

2. It depends...

...at the time of the violation, was the specific substance banned?

[ZombieHorde]

5. There was a conviction, so yes, the drug was banned. nt

[the other one]

4. Drugs are bad

Who cares?

They SHOULD take performance enhancing drugs. I'm paying to be entertained, and I want my athletes faster stronger and more agile. I respect guys who will risk their long term health to give me a better product.

[painey]

6. cheat

cheat and pay the price.

[the other one]

7. If its legal its not cheating

[Glorfindel]

8. Of course not...they're doing a job and getting paid for it

Should my mail carrier be banned for wearing arch supports?

[jmg257]

9. No. And if they are any good - they can come to NY! nt

[TahitiNut]

10. There's a backlash effect of harsh penalties.

When the penalty is regarded as harsher, folks are less willing to offer evidence and the alleged miscreant is willing to take even more extreme measures to prevent discovery and conviction.

I'd like to see a greater focus on the business of sports and the teams wherein athletes are 'encouraged' to use illicit substances. I don't believe such pressures are non-existent.

[DJ13]

11. Question

If something isnt banned at this point in time should an athlete who uses something banned in the future be banned retroactively?

Whats legal today can be easily banned tomorrow, is that fair to todays athletes?

[ZombieHorde]

13. I don't think they should be banned if the drug they took was legal at the time they took the drug.

[Hippo_Tron]

12. Classic prisoner's dilemma

Athletes would be better off in the long run if everybody opted not to use steroids. But they also have an incentive to use regardless of whether or not the other guy is.

[MercutioATC]

14. Hell, no! Steroid use should be MANDATORY.

Professional sports have nothing to do with sport. They're entertainment.

I think watching a bunch of juiced-up (preferably armed) professional "athletes" would be more entertaining.

[BlooInBloo]

17. There's something about those people that certain other people just don't like.

:rofl:

[ZombieHorde]

24. Who are those people?

Professional sports players? Steroid users? Poll voters?

[petronius]

18. No. They should be roasted slowly on a large grill until almost dead,

and then fed to bears.

(Actually, my answer is just plain 'no' - I really don't care if athletes use chemicals of any sort.)

[TexasObserver]

19. I don't care if they inject jet fuel before every game.

Professional athletes are entertainers. If they want to take steroids to be bigger and stronger, I simply do not care.

I care about minors who are athletes. I care about amateurs who are athletes. I don't want those two groups using steroids, but pros? Let them take anything they want. Don't care.

[Obamanaut]

20. Using MLB as an example, I think that if any player uses performance

enhancing drugs, then ALl should use them. More home runs, and home runs are fun to watch. They are not really playing for sport anyway, but rather for dollars.

[ThomWV]

21. I think they should all be able to take all the drugs they want. Pro sports is just a freek show.

[dropkickpa]

22. I say no, but with a caveat - 2 years suspension with clean tests

throughout. I enjoyed MLB a lot more as a kid. Now with all the juice heads it's boring as fuck. I also have a concern because it leads amateur, college level, minor league, and kids level players to think that juiced up levels of play are acheivable when they're just not. My kid plays sports, and I see a lot of the unrealistic ideas that the kids get from watching the majors play(this is most evident for the baseball kids). Kids in sports are getting injured a *LOT* more because of unrealistic pressure, pressure from coaches, parents, and especially pressure they put on themselves because they see their idols playing and think they can do the same. What they don't know is their idols are drugged out freaks of nature.

[flvegan]

23. No. They're not hurting anyone, and

honestly, if someone told me that I'd make half a billion dollars over my career (A-Rod), I'd juice myself to the gills. Besides, they still can't test for hGH, most steroids can be masked, and with proper knowledge one could put together a supplemental stack that rivals a low dose of anabolics that's cheaper and legal but as effective.