On Manny and PEDs

It does feel like justice. Though he is not directly tied to the Red Sox anymore, Manny's failed drug test finally brings that organization under serious scrutiny, which the Sox had avoided as best they could while persecuting the Yankees.

So the secret is out: baseball is still dirty. Just looking at the players' bodies and faces should be enough proof that they're using some very powerful chemicals to enhance their physiques.

It would be naive not to suspect that many MLB ballplayers use Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs), especially HGH and probably other stuff we've never heard of before. It's also naive not to acknowledge that the use of PEDs is probably prevalent in every major sport, including the NHL, the NFL, the NBA, and even FIFA.

The designer drugs and masking agents always stay a step ahead of the testers. It's like a game. And when millions of dollars are at stake, it's a game that the testers will lose, and players and drug-makers will always win.

There's only one way to solve the problem, and that's to stop making it a problem. To show my point, I'll talk about the world's oldest (and in some countries, now unionized) profession.

Prostitution is legal in some countries because they've realized that prostitution will always exist, no matter what anyone does. Otherwise good, upstanding people will always be buyers and sellers of the world's oldest product. And since the advent of modern contraception and disease prevention, the people who say prostitution is wrong have only moral grounds on which to stand. It is only morally wrong (in their eyes), but the truth is that it is not dangerously wrong when done by responsible professionals who are subject to regulation. Prostitution only becomes dangerous when it is outlawed and its "vendors" have no legal recourse when they are mistreated by clients or employers.

Sound familiar? More and more difficult to detect PEDs and masking agents will always emerge, no matter what. Otherwise good, upstanding athletes will use them to remain competitive. Since the advent of the responsible, professional drug-taking athlete, the people who oppose PEDs have only moral grounds on which to stand. The days of Lyle Alzado are long, long gone. It is only morally wrong (in their eyes), but the truth is that it is not dangerously wrong when done by responsible professionals who are subject to regulation. The use of PEDs only becomes dangerous when it is outlawed and its users have no legal recourse against mistreatment or professional guidance for the substance's use.

So I say, let's acknowledge reality, cool it with the moralizing, and start regulating responsibly. It's the best thing for the players, and the sport will endure, as it always has.