The NFL would benefit by legalizing steroids.

In the 1950’s Human Growth Hormones were used to help children with growth problems but was under the radar for other uses until the 1990’s, when the New England Journal of Medicine had an article where Dr. Daniel Rudman advocated that men taking a six-month course of HGH reduced their body fat by 14.4 percent while increasing lean muscle mass by 8.8 percent.

The problem with HGH is whether its illegal to use in the United States? Selling HGH without a prescription can get you a five year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.  HGH also has side affects like joint pain, swelling and cancer.

Why do we care about this? Well because of the use of HGH in professional sports of course.  The MLB was in theory saved because of steroids when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were in a race for the homerun record and that was all because of ‘roids The NFL has always been looked at as a sport that HGH certainly could be used in but has never had the publicity like the MLB has but that has changed.

Just recently Houston Texans’ rookie sensation Brian Cushing tested positive for hCG (a hormone known to be used by steroid users at the end of a cycle) and was suspended for four games and gave attention to a subject that no professional league wants to deal with.

The funniest thing about this is the fact that football journalist believe that steroids are a necessary evil in today’s NFL. How you ask?  They could have stripped his Rookie of the Year award away from him in a stand against performance enhancing drugs yet they chose to reward it. In the initial voting he received 39 of the 50 votes and in the re-vote he got 18 but it was still enough to retain the award.   Some stood up against it but 18 stood firm that he was the best even if he had an advantage.

Cheaters never win is now a foregone conclusion because if more then one player is doing it, even if the rules of the league forbid it makes it not cheating. The question that is being talked about is are professional leagues required to stop the use of steroids? I would argue that the Food and Drug Administration should legalize the use of HGH without a prescription for athletes and allow the sports leagues regulate it.

I bet your wondering why? Because these are entertainers and they entertain by jumping higher, tackling harder, running faster and being out on the field longer. I know that it has some incredible side affects and if you allow every player to use steroids it will force other people into using them but it will enhance the game.

It is awful for me to ask all players to gamble with their lives but if it makes the NFL even better I want it. What does the NFL have to lose? You have to think more players then just Cushing is using, the enforcement that is in place is weak, not to many people really care if players are using (just look at Cushing), you are already rewarding the steroid users thus adding to the reward for using because they have a better chance at getting max contracts and awards then the non-juicers but if you legalized steroids you would allow the moral players to have the option to be on the same playing field.

Why doesn’t the NFL just enforce a “no steroids policy better”? Well one word always sums up problems with enforcement and that is MONEY. The owners are banking on physical play and the athletes are getting an upper hand by using.  The NFL would spend all the money in the world to stop it if the public outcry was louder and losing them money.

You have to think that the NFL and its current players prove that steroids are rampant in football.  During the Steelers dynasty that led to four Super Bowls their offensive line weighed about 250 pounds and now a couple decades later offensive linemen are tipping the scales over 300 pounds.

What does this mean; aliens have actually landed on Earth and created mutant humans probably not. I am leaning more towards steroids then a sudden evolutionary change in 2 decades. I am sure that nutrition and weight training have all improved but not enough that would make the averages skyrocket by 50 pounds.

One really huge benefit of legalizing steroids would be the ability for easy regulation. The team physician would handle the player’s usage of steroids and hopefully be able to avoid over use.

The fact is that with steroids they can boost their earning potential even if that means taking a few years off the back end.  I mean what do your last years of your life entail anyways, oxygen cans, diapers and smelly old folks homes. Sports are about putting the best raw talent against each other; but those happy days are over.

This wouldn’t mean that everyone would have to use them and if you could play at the same level as someone who is using that would make your abilities that much more special.  I would applaud you but hey I am selfish and I want the best and if that means jeopardizing and athlete’s future I can live with that.

The best option now that the cat is out of the bag is to legalize and regulate.