Steroids not a new subject

All of the fiasco over steroids happened toward the end of March for the Steelers, when former… All of the fiasco over steroids happened toward the end of March for the Steelers, when former coach and player Jim Haslett, who now coaches the New Orleans Saints, admitted to using steroids and claimed that more than half of the NFL in the ’70s and ’80s was on juice.

This isn’t old news.

Former Steeler Steve Courson wrote a Jose Canseco-esqe tell-all book about the taint on the Steelers’ dynasty. Titled “False Glory,” it was designed to let the cat out of the bag and remove the blindfold from the eyes of the people of Pittsburgh and those in the NFL. But just like Canseco’s book, everyone pushed it aside as Courson simply trying to make a name for himself after he had been forgotten.

But he’s not done, and is currently trying to make headlines again. Well after everyone had forgotten about him, he testified in front of Congress in April to tell about steroid use in the ’70s and the fact that the Super Steelers weren’t naturally “super”.

He’s not telling us anything we already didn’t know. Mike Webster admitted to steroid use a few years ago and no one was shocked, and no one was angered either.

What makes all of this pointless and irrelevant is that steroid use in the ’70s was not illegal. It was in the open that players were using, but fans covered their eyes, just like they are doing with baseball now. But they had to know something was wrong with what was being put onto the playing field.

You can’t put an asterisk next to the Steelers’ four Super Bowl titles. If you do that, then the record book will be filled with footnotes to the past. The Steelers weren’t the only ones using, just like Barry Bonds, who admitted to taking steroids but said he didn’t know they were supplements, wasn’t the only one using in baseball. For the same reason you can’t put an asterisk by the Steelers’ Super Bowl titles, you can’t do so to Barry Bonds’ records or even Mark McGwire’s because you cannot prove that they were using when they broke records. They didn’t test positive then, and, in all honesty, there wasn’t even a serious policy against steroids, so they weren’t doing anything wrong unless you look at morals. And if it’s a question of morals, who hasn’t done something morally wrong in his life?

The NFL and Paul Tagliabue stand behind their current policy, but you can’t deny the fact that players are still going to use steroids even if there is a stringent policy set in place. Players will use steroids when they get injured to help themselves heal faster. They need to produce more hormones than the body already produces and these supplements help them do that.

The 28th pick in this year’s NFL draft openly admitted to using steroids to heal a broken bone before entering the NFL combines. The San Diego Chargers still picked Luis Castillo in the first round even after he admitted in letterform, to the entire league, that he had used a steroid to aid his recovery.

Athletes know what can and can’t help them perform. The tragedy is that if these steroids are used to a certain extreme extent, they can have long-term effects, which may be the reason that Congress has such a concern. However, Congress is likely concerned for more reasons than just the health issue.

People complain constantly that professional athletes make too much money for playing a game, but if you ask any of those people if they would turn down that same salary, they would say no. So when a time like this comes around, when professional athletes can be knocked down a peg by bringing up illegal steroid use, then Congress just may be obliged to please their constituents.

No matter how much Major League Baseball or the NFL kicks this topic around, steroids will always be something that remains a hidden use.

Brian Palmer wrote this column on supplements that may or may not be illegal in the field of journalism, but he doesn’t want to talk about the past. Share your thoughts on the juice or the cream with him atbkp8@pitt.edu.