Of Terrorism And Steroids
By Jon E. Dougherty (05/27/05)
Congress should be congratulated for eradicating the terrorist threat to our country, wiping out the insurgency in Iraq, clearing the last remnants of the Taliban from Afghanistan, paying off the national debt, securing our borders, solving our foreign energy reliance problem, and bringing literacy to every American.
After all, these problems must have been resolved already. Otherwise, why would lawmakers busy themselves with such inanities as requiring the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and other professional sports organizations to test their athletes for steroids usage five times a year?
Yes, now that Congress has fixed the nation's most pressing problems, there is nothing left for lawmakers to do except busy themselves with the more mundane, less glamorous chore of regulating private sports organizations.
And I'm sure it's all "for the good of the country."
Try I as I may, I cannot fathom a George Washington or Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin or John Hancock who would ever consider it the federal government's responsibility to make sure professional athletes were free of "performance-enhancing" drugs.
It could be because these men were preoccupied with maintaining independence from one of the world's foremost military powers. It could also be because they never believed a central government had a right to concern itself with something so utterly unrelated to its primary mission of ensuring the safety and security of the nation – not the safety and security of sports.
It may have been unfair for Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds to have taken drugs so they could hit more home runs. It may be bad for NFL players to use steroids to bulk up so they can hit harder and run faster. It may be unsportsmanlike for NBA players to use performance enhancers to they can sink more three point shots.
But even a cursory read of the Constitution Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Hancock and others fought, bled and died for grants the federal government zero authority to regulate professional sports organizations.
The use of drugs – or the banning of the use of drugs – in professional sports is a matter for each private league to decide. The owners, coaches, players and managers must weigh the potential benefits against the potential liabilities. They must decide if the use of drugs is an improvement to the sport or a hindrance. They must choose, based on health, economic and cultural influences, if allowing their players to use performance enhancing drugs is worth it. Even the fans play a role here.
But not government.
The Clean Sports Act, proposed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., seeks to insert the federal government into still another aspect of American life where it does not belong. If passed, it would remove from these professional leagues their respective right to decide their own policies, manage their own athletes, and set their own guidelines and limitations.
Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden is still on the loose.
This is not an endorsement (or rejection) of steroid use. I have not spent hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire a professional sports team or establish a professional sports league. I don't represent the interests of a single player, and I don't have the enormously expensive and difficult task of turning a multi-million dollar sports franchise investment into a profitable venture.
Lawmakers should consider these salient points before arrogantly assuming they have a role to play here. They are also in no position to make such determinations. That's a good thing, since our founders gave them the infinitely more important task of ensuring our national security instead. It may not be as glamorous as professional sports, but glamour never stopped a suicide hijacker.
The players, teams, managers, owners and league officials should be deciding what is in their own best interests. Congress has more important things to do.
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