by Lisa Ricco

Created on: September 27, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Should drug use get a professional sports athlete banned for life?

The saying goes three strikes and you're out'. This can be true for many instances in life. Make a mistake at work and it's highly doubtful that you'd get fired for it. Your boss will most likely forgive the mistake as long as you make up for it and try not to let it happen again. Lie to your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend, it's a little trickier, but it's mostly forgiven with a valid excuse, some begging, and swearing on your life that you will never do it again.

Professional athletes using drugs, for whatever reason, does not fall under this category. It should only take one time for them to face major consequences. And those consequences should get them banned for life from their sport. No questions asked. Whether the drug be marijuana, crack, cocaine or steroids, if they are caught using, they should be fired. Being a professional sports athlete does not shield you from the consequences anyone else would face in their life. If someone got caught doing drugs at their job they would most likely be fired on the spot. Being a professional athlete is a job. There should be no difference when it comes to the consequences you face with drug usage.

Darryl Strawberry was a baseball player who repeatedly used drugs, and who repeatedly got caught. And every time he got caught, he was given another chance, which I think is totally wrong. With each new chance, he'd stay clean for a while, get help, but eventually, he would start using again. And then he'd be given another chance. It was a vicious cycle, and by him not having to face major consequences, it just kept happening. By letting this go on what kind of a message are you sending to the athletes? Is the message you can get away with anything as long as you're still productive in your sport'?

Just because someone is a big name athlete, does that mean they can get away with anything they want? If you think about it, how is that even helping them? In their minds, if they get away with it once, what's to stop them from trying to get away with it two, three or ten more times? With no consequences they will never accept the fact that they have a problem, because it won't be seen as one. In life, most bad things have some kind of consequence. Overeat every day and you will gain weight which could lead to high blood pressure and diabetes. Smoke all of your life and there's a good chance that you'll develop some form of cancer. Professional athletes using

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