We need to be realistic when discussing professional sports. Professional sports are big business first and sport second. Anyone who believes otherwise is naive. When the desire to achieve profits is married to athletic ability, performance enhancement will always be present, either in the foreground or the background.
History tells us that performance enhancement has always been a part of athletic competition. Whether it is the practice of lifting weights to grow larger muscles or something as simple as using olive oil to make one harder to grab (as the ancient Greek wrestlers did), there has always been the desire to be faster, bigger, stronger, etc. Archaeologists tell us that Mayan warriors followed the practice of chewing coca leaves (cocaine) to make themselves stronger and fearless in battle. The Aztecs used cocoa and cayenne pepper to brew a drink to make them ready for battle. Even today, many of us use coffee in the morning as a stimulate to get us moving.
Today, there is a wide variety of sports drinks that are available to everyone. They contain vitamins, minerals, etc. to fuel the body and provide maximum hydration. Sports stress the body. That is why athletes practice and train. They want to hone their bodies to perform at the highest level and to be able to withstand injury. Athletes have limited careers. All professional sports are demanding both physically and mentally. It is very easy to understand why professional athletes who are making millions of dollars each season want to prolong their careers.
There does need to be a line drawn in the sand between amateur and professional sports. No drug use should be permitted in amateur sports. Since the principal tenant of performance at the amateur level is ability and skill, a drug free policy should be strictly enforced with severe penalties for violators. However, for those athletes with the ability to move on to the professional arena, Steroids and other performance enhancing drugs and substances should be allowed.
When one has shown they have the skill and ability to compete at the professional level, they should also be afforded the opportunity to chose if they want to use steroids and/or other LEGAL substances to enhance their performance. The caveat would be that they must first register with the appropriate league as an enhancement user. Each league would determine for itself how this would be accomplished.
The league would then assign the athlete to a licensed physician. This physician would be responsible for administering the proper dosage and quality of the steroid or other substance chosen by the given athlete. All of the records would be available for inspection by the league. The league would require all of the players to take periodic (not random) drug tests to 1) ensure that the registered enhancement users are only taking those drugs they have permission to use and 2) non-enhancement users are drug free. Violations of league enhancement policies should be dealt with quickly and should result in severe fines, suspensions and possible career curtailment, i.e. game over - you are out! The physician would be responsible for quality of the health of the athlete under their care.
At the present time there isn't any steroid or substance one can take that will allow an individual hit 75 home runs in a season if they do not already have the natural ability to control their timing and reactions to hit a 90 mile and hour pitch. Nor is there any substance available that will allow one to throw 10 touchdowns passes per game or run for 1000 yards per season unless the ability is already present. What steroids and other drugs will do is allow the athlete to recover faster from injuries and to prolong their individual careers. In other words, the athletes using controlled and prescribed steroids should have longer, more productive careers.
All league statistics would carry an asterisk or similar icon to indicate that a particular athlete was registered with the league as an enhancement user. Any records should stand as long as they are so noted. There will always be records set by individuals that have not registered as enhancement users and who will still be superior athletes based on pure ability and genetics. It is therefore conceivable to have identical records set by athletes falling under both categories; in other words, 80 home runs hit by an athlete registered with the league and 80 home runs hit by an athlete not registered with the league. The fans would decide what the greater accomplishment is but both records would go into the record books.
There isn't a corporate executive who wouldn't consider taking enhancement drugs that would allow their mental abilities to perform at maximum efficiency longer to allow them to continue to receive multi-million dollar bonuses. Hollywood stars use plastic surgery to attempt to retain a youthful appearane as they age to prolong their careers. Indeed, many women have Botox parties to elliminate facial wrinkes. People everywhere are getting hair transplants to look younger longer. Let us not forget the men and women who are having liposuction and chest implants and other enhancements to make themselves appear younger and healthier longer.
Why than should professional athletes not be afforded the choice of extending their careers and enhancing their performance if the means are available?