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There is a nasty little irony that the word "fair" sits in the title of this debate. Any little boy or girl will tell you that the heart of any sport or game is fairness. People don't like cheaters, at least they didn't use too. Cheating at kickball will get you kicked out of school yards all over America, and cheating at cards might get you shot if you are playing with the wrong people.

We tend to ignore simple forms of cheating like throwing a spit ball, using a corked baseball bat, or spying on our opponent to steal their signals. In fact, skilled practitioners of certain kinds of cheating might be considered crafty. However, with the possible exception of Popeye the Sailor and his spinach, there is something about eating substances that provide super-human power that sets off fairness alarms in our collective psyche. Using a performance enhancing substance is not seem cunning, or crafty, but immoral. What galls us is that the men and women who have been caught using steroids are brilliant athletes. They are already great. They are using drugs not to stay in the league or obtain a spot on the team. These people are cheating out of greed and that just seems profoundly unfair.

Cheating to get an advantage is unfair to the athletes against whom you compete, and in a sport like track and field it may even be unfair to the athlete him or herself. There is a Bible verse that says, "What does it matter if you gain the whole world, but lose your soul". I suggest that you refer that question to misters Bonds, McGuire and Clemens. Ms. Jones will also provide a host of interesting insights.

Marion Jones was an incredibly gifted athlete. Even without performance enhancing drugs she achieved record shattering performances in the sprints and the long jump. In addition she was an stellar performer on the University of North Carolina's women's basketball team. Why then would a brilliant performer decide that it somehow made sense to increase her chances of becoming an Olympic champion by using performance enhancing drugs? Why gain the whole world and risk losing her soul? What may be the most unfair aspect of this tragedy is that Marion Jones had everything she needed to be a true champion except character. Unfortunately for Ms. Jones there is no drug you can put into your body that will make you noble or honest.

The three women who teamed with Ms. Jones to win medals in the women's relay are also pondering the issue of fairness. These women trained and sacrificed for a precious

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