How sad is testing kids for steroids?, By: Ray McNulty
July 06, 2007
The fact that we now need to test our high school athletes for steroids speaks volumes about where we are in America today.
It tells us, in no uncertain terms, that we've failed miserably.
As parents.
As educators.
As a society.
We've failed to stay close enough to our kids to notice what should be obvious changes in their bodies and behavior.
We've failed to effectively teach our kids about the dangers of steroid use -- or, at least, sufficiently scare them with stories of steroid-related health problems and premature death -- and convince them that the short-term benefits aren't worth the long-term risks.
We've failed to ingrain in them a sense of fair play, sportsmanship and integrity that would make the thought of cheating to gain a competitive advantage as repulsive to them as it should be to us.
So we've got only ourselves to blame. We've allowed the bad guys to win for far too long.
We saw what was happening. We saw the players get bigger and stronger, to the point where they looked more like cartoon characters than professional athletes. We heard the rumors, which began as whispers and grew louder until the cries reached Congress. We knew something wasn't right.
But we did nothing to stop it.
Instead, we kept buying tickets. And watching games. And cheering for science projects.
Not because we were naive.
But because we really didn't care -- as long as we were being entertained.
We didn't realize our kids were watching, too, and we were setting a poor example.
We could've turned off the TV. We could've turned away from the games. We could've turned to our kids and said, "This is wrong." But we didn't.
We didn't condemn the cheaters. We didn't do our jobs. We failed.
And we're still failing: Barry Bonds, the most prominent of the BALCO bombers, was just voted into the National League's starting outfield for Tuesday's All-Star Game in San Francisco.
So, as is too often the case in this once-great country, we're abdicating our responsibility.
As parents.
As educators.
As a society.
We're calling in the government, turning over what should be our duty to the state. Apparently, we're not up to the task, not when it comes to steroids and our kids.
Maybe we're too busy. Or we don't care enough. Or, given the demands of raising kids in today's culture of entitlement in a me-first America, we've just given up.
That, too, says plenty about us.
None of it good.
Whatever the reason, Florida this month joined New Jersey and Texas as the only states that test high school athletes for steroids, albeit on an experimental basis.
"I have my doubts about how well it'll work," said Billy Livings, the longtime Vero Beach High School football coach who retired last summer. "I don't know that we have THAT big a problem with steroids in high school. In all my years of coaching, I saw only a couple of kids I might've been suspicious of, mainly because of some peculiar behavior. And I told the parents that they might want to get their child tested.
"I'd prefer to put that in the hands of the parents."
So would I ... but the parents, along with everyone else, keep dropping the ball.
Perhaps that will change now -- now that the tragic double-murder and suicide involving professional wrestler Chris Benoit has made headlines, now that steroids may have killed someone other than the sleazebags using them.
Maybe, hopefully, we've finally had enough.
Or, if not, maybe testing our high school kids for steroids will make a difference.
But we should be ashamed of ourselves, all of us, as a society, that we've let it come to this.
