Jul 30th, 2007
The second-hand risks of steroids
With the 2007 Tour de France wrapping up yesterday under a dark cloud of suspicion, allegations and forced rider withdrawals, I can think of no better way to open this SOAR blog than with some thoughts about the question about the use of performance-enhancing substances by athletes.
As a long-time baseball fan who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I found myself in awe of childhood heroes at the S.F. Giants, including Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Bobby Bonds. Their towering homerun shots were amazing to behold, and I was, in fact, privileged to be in the stands to see McCovey hit a line shot out of Candlestick Park during the 1971 National League Championship Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates – the Giants only win of the series.
Since moving out of the Bay Area I’ve followed baseball from afar, catching the Giants position in the standings in the local paper and catching a Giants game on the tube or in person when I could. But I’ve always been a Giants fan.
Hence, the addition of Barry Bonds to the Giants roster in 1993 led to a renewed interest in the Giants franchise. Soon his long-ball drives in Candlestick (and then to