Double standard for entertainers?

[WI Crippler]

With all the hoopla surrounding the A-Rod Biogenesis scandal, and just general sports PED scandals like Armstrong, MLB as a whole, etc....I was thinking about how these sports stars are really nothing more than entertainers at the end of the day. Watching a top end athlete perform is really no different than going to a concert, or seeing a movie. It's just a different avenue of entertainment. But aside from PEDs, athletes are held to a strict standard with regards to other "recreational" drugs as well.

Now when it comes to other forms such as acting or musicians, it seems drug use is tolerated, even celebrated to a certain degree (until it wrecks their lives, then they go to rehab and we feel sorry for them). And if you think some of these actors and actresses aren't using "PEDs" to get their bodies into some form or shape for a certain role, then I would call you naive. What would happen in Hollywood if actors and actresses were banned from making any movies or films for a year because they failed drug tests? How difficult would it be for them to completely alter their bodies for certain roles without the hep of some steroids or diruretics? What would the music industry look like if it drug tested its biggest musicians and prohibited the stars from touring or releasing songs/albums due to failed drug tests?

In other words, what is the reason we tolerate use of illicit drugs in those entertainment venues, but when it comes to sports we act as though Barry Bonds raped small puppies by hitting a few extra long balls for a few years?

 

[spud_meister]

Because we don't place bet on musicians or actors.

 

[sangha]

Because we don't place bet on musicians or actors.

/thread

 

[ttwtt78640]

With all the hoopla surrounding the A-Rod Biogenesis scandal, and just general sports PED scandals like Armstrong, MLB as a whole, etc....I was thinking about how these sports stars are really nothing more than entertainers at the end of the day. Watching a top end athlete perform is really no different than going to a concert, or seeing a movie. It's just a different avenue of entertainment. But aside from PEDs, athletes are held to a strict standard with regards to other "recreational" drugs as well.

Now when it comes to other forms such as acting or musicians, it seems drug use is tolerated, even celebrated to a certain degree (until it wrecks their lives, then they go to rehab and we feel sorry for them). And if you think some of these actors and actresses aren't using "PEDs" to get their bodies into some form or shape for a certain role, then I would call you naive. What would happen in Hollywood if actors and actresses were banned from making any movies or films for a year because they failed drug tests? How difficult would it be for them to completely alter their bodies for certain roles without the hep of some steroids or diruretics? What would the music industry look like if it drug tested its biggest musicians and prohibited the stars from touring or releasing songs/albums due to failed drug tests?

In other words, what is the reason we tolerate use of illicit drugs in those entertainment venues, but when it comes to sports we act as though Barry Bonds raped small puppies by hitting a few extra long balls for a few years?

You are leaving out some major differences between competitive sports folks and entertainment folks: gambling, general carreer length and single season statistics importance. A movie or music "star" can have a carreer lasting several decades, and basically make their own rules, while an athlete may compete only at their (brief) physical prime and under the same basic rules as all others in their sport.

 

[Medusa]

With all the hoopla surrounding the A-Rod Biogenesis scandal, and just general sports PED scandals like Armstrong, MLB as a whole, etc....I was thinking about how these sports stars are really nothing more than entertainers at the end of the day. Watching a top end athlete perform is really no different than going to a concert, or seeing a movie. It's just a different avenue of entertainment. But aside from PEDs, athletes are held to a strict standard with regards to other "recreational" drugs as well.

Now when it comes to other forms such as acting or musicians, it seems drug use is tolerated, even celebrated to a certain degree (until it wrecks their lives, then they go to rehab and we feel sorry for them). And if you think some of these actors and actresses aren't using "PEDs" to get their bodies into some form or shape for a certain role, then I would call you naive. What would happen in Hollywood if actors and actresses were banned from making any movies or films for a year because they failed drug tests? How difficult would it be for them to completely alter their bodies for certain roles without the hep of some steroids or diruretics? What would the music industry look like if it drug tested its biggest musicians and prohibited the stars from touring or releasing songs/albums due to failed drug tests?

In other words, what is the reason we tolerate use of illicit drugs in those entertainment venues, but when it comes to sports we act as though Barry Bonds raped small puppies by hitting a few extra long balls for a few years?

in fact many other famous star behaviours are tolerated too

because people identify with those stars whom they admire

 

[WI Crippler]

Because we don't place bet on musicians or actors.

Well banning drug use in sports hasn't stopped them from using, right? Same argument for marijuana legalization. So does anybody pay back their sports winnings if they find out Lebron James used HGH while the Heat won the NBA finals? No. Betting on athletes assuming they are all clean isn't really a good argument, as the money never goes back when it's found out they were "cheating" many years later.

 

[Strucker]

With all the hoopla surrounding the A-Rod Biogenesis scandal, and just general sports PED scandals like Armstrong, MLB as a whole, etc....I was thinking about how these sports stars are really nothing more than entertainers at the end of the day. Watching a top end athlete perform is really no different than going to a concert, or seeing a movie. It's just a different avenue of entertainment. But aside from PEDs, athletes are held to a strict standard with regards to other "recreational" drugs as well.

Now when it comes to other forms such as acting or musicians, it seems drug use is tolerated, even celebrated to a certain degree (until it wrecks their lives, then they go to rehab and we feel sorry for them). And if you think some of these actors and actresses aren't using "PEDs" to get their bodies into some form or shape for a certain role, then I would call you naive. What would happen in Hollywood if actors and actresses were banned from making any movies or films for a year because they failed drug tests? How difficult would it be for them to completely alter their bodies for certain roles without the hep of some steroids or diruretics? What would the music industry look like if it drug tested its biggest musicians and prohibited the stars from touring or releasing songs/albums due to failed drug tests?

In other words, what is the reason we tolerate use of illicit drugs in those entertainment venues, but when it comes to sports we act as though Barry Bonds raped small puppies by hitting a few extra long balls for a few years?

With arguably a tiny number of exceptions, there are no real "performance-enhancing drugs" for actors (a stiff drink, maybe. ).

 

[WI Crippler]

With arguably a tiny number of exceptions, there are no real "performance-enhancing drugs" for actors (a stiff drink, maybe. ).

You think they don't take drugs to enhance their body image on screen? Look bigger (think Ed Norton in American History X), lose weight (just about any actress) for certain roles? They must just have really good nutritionists in Hollywood.

 

[Strucker]

You think they don't take drugs to enhance their body image on screen? Look bigger (think Ed Norton in American History X), lose weight (just about any actress) for certain roles? They must just have really good nutritionists in Hollywood.

OK, no doubt there's lots of that going on. And in some cases, perhaps it ultimately is about gaining a competitive edge...image-wise.

And yes, doubtless many entertainers really do go the old-fashioned route of diet and exercise. The motivation is certainly there for the hard work.

Either way, it's not about a person's skill as a performer. With sports, that is the entire point, the only point.

 

[ttwtt78640]

You think they don't take drugs to enhance their body image on screen? Look bigger (think Ed Norton in American History X), lose weight (just about any actress) for certain roles? They must just have really good nutritionists in Hollywood.

Nonsense. Stallone (5' 6" and 170 pounds?) can be a heavyweight boxing champion only on the movie screen.

 

[Gaius46]

Because we don't place bet on musicians or actors.

Why would that matter? You bet based on past (possibly chemically enhanced) performance.

 

[Dittohead not!]

With all the hoopla surrounding the A-Rod Biogenesis scandal, and just general sports PED scandals like Armstrong, MLB as a whole, etc....I was thinking about how these sports stars are really nothing more than entertainers at the end of the day. Watching a top end athlete perform is really no different than going to a concert, or seeing a movie. It's just a different avenue of entertainment. But aside from PEDs, athletes are held to a strict standard with regards to other "recreational" drugs as well.

Now when it comes to other forms such as acting or musicians, it seems drug use is tolerated, even celebrated to a certain degree (until it wrecks their lives, then they go to rehab and we feel sorry for them). And if you think some of these actors and actresses aren't using "PEDs" to get their bodies into some form or shape for a certain role, then I would call you naive. What would happen in Hollywood if actors and actresses were banned from making any movies or films for a year because they failed drug tests? How difficult would it be for them to completely alter their bodies for certain roles without the hep of some steroids or diruretics? What would the music industry look like if it drug tested its biggest musicians and prohibited the stars from touring or releasing songs/albums due to failed drug tests?

In other words, what is the reason we tolerate use of illicit drugs in those entertainment venues, but when it comes to sports we act as though Barry Bonds raped small puppies by hitting a few extra long balls for a few years?

Professional, and even college athletes are entertainers, no doubt.
The difference is that taking performance enhancing drugs is cheating when it comes to competitive athletics.

 

[WI Crippler]

Well let's get away from the PED argument for a bit. What about other drug use? Any professional sports star faces suspension/expulsion from their sport if found to have been using illicit drugs that are not performance enhancing (marijuana, heroin, cocaine etc....). Ricky Williams had to leave the NFL entirely for a while because he wanted to smoke the ganja. You don't hear about anybody being barred from the silver screen, or kicked off stage at a music festival because they had done drugs at some recent point. hell when you look at the career of guys like Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Rischards, etc.... it's virtually celebrated how ****ed up they got. Why the double standard for athletes?

 

[Dittohead not!]

Well let's get away from the PED argument for a bit. What about other drug use? Any professional sports star faces suspension/expulsion from their sport if found to have been using illicit drugs that are not performance enhancing (marijuana, heroin, cocaine etc....). Ricky Williams had to leave the NFL entirely for a while because he wanted to smoke the ganja. You don't hear about anybody being barred from the silver screen, or kicked off stage at a music festival because they had done drugs at some recent point. hell when you look at the career of guys like Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Rischards, etc.... it's virtually celebrated how ****ed up they got. Why the double standard for athletes?

That is where it gets a bit weird. Perhaps the answer lies in the idea that teens look up to the professional athletes, and try to emulate them, and the objective is to discourage drug abuse among teens.