Rick Ankiel and HGH

[Peralin]

I'm from St. Louis and have been a Cardinals fan all my life (18 years). I was disgusted by McGwire's "no comment" in court and despise any payers who use steroids to get an advantage. And now Rick Ankiel, who's been my hero for the past month, is under pressure from the media because he used HGH in 2004. Here's my opinion:

Who cares? Look at the facts. He recieved shipments of Human Growth Hormone in 2004 WHEN IT WAS LEGAL! Once it became illegal he recieved no more shipments. So did he do anything illegal? No.

Of course, it brings up the question of whether he actually did stop using HGH when it became illegal. But there's no evidence that he kept using it, so we can't possibly blame him. For all we know, all MLB players are currently using HGH (since there is no HGH testing). They are all innocent until proven guilty.

However, I now feel that I should contrast Rick Ankiel with Mark McGwire. Ankiel said "Any medication I've recieved in my career has always been under a doctor's care". This is a direct denial that he did anything to break the rules of baseball or for the purpose of juicing himself up. McGwire, on the other hand, took the fifth in court when he could've simply denied it. That's why he is supsicious. But please everybody, don't buy into this stuff about Ankiel! Innocent until proven guilty!!!

 

[Real Korimyr #9]

Personally, I think that taking drugs to enhance your performance-- in any worthwhile pursuit-- is perfectly acceptable, as long as you are not compromising your health to do so. The only circumstances in which it should not be permitted are in competitions of pure athletic merit, such as the Olympics.

Professional sports are a disgusting spectacle, and I could hardly care less whether or not the players are juiced-- except that public outrage leads to legislators passing laws that make it more difficult for non-athletes to obtain performance enhancers.