According to the Pittsburg Post Gazette Mark Cuban is not exactly against the use of steroids.  I think he makes a valid point. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

At a University of Pittsburgh forum yesterday, the Pittsburgh native responded to a question about the 10-game suspension of Orlando’s Rashard Lewis during last season’s NBA playoffs.

“I’ll get killed for saying this,” Cuban replied, “but I’m not so against steroids if they’re administered under proper supervision and there is no long-term damage.”

He said that steroids, which are banned by all the major sports and are also illegal to possess without a doctor’s prescription, may benefit those recovering from surgery.

Cuban said he hoped his comments would initiate a conversation on a topic that is considered radioactive. If the proper medical criteria are met, he added, “why wouldn’t we” use them for medical reasons.

“If somebody thinks it’s controversial, fine. To me, it’s just common sense,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll hear about it [today] that ‘Cuban is for Steroids.’ “

You can read the whole thing here.

Did you take all that in?  Good.  Mark also doesn’t believe that there is widespread use of steroids in the NBA.  I tend to agree with that to a degree.  They supposedly test for steroids frequently and they do have a suspension system.  Well, they also test for marijuana use too, but I get the feeling that a lot of their players indulge in a bit of grass smoking. But I digress.  Mark has a point that it could help to speed up the healing process for an injured athlete.

From the standpoint of an owner, this could help reduce the risk they take when they hand out multi-million dollar contracts to their players.  Each game missed due to injury is like money down the drain.  Even players who tough it out and play through some injuries are doing 2 things; reducing the quality of their game, and also risking further injury. If a doctor, a reputable one, administers and monitors the use of any particular steroid to aid in the healing process of an athlete, we could avoid embarrassing stories like Manny Ramirez taking fertility drugs to mask steroid use.  We could avoid congressional hearings that feature players adamantly denying something they know damn well they did.  We could avoid all this ridiculous talk of adding asterisks to people’s records (that one burns me up because every record in baseball especially could have some kind of asterisk on it, whether it’s because of lack of real competition or because of cheating).

Medical science today has made great strides in treating athletes and helping them to recover faster than ever.  Some of it is due to the fact that owners want their best players out there performing.  If steroids can help that healing process in a very controlled environment, then I say do it.  It may give the press a little less to do report about, but it would free them up to report about the sport, and not who is sticking needles in whose buttocks.  Granted, athletes will try and take advantage of this.  It’s only natural, but this could help advance research in dealing with injuries.  Being able to control the dosage, and the interval of dosage to help an athlete heal faster, and consequently rehab faster can lead to less injuries when they return to playing.

No matter what’s said out there, baseball is proving that there is a widespread use of steroids.  Football is proving (to me anyway) that HGH is a growing problem.  Athletes are recovering too fast from serious injuries.  They worry about losing their jobs to someone else, meaning a reduction in playing time and salary and leverage for contract negotiations.  I would worry about that too knowing how short a pro athlete’s career is.  They want to maximize their money, and owners want to maximize their investment.  Allowing medical science to come in and control the use of steroids by athletes could be a good thing.  I’m sure there is a dark side to it because even doctors have their price and can be bribed into administering steroids to a player who isn’t injured but just looking for a legal way to get an edge on the competition.

Kudos to Mark Cuban for offering his honest opinion on the subject.  Some will agree with him, some will disagree with him.  But think about this, most fans cheer a player as long as they play for their team.  Not many people from San Francisco were booing Barry Bonds when he was helping NASA research the effects of baseballs in orbit.  Not many Yankee fans are booing A-Rod as he’s powering them through this post season and to a potential World Series appearance.  Dodger fans aren’t booing Manny either.  But you can bet fans that don’t root for those teams boo plenty, and make humorous/offensive signs to show their outrage for these cheaters.  Will Cuban get fined for saying what he said?  Perhaps he will, but he should be used to being fined by now.  He also will get people talking as this story grows legs.