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by iMark 3982 days ago
I wouldn't want to compete against people who are prepared to destroy their health to win.
3 comments

Then you're not going to be able to compete. Basically all professional sports require someone to push themselves beyond regular human limits, and give up future health to get there even without drugs.
I'm interested to know if this is really true.

I don't think non-contact sports require someone to sacrifice health, except for wearing out their body...

And I'm not convinced they wear out their body more than manual laborers.

And there is definitely a qualitative difference between a 16 year old working hard as a teenager to make it as a professional athlete, and perhaps wearing out their body by the end of their career as a professional athlete (say, 30 years old on average), compared to a 16 year old using substances that would count as "doping" to most people.

To put it plainly:

A 16 year old boy who shows promise as a professional athlete can work hard, realize that they're not cut out for the big leagues after college (22 years old), and go on with their life with basically no ill effects aside from the chance of a major injury sustained during their sport.

Whereas a 16 year old boy who shows promise as a professional athlete, works hard, and also dopes for 6 years until he's 22, and then realizes he's not cut out for the big leagues, has probably irreparably damaged his health.

> I don't think non-contact sports require someone to sacrifice health, except for wearing out their body...

That still fits within the bounds of "sacrificing health"

Then they are not going to win very long anyway.
You're already competing against people who are prepared to destroy their health to win - the people who work 80+ hours per week.

If we don't outlaw over-working then I don't see a reason to outlaw the drugs.