I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out on this. I used to be totally against all PEDs in sports but I have had a lot of second thoughts recently. My change in attitude centers around the central question of why does society care so much about PEDs in sports when we don't care at all about them in every other aspect of life. The best examples I can think of come from the world of art...all forms of art, from painting to writing to music, acting etc. Society very much encourages and in fact greatly rewards PED use when it comes to art. Think of our greatest creative hero's for a second... the amount of drugs they ingested does not matter to us one freaking bit....what matters is the level of creativity they reach and the amount of entertainment that we receive from witnessing it. The list of legendary artists who consumed copious amounts of drugs while entertaining the masses is literally endless. Many of these people met early deaths as a result of those drugs but they are still legends none the less. How much of that which you cherish in the world of art was created by a straight up drug addict? Why should sports be so different? Because it is a physical form of art instead of a mental one? Because purity of competition needs to exist in this aspect of life when it does not exist in any other? That really does not make much sense to me. If you want to argue about ensuring a fair playing field for all competitors then I would use the previous analogy and point to the fact that such fairness means nothing when it comes to fighting for success in life elsewhere. We all love our computers and worship the legends who created them...they have truly changed the world for the better. At the same time we gloss over the known fact that PEDs were used during their creation. Weed to stimulate the creative thought process and coke/speed to stay up for days writing ground breaking code. Do you really give two shits if the person who invents a cure for cancer is also addicted to some drug that helps them in their efforts? Hell no, just as long as their efforts can benefit me in some way. That is just the way life is. In the end, we are grown ass adults who are responsible for our own choices. If those choices lead to health problems down the road then that is only OUR fault regardless of the pressure we felt to compete. After all, competition exists in all aspects of life. If you want to run with the bulls you better be ready for the horns...otherwise stay out of the race. :icon_conf
Hey pussy you still there? Lol I wouldn't mind PED usage tbh but I would rather my fav athletes be able to LIVE
Why doesn't MLB allow aluminum bats? There'd be a ton more home runs, right? But also potentially more pitcher fatalities, being hit by a batted ball traveling a lot faster than if it was hit with a wooden bat. All it would take is a serious injury or death in MMA at the hand of a fighter who tests positive for PEDs, and we're back to the dark ages of no PPV. Which is also my stance when it comes to soccer kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent.
You run the $$$ escalation problem big time, good PEDS will run you 10-15k a month. Only the top fighters will be running that. Basically you are making the champs or rich kids unbeatable.
I get it I have a lot of friends who fight and I certainly don't wish them an early death. But in the end we really don't know if PEDs will in fact kill them and the double standard still exists which is what I am pointing out here....entertainment is what really matters to society, not the drugs taken to provide it.
People near kill themselves cutting weight to gain an an advantage. When it comes being able to take anything, ever? There's repercussion's you're not thinking of. And I don't think Bill Hicks was thinking about men using drugs to beat the shit out of each other when he made that art/drug's comparison.
The more you make, the more you invest in your future through training....same as the rest of society. Just because you are rich and take a bunch or steroids does not mean you are gonna become the evolution of MMA.
Of course there are and not every one can be accounted for, but it still stands that we care only about this in sports but no where else in life really.
I am not so sure about PEDs causing death and ruining MMA. It could just as easily cause a jump in PED use instead of a decline. That could in turn make for more entertaining fights and boost viewership $$
By allowing them by choice you essentially make them mandatory to compete. Forcing fighters to take additional significant health risks.
I don't know, if it were legal then Jones could be taking crack hits in between rounds...talk about a superman punch.
They are already, If you want to compete with the elite...and the list of what is banned and what is allowed seems rather arbitrary. How can Jones be popped for Coke and still be champ while many other fighters have their paychecks lost and careers ruined over Weed?
