Writeup #4

Smith, Chris. "Why It's Time To Legalize Steroids In Professional Sports." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Mr. Smith says that even with all these tests for performance enhancing drugs and harsh penalties for taking, steroids is not going away in professional sports. He believes that if steroids were just legalized, then everyone would take them and there would be a higher level of competition. From a business standpont, steroids would help sports like in the case of the homerun chase between noted users Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. When they were chasing the single season homerun record, games and merchandise were sold out and baseball was exciting. The definition of what is a performance enhancer is very confusing and getting rid of steroids would relieve the people in charge of deciding of their confusing jobs. Steroids affect health but so does playing professional sports. Making PEDs legal would lead to proper distribution and regulation. Steroids affect those entered into the Hall of Fame because of suspicion that everyone took but if they are legal, then there is no shadow. Baseball has changed so much in the past 100 years that you can't compare eras. Athletes are going to take sterois anyway so might as well make them legal.

This viewpoint refutes the Hall of Fame point made in the New York Times article. It says legalizing steroids wouldn't change the Hall of Fame because the different eras of baseball have all changed. Just like they raised the pitchers mound to give the batters a better chance, steroids gives everyone a fair chance because everyone is doing it. 

VETTING THE SOURCE: Chris Smith is a reporter for Forbes Sports. He covers the business of sports.