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Legalize it Remove Olympic cloud of suspicion
SYDNEY, Australia -- O.K., here's my idea: drugs for everybody. Waiter, let's have some growth hormones for the boys and girls who want to get bigger and stronger, some diet suppressants for the boys and girls who don't, maybe a round of Lasix for the horses out at the equestrian events. Let's get rolling. Let's get rocking. Let's -- what do the ads say? -- just do it. I mean, enough is enough. If every winner of every event is going to be under some kind of cloud of suspicion, let's just take the cloud away. Anything goes.
The average diet for a world-class athlete is far from the average diet. Maybe not everyone is cheating, but if the speed limit is 65 miles per hour, the bulk of the competitors here are doing exactly 65, pushed right to the line. Any substance that isn't banned -- say, the creatine made famous by baseball slugger Mark McGwire -- is used and abused. If green beans were proven to lower times for an event, well, green beans would be unloaded by the carload. Who knows what any of this stuff does to you 30 years down the road of life? Who knows what 20 pounds of green beans, ingested every day for four years, can do? These are guinea pigs and explorers, testing the human body's limits. The idea that they would want to test further, moving to 70 miles an hour, hoping the cops don't catch them, is not a bizarre thought. It's natural. So just let 'em all go. Let 'em do whatever they want. People should be able to control their own lives. Take the scariest drugs and put a warning on the front. Look at a pack of Australian cigarettes ('SMOKING CAUSES LUNG CANCER' in half-inch letters) for inspiration. Explain what the possible consequences might be. In fact, do clinical tests and have a much better reading of those consequences. And just let everyone go. If the athletes are not afraid, then why should we be afraid for them? C.J. Hunter, do you want a little nandrolene with your Wheaties? It's on me. Give some to your wife, Marion, too. A quick pick-me-up for Andreea Raducan, the champion Romanian gymnast? Take it, girl. Enjoy yourself. Share some with your country's weightlifters. Anyone else? Everyone else? Hey, it's your body. You decide. And while you're at it, get a round of Prozac for the world's sporting press. Those folks should chill out, themselves, just enjoy the spectacle in front of them. This should be sports, not espionage. Sports Illustrated senior writer Leigh Montville is in Sydney covering the Games for the magazine and CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the
writer.
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