Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
March 5, 2004, Washington Post

Put to the Test

Imagine that you are going to take a test. It is a very important test given to thousands of kids all over the country. The kids who score highest on the test will get an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World and free ice cream for life. There also will be prizes for the classes that score the best on the test. So, you really want to do well.

Now imagine there is a pill. Any kid who takes the pill and studies for the test will have a better chance of scoring well on the test than a kid who doesn't take the pill.

The problem is that the pill can make you sick. It's also against the rules of the test to take the pill. In fact, it is against the law to take the pill.

So, you decide not to take the pill. You're smart and figure that you have a pretty good chance of winning a prize even without taking the pill.

But now imagine that you know that some of the kids taking the test, including maybe some of your friends, are taking the pill. What do you do? Do you keep quiet while some kids cheat and maybe win the big prizes? Do you just secretly hope that the cheaters get caught? Or do you tell someone -- your parents, a teacher or the principal -- that you know that some kids have taken the pill?

Not an easy choice, is it?

It seems to me that this is what is happening with steroids in baseball and other sports. Steroids are drugs that can help athletes get stronger because they can train longer if they're taking steroids. But, like the imaginary study pill, steroids can make an athlete sick. Steroids also are against the rules of sports and against the law.

Still, some baseball players are cheating and taking steroids. They may even be some of the best players in the game. My guess is that some players, coaches and other people around baseball know who the cheaters are, but they keep quiet.

Is that the right thing to do?

Things might be changing when it comes to steroids in sports.

President Bush talked about steroids in his State of the Union address. Some players, such as Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz, want tougher drug tests for the players. They want to do more than just hope that the cheaters get caught. It won't be easy, but it is the right thing to do. Maybe it is time for the players to speak up and do something to save the game.

If the millions of kids who dream of playing sports also have to dream about taking drugs just to compete in those sports, maybe those sports aren't worth saving.