What using drugs in sport says about society

I just read the news about the third doping case at this year's Tour de France: Italian rider Riccardo Ricco has tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO. And of course, as it happens so often with sportsmen who are associated with artificial performance-enhancing measures, Ricco was "booed by spectators when he was taken off the Saunier-Duval team bus by police Thursday," the AP report said.

Poor Ricco! I don't think using drugs was such a great idea, but I do feel we need to ask ourselves some serious questions before we condemn him. After all, in the rest of society, performance-boosters have become increasingly commonplace.

* People take Prozac so they can better manage psychological pressure. * Students take Ritalin to improve their grades. * Middle-aged men take Viagra to spice up their sex lives. * Shy people take Paxil so they can handle social situations. * Writers, musicians and other artists take other stimulants to stand out in their fields.

Ehm, where exactly are the strict rules and doping tests when it comes time to hand out diplomas or Grammy awards?

The essence of sports, you might argue, would be damaged if we tolerated drugs. But in reality, play has long been corrupted by the big bucks, which also helped introduce the concept of “unfair competition.”

Still, aren’t steroids and blood doping unhealthy? Yes, but so are a lot of other things: Prozac, Ritalin, alcohol, caffeine, aspirin...

In modern society, athletes have become heroes. Sports stars aren’t so much role models for society as reflections of it, albeit reflections with exceptional talent. Athletes take performance-enhancing substances mainly as a consequence of our sky-high expectations and the huge commercial interests involved.

Ultimately they are part of the same achievement-oriented society we are, in which the use of stimulants has become normal. The appropriate response is not moral outrage, but a relaxing of the enormous pressure we put on them: Just do your best, kid. That’s all you can do.