Beginning in our earliest days, we have been taught, preached and frightened into believing that "drugs are bad." At the same time we were being trained to wash our hands and look both ways before crossing the street, we were being told never to take candy from strangers, to never give into "friends" who abused drugs.
As we grew from our youth to our adult lives, we were crossed with many more challenges. Soon the peer pressure grew greater, the threats became louder and the possibilities grew from cigarettes and chewing tobacco to problems like hallucinogens, inhalants, methamphetamine, marijuana and, in the high school locker room, steroids.
Of course, being naive, we looked to those well-known, respected and often praised public figure heroes for guidance, character and as something to model after. We were not looking to Mother Teresa, Princess Diana or our president, though. Instead, many were relying on the image of an athlete.
Problem was, it was not easy for us understudies to back down from illegal activity when "the coolest guy in the world" was taking part in the activity himself.
So much for that whole "character" thing. Despite what many had hoped, little has changed from then to now.
It's a revealing flaw that seems to be recurring in the sports world: regardless of laws, warnings, regulations or common sense, drugs are still "okay" to some athletes.
Especially if you claim ignorance.
What we should notice, though, are the lies that these athletes are living. As the epitome of human physical achievement, they are the shining stars of our culture. These athletes are admired from afar and praised by those near.
But, isn't it just a little upsetting to know that those stars are battery powered?
These accusations may not damage the records of the athletes, their Hall-of-Fame status or even their fan base. The things the accusations will tarnish, however, are their character and reputation.
These are not the types of people for the youth of America to model after. If their integrity is this flawed, one can only imagine what it says about their character.
Sad, but ever so true.
And so, the theory persists: perhaps the only real super-heroes in this world are the ones found on the cover of comic books, not Sports Illustrated.
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