Should a record holders that used steroids have the records taken away?

[KATMAN]

I can remember sitting in front of the tv set,watching Hank Arron breaking Babe Ruths home run record. Fastforward three decades we get to Barry Bonds.Nobody seemed to care.There was no hooplah,no big celebration of any kind,nothing.He has been accused of steroids,as many other record breaking big leaguer's. Should they still have that record,even if evidence is there? I say no. It burns me up that sport stars have to take a enhancer drug just to get a edge. What do you say?

[HisLeast]

I can remember sitting in front of the tv set,watching Hank Arron breaking Babe Ruths home run record. Fastforward three decades we get to Barry Bonds.Nobody seemed to care.There was no hooplah,no big celebration of any kind,nothing.He has been accused of steroids,as many other record breaking big leaguer's. Should they still have that record,even if evidence is there? I say no. It burns me up that sport stars have to take a enhancer drug just to get a edge. What do you say?

I think the record should not stand. Performance enhancing drugs are a cancer on sport. It cheats nature, by propelling the body beyond what it could do with hard work, practice, and diet. It has very real, very scary consequences both for the user, and for the society that accepts it as "part of the game". By pushing the boundaries of performance past normal human potential, you take humanity out of the game, and only performance numbers matter. At this point sport is annihilated and the whole thing is an exercise in perversion.

No one should be rewarded for their contribution to that. They should be disdained. It should be a disgrace.

[BrckBrln]

I think the records should stand because they are already there, but I don't think the players should be able to get into the hall of fame.

[KATMAN]

But if they used performance enhancing drugs to get the record,shouldn't that be ruled as a illegal substance? Wether football,baseball,or any other sports where a substance can be used to get stronger,it gives them a edge.The only sport that really acknowledge using steroids is bodybuilding.Sure they are a few natural body builders,but their in their own class.

[BrckBrln]

But if they used performance enhancing drugs to get the record,shouldn't that be ruled as a illegal substance? Wether football,baseball,or any other sports where a substance can be used to get stronger,it gives them a edge.The only sport that really acknowledge using steroids is bodybuilding.Sure they are a few natural body builders,but their in their own class.

I fully agree that the people who used steroids did so wrongly and illegally, but the records are already broken and going back and changing them would be very tough. I think it's enough to say that that era was clouded and most people would still say that Aaron and Maris are still the HR champs. But I am firm in thinking they should not be let into the hall of fame and it looks like they won't.

[KATMAN]

Yet at the same time,the Olympics and the Tour de France both pull winners and record holders if performance drugs are found in their systems.When you take a look at some these guys,it looks like they gained 50 lbs of muscle since their rookie year.Now I know that we gain weight as we get older,but not the muscle mass in the arms,shoulders,neck,etc.I believe that sport atheletes should be tested at random,and with no warning.If caught redhanded,then they should choose another career.

[Clavicula_Nox]

Yes, it should be taken from them. Further, I don't think an apology should be sufficient, they should be banned from all professional sports. I don' think testing should be random, I think it should be mandatory prior to each performance.

Zero tolerance. If you're going to pull in millions of $$ every year, you can at least follow the rules.

[Denny606]

I think as Americans we have taken a very Pollyanna like stand on our sports heroes since Babe Ruth's day.Is there any one here who does not think he abused alcohol regularly,and any body that has ever had to try to control a drunk knows what kinda strength they posses because the simply have no mental self control and will use every ounce of muscle they have to get what they want.Do I think they should have their records stripped ,no because before modern drug testing how do we know that some of the former record holders weren't using steroids that were legally prescribed to them at the time, the prohibitions on performance enhancing drugs is a fairly recent development in the history of baseball.I do not condone their use,but to think there were not pre-ban,record holders,who were hopped up on something is simply sticking your head in the sand.Should or will they be in the Hall of Fame no they shouldn't ,but they probably won't anyway.If Pete Rose was banned for Life for gambling,when he was a manager,and the commisioner of baseball has made a personal mission of his that Rose will never be in The Hall of Fame,ban the rest from baseball too.

[The Mighty Sword]

Should a record holders that used steroids have the records taken away?

I think the record should be removed, it was made under false pretences.

[IMINXTC]

The records were set by synthetic means, therefore are synthetic records, if such a term could exist.

What these steroids do to the human body should be considered a crime and our young people need to be fully aware of their dangers.

Not to mention cheating.

[Clavicula_Nox]

I think as Americans we have taken a very Pollyanna like stand on our sports heroes since Babe Ruth's day.Is there any one here who does not think he abused alcohol regularly,and any body that has ever had to try to control a drunk knows what kinda strength they posses because the simply have no mental self control and will use every ounce of muscle they have to get what they want.Do I think they should have their records stripped ,no because before modern drug testing how do we know that some of the former record holders weren't using steroids that were legally prescribed to them at the time, the prohibitions on performance enhancing drugs is a fairly recent development in the history of baseball.I do not condone their use,but to think there were not pre-ban,record holders,who were hopped up on something is simply sticking your head in the sand.Should or will they be in the Hall of Fame no they shouldn't ,but they probably won't anyway.If Pete Rose was banned for Life for gambling,when he was a manager,and the commisioner of baseball has made a personal mission of his that Rose will never be in The Hall of Fame,ban the rest from baseball too.

It's called "Integrity".

[KATMAN]

While Babe Ruth,Mickey Mantle and others may have abused alcohol,it has nothing to do with performace,rather the lack of in some cases.

[Nothing]

You can't take the records away from known steroid users when there are possible records broken from guys who also may have been using that never been caught.

I think much of this talk of removing records and such stems from "fake outrage." For years baseball players have always been trying to get signs from the catcher. Teams have people who get insider information on other team's tendencies and signs as well. Before steroids, there were decades where many players used speed and other medications to enhance their game. Cheating has existed since the beginning. But since the media blew the steroid thing way out of proportion, suddenly everyone is talking about integrity of the game blah blah blah.

Look, the problem became known. There is now a drug policy in place. Move on.

[Denny606]

I still don't hear anybody give me any reason that the record books should not be rewritten for the ones who used steroids before they were banned to heal their bodies quicker and to let them regain strength after an injury.For quite a while when steroid use was at it's highest ,they were not banned.The medical community thought they were the greatest thing since penicillin until the evidence surfaced that there were very harmful side effects to go along with the benefits.The reason I don't hear it is because we don't have any idea how many of the older records were tainted, is because it was not talked about ,and I used Ruth's alcohol use as an example of how we used to ignore how baseball players and other sports heroes bad behavior.And I know what integrity means ,but lets not hold one group to one standard and another group to another.

[KATMAN]

The problem remains.It's bad enough when power hitters allegedly juiced,but pitchers? What happened to the knuckleball?