Performance Enhancers Could Always Trump Detection
Veteran sportswriter and journalism professor Justice B. Hill shared insights about the challenges of catching athletes who use performance enhancers, on August 1 at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists in Orlando. Steve Mirsky reports
SUBSCRIBE TO Science Quickly
“I’m sick and tired of A-Rod and all of this stuff, let’s play the game. But we can’t play the game until we come to some kind of resolution as to how we deal with PEDs (Performance-Enhancing Drugs) and steroids.”
Veteran sportswriter and journalism professor Justice B. Hill on August 1st at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists in Orlando. But that resolution won’t be easy.
“The science will always stay ahead of the detection. I did an interview recently with a bioethicist from Case Western Reserve University. And one of the things he advocates is, let players use whatever they want to under a doctor’s supervision. Because he understands—I did a piece years ago where I was talking to one of the foremost authorities on PEDs, and one of the things he said was we’re going to get into gene cloning.
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
“The sophistication of the technology is going to make this detection game even more dicey in the years to come. And I think baseball, the union, all of them are tired of the discussion of steroids. They want to get back to the playing of the game. And that’s a huge issue for those of us who love baseball.”
—Steve Mirsky
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
