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Shalom:
Nice medical summary of the deleterious effects of steroid use by Chavar Tom.
It can be followed with an other Talmudic observation long before our sages knew of steroids.
Steroids, as Chavar Tom, elucidated, puffs out the one who takes them. It makes him (or her) appear bigger and greater than they actually are and hence even perform this way.
When the Talmud discusses stealing, it talks about cheating. Not surprisingly, Judaism condemns cheating, but our tradition recognizes that cheating involves more than breaking the rules. A Hebrew phrase used in the Talmud to indicate cheating is geneivat da'at, which literally means the theft of the mind; in other words, cheaters who intentionally mislead or deceive others to gain undeserved goodwill are considered thieves. "There are seven kinds of people who are guilty of stealing," our sages teach. "First among them are people who misrepresent themselves to others" (Tosefta, Bava Kama 7:3).
Certainly, a puffed up exaggerated steroid user in professional sports fits this bill, no differently than a fellow or gal in a $5000 business suit selling junk bonds or a $200 suit selling sub prime mortgages without full disclosure to a truly understanding client. All are 'con' men or women.
Chavar Tom's policeman friend's advice of 'following the money' (the same advice "Deep Throat" Felt gave to Woodword and Bernstein during their Watergate investigative reporting in the early 70s), is interesting in the above context, as the Mishniac word for money or riches, (mamon..."charity is the salt of mamon" {Kethuboth 66B]) has its Aramiac roots from the same root word as 'confidence,' which of course is what a 'con' man is entrusting one with.
As implied in my previous post, the problem with steroid use in Baseball, if indeed Baseball is as an American as apple pie and a microcosm of the USA, is the tip of the iceberg of a nation and its people, who might be statistically the most church or synagogue 'belonging' people, but who truly do not have 100% faith, trust, nor even belief in God, and put their 'confidence' in mamon.
Our kesef may record the words "in God we trust," but our image of the American diety, has emblazoned on it, "in riches we trust." Steroid use is our athlete's version of a Wall Street broker's insider trader or our politician's stealing an election. And 'there is nothing new under the sun,' {Eccl 1:9} as theft and worship of riches, have been taking place long before men (and women) were rounding bases.
Shabbat Shalom:
Rabbi Dr. Arthur L. Segal
by tshafer3661
So is it time for ML Baseball to go the way of pro wrestling? Could happen
I guess if the sport continues to be money and ratings driven.
I remember "rasslin' " from the early days on TV in the mid 50's. Gorgeous
George and Haystacks Calhoun. Back in those days they actually used to know
each other around to decide who won. Of course, they had their show stuff
but when they bashed one another on the back with a chair it was real
chair.
I made a friend a few years ago who "rassled" on the minor league circuit in
the Deep South. He assures me there was some improvisation of showy moves
but no choreographed bouts. He recalls vividly getting the stew knocked out
of him in several bouts he lost.
Nowadays there is total choreography of the bout. It starts out week before
with mock tussling and arguments between the fighters, carefully scripted to
enrage the fans. This is where the villain gets especially villainous and
die hard fans fear he will truly defeat their champion of truth, love and
the American way. It build to a crescendo where they do fight in the ring
sort of. Actually they stomp beside the other guy's head and break balsa
wood chairs on each other's back. And they practice the bouts before hand
so all the carefully panned moves including the pin for final victory come
off perfectly.
Now these guys are finely tuned athletes. They look like big muscle bound
men but actually are very talented gymnasts and actors. Nothing as hard to
play as a fight scene. It is just they are no longer competitors because
the final victor is determined before the bout by management as the outcome
best designed to keep the fans flared up and increase attendance and viewing
at the rematch bout.
Of course, the pro wrestlers use steroids too, lots of them. They feel they
need to get that massive physique. A cop friend of mine once told me if you
want to go where the action is in a case, follow the money and the drugs.
Good advice in life I am sad to say.
An interesting part of the discussion appeared in an editorial on sports
medicine in the Journal of the American Medical Association a few years
back. The author pointed out that steroids really have minimal anabolic
intracellular muscle building effect unless your client had a low level in
the first place. A high level can cause growth of things like brain tumors
and liver nodules but the determinant of muscle growth is how much the
muscle is stressed and worked.
Steroids do make the athletes more aggressive so they tend to do more and
faster reps when they work out, leading to muscle growth. However the JAMA
author pointed out that you can accomplish the same thing with a good
trainer who pushes you beyond your self perceived limits. And this is
without the danger of medical problems down the road or more immediate
danger of injury due to excessive exertion.
Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.
