'Roid Rage

Yesterday I was reading about how Terry Bradshaw was finally coming clean about the fact that he wasn't always clean when it came to steroids. "We did steroids to get away the aches and the speed of healing," Bradshaw said. "My use of steroids from a doctor was to speed up injury, and thought nothing of it… It was to speed up the healing process, that was it. It wasn't to get bigger and stronger and faster."
This was about the same time I was reading about Don Imus' most recent faux pas. The latest comments by Imus to come under scrutiny were aired on Monday’s broadcast. During a conversation about Adam "Pacman" Jones’ run-ins with the law, Imus asked, “What color is he?” Sports announcer Warner Wolf said Jones, formerly known as Pacman, is “African-American.” Imus responded: “There you go. Now we know.” Don Imus, for the record, is white. Now we know.
But what do we know? Terry Bradshaw and his teammates took steroids "to speed up the healing process" and Adam Jones has had a troubled history? That and their relative skin tones don't really add up to much. It's the public perception of these bits of information that shape our attitudes and perceptions. Bradshaw had the cushion of living in a world where steroids were "legal" and "Pacman" was once celebrated for his aggressive play.
The Steelers won championships. "Pacman" did not. Terry Bradshaw is white. Adam Jones is African-American. This is all part of a rarefied bit of air called professional sports where the rules stretch and bend to suit the circumstances. Lately those rules have started to snap under the pressure of public scrutiny. In a world that wants to know more about Britney's child custody case than the war in Iraq, professional athletes cannot afford the same lassiez faire attitudes they might once have enjoyed in the 1970's. And maybe, just maybe, Don Imus is taking steroids - to speed up the healing process.