The rampant use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs among pro and amateur athletes is as disgusting as it is tragic. The creation of supermen and superwomen -- and our passive acceptance of them as athletes to worship -- is damaging sports, ruining lives and eroding the values of the next generation of athletes. 
How many more kids will be disappointed by athletes like Marion Jones, Floyd Landis and others who will fall off their pedestal before sports organizations take a hard line with drug users? How many situations like the murder-suicide of pro-wrestler Chris Benoit will occur before we vote with our viewership and our dollars that this is not acceptable?
It's very difficult for sports organizations to walk away from the revenues brought in by the spectacular performances of these athletes (think how much money Barry Bonds has earned for the SF Giants). Organizations like Major League Baseball then place blame on the players' unions for not allowing drug testing in the first place. And the athletes themselves, caught up in the performance-enhanced spiral, aren't going to walk away on their own from the rock star lifestyle these drugs have created for them. That just leaves us -- the fans, the parents of young athletes and the general public -- to help turn the tide. But will it ever happen?
The Olympics are plagued with the issue of doping just as much as pro sports and neither can boast of a clean slate. However, the pros should take a page out of the Olympic handbook to try to make a difference. For example, for the privilege of being an Olympian, American athletes must submit to random drug checks, day or night, 365 days a year.
Speaking at the Anti-Doping Congress this week in Louisville, KY, Christine Brennan of USA Today, told how Olympic athletes must provide their whereabouts to the USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency) at all times, whether in competition or in the off season. I knew Olympians were subject to random checks, but never knew that the USADA can show up any day between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. for a "knock-on-the-door" random drug test. I am amazed and impressed by that. If the athlete is traveling away from home, they must inform the USADA of their whereabouts, with the address, duration of stay, etc., so that the USADA can visit them on the road as well.
Imagine if the NFL or MLB took that stance: "For the privilege of playing in the pros, you must agree to random drug testing at any time, in season or off season." And pass the test, too! Then maybe instead of our kids looking up to professional athletes and thinking, "I'd better start using steroids if I ever want to be good enough for the pros," there is the chance that they would have healthy role models, real men and women, who have succeeded simply as a result of hard work and natural athletic skill.
What a concept.
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