19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

CHEMICAL REACTIONS
Sir:
It's good that SI published some hard facts and numbers about anabolic steroids (Special Report: The Steroid Explosion, May 13). I'm a drug-free powerlifter who trains in a gym in which a good many of the competitive powerlifters and bodybuilders are on steroids. Even some of the noncompetitors take steroids, just to get big. How stupid.

The American Drug Free Powerlifting Association is powerlifting's alternative to steroid use. It lets members compete fairly against each other, not against the pharmaceutical industry. Perhaps football should institute a similar league, a National Drug Free Football Association.

Steve Courson should be commended for bringing this problem to the public's attention and for being honest about his own use of steroids.
R.M. BYRD
Raleigh , N.C.

Sir:
I congratulate William Oscar Johnson , Jill Lieber and Armen Keteyian for having guts enough to focus attention on the seriousness of the steroid problem. As a weightlifter, I'm constantly exposed to the world of chemically synthesized bodies. I have been told how huge and strong I could be if I just went on a steroid cycle; one person was even so "nice" as to offer me an entire bottle of Dianabol for $10. I imagine I'm crazy for refusing such a great offer, but then again, I won't be on a kidney machine at age 50.

A big thanks from all of us whose only drug is desire.
KENNY ABRAMOWITZ
Rockville , Md.

Sir:
My compliments to the SI staff for making the May 13 issue the best I've ever read. The steroid report was dynamite.
RAYMOND KUBICSKO
Selden, N.Y.

Sir:
As a person who is about as athletic as a Ritz cracker, I have never stopped playing sports and trying to improve at them. I believe all my nonathletic counterparts share the same dream—that with hard work, I, too, may someday make it big. Well, at age 30, I have never even made it small, and now I'm thankful. My modern-day heroes have shown me that hard work and dedication are not enough—chemistry is the key to success.

Well, I am sick of it. I'm sick that these players and a former player, NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw , want to bury their heads as if no problem exists. It does! I feel for the Steve Coursons of pro sports who believe they need chemicals to be competitive. But what about others who do not wish to partake in the armor-building-through-chemicals game. Are we going to eliminate these people from professional sports because they had the guts to say, "This is wrong"? Why don't these players take a stand for their own sake?

Pete Rozelle and other leaders had better open their eyes and take action before every 13-year-old with a dream is preparing his armor with the help of chemicals.

Why is everyone so afraid to say, "Stop, this is wrong," and enforce it by putting people who use drugs out of the game? I'm fed up with worrying about players' rights and privileges—to hell with them. Let's give a dream back to the youth in this country. Let's show them that it's all right to be ethical, and that you can still succeed with hard work and determination. Let's get rid of every coach and trainer who looks the other way as the players "improve themselves" with the local pusher. Let's show the kids the guts it takes to do the right thing and set an example that will let my children enjoy sports the way I used to.
MICHAEL CHIAPPINELLI
White Plains , N.Y.