Kids Must Learn To Lay Off The Juice
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
Former Senator George Mitchell made his report public and the evidence of steroid use in Major League Baseball is damning.
Based primarily on the testimony of two men from two different teams, Mitchell named 89 different players as users of banned substances. Eighty-nine seems like a lot but, had the investigation found a source in every clubhouse, the number would have been far higher.
I've seen what steroids can do. Yes, help you pitch or hit better, or get bigger and stronger. But I also watched what it did to my friend Lyle Alzado, a star defensive tackle in the 1970s and early 80s. Alzado blamed the cancer that killed him on his use of steroids.
When I spoke with Mitchell today, his concern was focused less on the major leaguers and more on the kids. Hundreds of thousands of teenagers use this stuff all the time and think nothing of it, and why not? Their role models are all stars.
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on many CBS Radio News affiliates across the country.