Since the beginning of recorded history, competitive athletes have tried to enhance their performance in every way imaginable. Naked Greeks put on shoes. Babylonians used herbs. Kenyans trained at high altitude. American swimmers used greasy swimsuits. Marathoners loaded their bodies with carbohydrates. But none of these enhancing technologies has created the hysteria surrounding anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH).
What are the claims of those who would condemn elite athletes or send them to prison for trying to maximize their performance? The simple answer is that they are breaking the rules, or in some cases, the law. But the rules depend on arguments or claims that are morally incoherent, hypocritical, or based on ice-cold wrong information.