What do Eliezer Alfonzo, Shawn Merriman, and Lance Armstrong have in common? Other than being former or current professional athletes who fell to the temptation of performance enhancing drugs, very little. Alfonzo had a career 99 percent of all baseball players would call a success. He made his major league debut in 2006 as a member of the San Francisco Giants after 10 years of minor league ball. In his five-year career, Alfonzo played for four different teams, batted a career .240, and tested positive for PED use in 2008 and 2011.
Merriman is better known than Alfonzo. During his eight (and counting) seasons in the NFL, Merriman has played for two teams, made three Pro Bowls, and even led the NFL in number of sacks in 2006. Before that same 2006 season, Merriman tested positive for PED use.
And we all know Armstrong’s story — testicular cancer, recovery, never before seen cycling performances and his recent confession of PED use during his seven Tour de France titles.
Alfonzo, Merriman and Armstrong represent three distinct types of borderline stars, which PEDs can seduce. Alfonzo, the unsettled professional, spent a decade toiling in the minor leagues before his first major league game. Merriman, the stellar rookie reaching for sophomore stardom. Armstrong, the determined — the almost champion — cyclist.
Not many can relate to the dilemma each athlete faces, which makes sense considering the small number of people who can earn their living through physical performance. Teachers, accountants and real estate agents all rely on their minds for professional success and improve as they age.
This is not the case of the athlete. Alfonzo spent 10 years in the minor leagues before setting foot in a MLB game as a 27-year-old rookie. The time window for a professional career is short, in most cases between the ages of 20 and 35. When that window shuts, your career is over. The difference between a minor league contract and a multi-year major league contract is in the millions.
According to the NFL, football players like Merriman have an average career of six years. That’s less than a decade to make a roster, sign a multi-year contract, and attempt to earn endorsements before becoming a retired nobody.
Cyclists have less profile than MLB or NFL players, which brings us to Armstrong. This man has been rightly stripped of his Tour de France titles. His sponsors have rightly dropped him. His career as a professional athlete is over. Forbes also places his net worth at around $125 million. His charity, the Livestrong Foundation, has raised more than $470 million, according to Livestrong.org.
Without dismissing the ethics, we can admit Armstrong’s PED use, which contributed to otherwise unattainable financial stability for him and his foundation, was a good business decision.
If PED use helped push Armstrong from strong cyclist to mythical champion, our reaction to his admitted use should not consist solely of overwhelming scorn. An ounce of understanding that maybe athletes continue to use PEDs for reasons we cannot relate to, for stakes we cannot comprehend, and in the case of Armstrong, for the chance to do transcendent good, should come with our moral rejection of cheating in all forms.
Brian Marceau can be reached at [email protected]