Thoughts On Steroids, Courtesy Of Arthur Ashe

I started making weekly regular trips to the local library about six months ago and immediately fell in love with the ongoing book sale located just inside the front door. There are some really good titles there, by authors like Stephen Ambrose and David Halberstam, and hardly a week goes by that I don't spend a dollar or two to pick up a book that catches my eye.

Awhile back, probably when I was on my tennis kick during the Australian Open in January, I bought "Arthur Ashe On Tennis." It has a little bit of everything: advice on the best grips, thoughts on modern players (it was published in the 1990s), different strategies for amateur players. I haven't read it straight through or anything, but it's one of those books I tend to keep in the bathroom and thumb through from time to time.

I was doing just that the other day when I came across a passage that was very interesting, especially in light of recent events. In the section on traditions, under the heading, "The Most Abused Rule," Ashe writes the following:

"Just about every amateur or club player abuses the foot fault rule. It is one of those things that separates the pros from the amateurs. The amateurs really don't give a damn, but for the pros it's a big deal.

Is it cheating? Let's put it this way. Cheating is breaking the rules on the sly. If you are breaking the rules and everybody knows it, you really are not cheating. You are giving yourself an advantage but you are not breaking any moral code. It is illegal but not immoral, I would say. It is exactly like a gimme on a six-inch putt in golf."

One of the things we tend to hear about the Steroid Era is that it was the sort of situation where everyone knew what was going on...and turned a blind eye to it. So, in Arthur Ashe's view, those who used 'roids in baseball back in the day weren't cheating or being immoral (even though they were breaking the rules). They were just seeking the same advantage as everyone else. Interesting.