Former South Carolina physician Dr. James Shortt will be sentenced this week. He is a fellow who gave steroids and HGH to the Carolina Panthers, NFL players.
Writers such as this one are upset the doctor is in trouble, but the patients aren't.
One problem is the penalty (from 'The State' the South Carolina paper's website):
Under federal law, simple possession of steroids for nonmedical purposes carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offense. Distribution of steroids carries a maximum five-year sentence and $250,000 fine; distribution of human growth hormones also carries a maximum five-year sentence and Heather Reid, an associate philosophy professor at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, and president of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport, said prosecuting professional athletes who illegally use performance-enhancing drugs would help set a moral standard for young athletes.
“They are role models, whether they like it or not,” she said.
In a recent motion in the Shortt case, federal prosecutors noted the athletes who came to Shortt for performance-enhancing drugs “were and are regarded as role models by thousands of young people who aspire to achieve the same levels of success and recognition in their own lives.”
Reid said authorities should prosecute professional athletes who abuse drugs because their team owners often won’t do anything if they have a significant financial investment in the players.
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