Olympic Bans (and not the fair kind)

Sorry, no jokes in this post.

Everyone knows that Olympic athletes are tested for illegal substances in their systems before, during and after their competitions during and around the four-year Olympic cycles. This is all well and good because these are unnatural substances meant to give these athletes an unfair advantage over their competition.

But the line is not clear when it comes to athletes using prosthetic limbs.

ESPN THE MAGAZINE ran a superb article a few weeks back chronicling the advancement of prosthetic limbs for athletic use. It told the story of 13-year-old Anthony Burruto who has two prosthetic legs but his dominating pitching is ruling over the rest of his Little League. With the advancements in prosthetics, a dream of a career in baseball is not completely out of the question for this poor guy who lost both of his legs.

It also tells the story of South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius who also is missing both of his legs just below the knees. He uses carbon-fiber prosthetics which make it seem like he is bounding instead of running.

And while the Little League has made bunting illegal against Burruto to give him an even playing field, the Olympics committee has banned Pistorius because tests show that his legs are more efficient by using less oxygen than able-bodied runners.

Able-bodied?? That is an interesting description....

Is able-bodied not a description of someone who is capable of performing the same skills and functions as everyone else??

Just because he uses less oxygen due to a lack of lower legs, does that make him any less of an athlete than Michael Johnson or Maurice Green??

Will he not represent his country as well as his "able-bodied" competitors?

And then there is the bigger issue. Where do people draw the line?

Creatine is an acceptable substance but HGH is illegal.
Reading lips is acceptable but using unauthorized videotapes is illegal.
A titanium rod beneath the skin is fine for fixing an injury, but a metal leg is completely out of the question.

What about children like Burruto who are not capable of interacting on the same level as their friend? Are they not allowed to participate in Little League? Can they not play on their church CYO teams? Are they doomed to sit on benches and wait in the wings while their friends enjoy their natural freedoms??

No "able-bodied" person can say that sports didn't influence their lives positively or negatively. But for children like Burruto, the lines between fair and unfair can take away their rights to experience what everyone else is.

And that is freedom from personal constraints. People go to the gym and shoot hoops to relieve stress, but how can a person like Pistorius or a kid like Burruto do that?

Think about where you draw your lines.

Would you tell your child athletes to lay down bunts against Burruto knowing he can't field them fairly? Would you not allow Pistorius to represent your country if he was the best chance for a gold medal?