Millard Baker

"When athletes compete at the highest levels, all that matters is winning. The environment can become cultlike, in that normal standards no longer apply... But my coaches encouraged it, the doctor offered it, and many of my teammates lined up right behind me. It was ordinary. I would have done anything that would have allowed me to perform better... I don't blame the athletes like Marion Jones for juicing their performance with a little extra oomph. She's caught up in her sport; she needs that little somethin' somethin' to maintain her edge. Everyone else is doing it. If you shot me up with whatever she had, I wouldn't be the fastest woman alive. It was still her out there on that track. Just as it's Shawn Johnson flipping and spinning on the floor mat. If the athletes are willing to risk their health -- which many do already without taking steroids -- let them. It doesn't ruin it for me. - Millard Baker via Bookmarklet