Cuban On Steroids (That Is, He's Talking About 'Em, Not Taking 'Em)

   Mark Cuban on steroids.

   No, the Mavs owner isn’t “on steroids’’ as in “he’s taking them.’’

   He’s “on steroids’’ as in “he’s talking about the subject of them.’’

   "I'll get killed for saying this," Cuban said Tuesday in answer to a question posed at a speaking engagement at the University of Pittsburgh, "but I'm not so against steroids if they're administered under proper supervision and there is no long-term damage."

   This is not new territory to anyone who has discussed this issue with Cuban over the years; he and I once did a radio interview in which we agreed that someday, with proper medical supervision, steroids might be to health what eyeglasses are to sight.

   So Cuban won’t “get killed’’ in this space. Because he’s right.

   Cuban, speaking at a forum in his hometown before the Mavs-Cavs preseason game, noted that steroids could be a positive force in the recovery from injury, but only if the drugs are prescribed by responsible doctors and only after we’ve established that usage would cause no long-term damage.

   Of course, that hasn’t exactly been established yet. But the steroids scare – the drugs are banned by all four major sports, are illegal to possess without a prescription, and are seen as the scourge of baseball in particular – doesn’t scare Cuban.

   "If somebody thinks it's controversial, fine,’’ Cuban said. “To me, it's just common sense. (But) I'm sure I'll hear about it that 'Cuban is for Steroids.' "