"WINNING ISN'T EVERYTHING, it's the only thing." This often repeated comment of a famous National Football League coach, the late Vince Lombardi, captures an attitude held by many fans and athletes: sports is always about winning. This urge to win at all costs encourages the intrusion of drugs into sports. For if winning is everything, then many athletes will do anything to win. Sometimes doing anything means doing drugs.

The win-or-lose attitude not only limits people's view of sports, but it also misses an important part of athletic competition. Many athletes work hard to be the best they can be, not just to win. Personal growth also is an important part of sports, says Ronald Laura, former world power-lifting champion. Laura believes training and competition make the athlete a better person. "As long as the goal of sporting games presupposes that winning is in itself an ultimate value...