Why are steroids prohibited in some sports but permitted in others (e.g., bodybuilding, pro wrestling, strongman)? What is it about how society perceives those sports that has caused different amounts of public outcry about steroids than in other sports? Or, what determined the order in which sports banned steroids?
I would not be surprised to find steroid use in other professions that involve a lot of physicality: e.g., dance, circus. Inspired by, the heaviest users of steroids in baseball seem (surprisingly) to be the catchers (crouching and standing a zillion times per game) and pitchers.
Best guess: the people who pursue careers in steroid-banned sports, football, basketball, baseball, bicycling, swimming, etc., are often One Of Us, whereas the people who pursue careers in bodybuilding, pro wrestling, strongman, circus, and men who pursue dance as a career are Not One Of Us. (There are a great many women who are One Of Us who pursue careers in dance, but the body shape changes induced by steroids preclude women from using them.) The argument of "good role model" carries the day.
One Of Us here is a shorthand for a group that has enough political power to enact steroid bans in sports they care about, probably white middle-class and above.
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