David A. Hoffman, JD Biography

"...we should give players something like a 'right to dope,' but 'tax' them through fines for using performance enhancing substances. (Heck, you could make a fine schedule, starting at $5 for Gatorade, $15 for a misting machine on the sidelines; $50 for a cortisone injection before a game; all the way up to $1,000,000 for uppers.) In this way, we’d get an optimal amount of steroid use, as individual players calculate the increased value (to them) of increased performance, when taking into account the fine. Fines should be increased as the probability of detection decreases. Since well-publicized detection regimes seem to increase fan happiness and thus player earning potential, a naïve analysis would suggest that we have a relatively low fine schedule coupled with very tough enforcement. Thus, the NFL is efficient and the MLB is not. Not surprising: the NFL is a well-run business; the MLB is still relying on its eyes. As I said, a naïve analysis. The problem is that we assumed that the criminalization of steroid use (or, more appropriately, its regulation by our quasi-governmental licensing entity, the league) is efficient."