ETHICAL DILEMMA IT'S GETTING HARDER TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO HANDLE PLAYERS GETTING CAUGHT USING PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS IN SPORTS.

Byline: BILLY WITZ Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - When Shawne Merriman left the field after a win over the Rams in late October, his first game since word leaked that he'd tested positive for steroids, the Chargers linebacker bounded along the stands, tossing his gloves and sweatbands to the crowd, and exchanging high-fives with those who stood along the rail.

The rest were content to roar their approval.

Six months earlier and a few miles west, fans here had a different reception for another suspected steroid user: They booed, heckled and threw a syringe at the feet of Barry Bonds.

In the post-BALCO world of sports, where the curtain is increasingly being pulled back on the role of performance-enhancing drugs in making athletes stronger, faster and better, we are still coming to terms with how to sort this out.

Often enough, ethical standings are as situational as home and away. Other times the level of outrage is dictated by other factors: the sport, the athlete, the circumstance and the question of just how much and advantage is gained.

These issues were raised again Tuesday when Merriman, who served a four-game suspension last month for testing positive for steroids, was chosen to the Pro Bowl. Merriman, who is tied for second in the NFL with 12.5 sacks despite the suspension, was chosen to the team by fans, players and coaches.

``This is a pale carbon copy of what's coming up with the Hall of Fame and Mark McGwire, but it brings up the same issue,'' said Michael Josephson, president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics. ``How do we think about cheating in sports?''

``This isn't the same as the Hall of Fame, and someone's enduring mark on the game, but it's an appropriate footnote that some athlete found it necessary to flaunt the laws and throw away his opportunity to be a role model.''

For his part, Josephson doesn't object to Merriman's selection, primarily because the NFL doesn't have any rules in place preventing steroid users from playing in the Pro Bowl. To do so after the fact would be unfair to Merriman.

An appropriate step, he said, would be for the NFL's Competition Committee, which reviews the league's rules every offseason, to put such a prohibition on the books.

Merriman, who, judging from the number of 56 jerseys at Qualcomm Stadium, is the second most-popular Charger next to LaDainian Tomlinson, said he wasn't surprised that the voters dismissed his suspension.

``As long as I kept going out and playing the way I was playing, that's all that really matters,'' he said Wednesday at his locker after practice.

While there has been some question over how forthright Merriman has been -- he says he took the steroid unknowingly in a supplement, which he's refused to identify -- he says his willingness to answer questions helped him maintain support from fans.

``I was up front and honest about it -- I made a mistake. I didn't run from anything,'' Merriman said.

``I do realize I'm a role model for a lot of people and showing them that if you make a mistake -- I didn't do anything on purpose, but it was still wrong -- they'll support you.''

Pro Bowl selections are made in voting by fans, players and coaches, with each counting one-third.

Merriman led all outside linebackers (two are chosen as starters, one as a reserve) in fan voting with 213,190 votes -- the 14th-most votes by a defensive player in either conference. The NFL does not release voting information from players or coaches.

``It's important because you have the support of the people who will support the game, and that's the fans,'' Merriman said. ``The coach and the players look at what you do on the field. When you get those votes at the end of the day, it shows I'm well-appreciated.''

What may be helping Merriman in some eyes is that he's played just as well after the suspension. In three games since he's returned, Merriman has four sacks and four forced fumbles.

``The numbers don't lie,'' Chargers offensive tackle Roman Oben said. ``Steroids don't help you have more sacks, it doesn't help you with ball awareness, doesn't help your cognitive skills on the field.

``Remember when Ephedra became a big deal. The first guy that was busted was Jim Miller, the quarterback with the Bears. He's not the most ripped guy.''

In 2002, Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers had 12 sacks and was named the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year despite a four-game suspension for testing positive for steroids.

Michael Lev, who covers the NFL for the Orange County Register, is one of more than 50 voters for the Associated Press awards, said he's considering Merriman for the league's defensive player of the year award, along with Brian Urlacher, Champ Bailey and Jason Taylor.

``I don't feel like it detracts from his candidacy,'' Lev said of Merriman's steroid suspension. ``The NFL has a system in place, he's served his sentence and he's back on the field. If you look at the stats after he came back, when in theory he was clean, he's been just as productive as ever. To me, a bigger factor working against him than the steroids suspension is that the Chargers went 4-0 without him.''

What bothers Josephson most about the use of steroids in sports is that the ones most absent from the discussion are athletes themselves. He likened it to good cops often being unwilling to condemn the crooked ones.

``They're the stakeholders, the ones who should be genuinely outraged,'' Josephson said. ``If I'm competing for a batting title against somebody who I've got good reason to suspect is on steroids, I'm going to be outraged. Instead, the silence is deafening.''

Chargers receiver Keenan McCardell, who sits on the NFL Players Association Executive Committee, said the pressure on other athletes should be exerted from within the locker room.

``You know it goes on, but you don't know who it is, so you can't point the finger at anybody,'' McCardell said of steroid use. ``It's something that every league can do better and every player can do better, but it's not that we need to mention it to the media.

``The pressure should come from in here. Every locker room in every sport is a private thing. It's family. If there's a fight in this locker room, nobody outside this locker room will know.''

Josephson, though, argues that there is a more at stake outside the locker room than in it. Loading up spitballs like Gaylord Perry did may still be cheating, but who is really hurt, he asks.

``With steroids, there's huge social implications,'' Josephson said. ``High school kids model themselves after athletes and can ruin their lives. This needs to be part of an honest discussion about whether character is an issue in sports.''

And who ends up in the Hall of Fame or Shame.

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(1 -- color) San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman was selected to the Pro Bowl despite being suspended four games after testing positive for steroids.

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

(2) San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman, left, has 12.5 sacks this season despite being suspended for four games.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images