One of the hottest topics on the news recently has been steroid use by athletes. From talk radio to the best seller list to the Senate floor, the controversy has only grown during the 2006 baseball season, as Barry Bonds continues his quest to move right on past Babe Ruth and break Hank Aaron’s home run record. Although Bonds’ case has certainly attracted the most publicity, the issue is definitely not confined to baseball. The best-selling book “Game of Shadows” was written by two reporters who had spent months investigating top athletes from a variety of sports, including Olympians like track star Marion Jones. While it does focus extensively on Bonds, this meticulously researched bestseller also describes in detail how many other elite sports figures were able to enhance themselves with illegal drugs while evading detection. (Fainaru-Wada) It would be foolhardy to dismiss this problem as a minor one, or to pretend that with enough negative publicity and public condemnation, it will just go away on its own. The entire sports community needs to take a clear, consistent and proactive approach to eliminating steroid use completely from all forms of competitive sports. Let’s consider why this is so important by taking a look at the history of steroids and their negative effects, both physical and otherwise. We will also take into account how negative public perception has tarnished the reputation of many sports. What are steroids? Those most commonly used by sports figures fall into the category of “anabolic steroids” and are defined by Merriam-Webster as: “ …any of a group of usually synthetic steroid hormones that increase constructive metabolism and are sometimes abused by athletes in training to increase tempor... ... middle of paper ... ...ent effective policies. Action begins, but seems to go nowhere. After all, if these athletes used illegal drugs, shouldn’t they be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, as would anyone who used a controlled substance in an illegal manner? Somehow this doesn’t seem to happen, even though the FDA has classified steroids as being in this category since 1990. In conclusion, steroid use is a big problem that has taken a heavy toll on many different competitive sports. From health problems to loss of fan trust and even the possibility of legal prosecution, steroids have marred the enjoyment of sports on so many levels, and they continue to do so. It is vitally important that all athletes, coaches and sports organizations acknowledge this fact and continue working together to try and solve the problem more effectively than they have been able to as of yet.
Baseball has always been known as “America’s Favorite Pastime”. Over the past decade, the game America knows and loves has been exposed as a game full of cheaters. Major League Baseball(MLB) has had over one hundred players test positive for performance-enhancing substances over the past fifteen years. Performance-enhancing substances increase a player’s ability to produce better stats to help his salary. The past fifteen years of baseball have contained dirty play by some of the best players to ever play the sport. Kids all over America look at these athletes as role models. The money hungry players proceed to send a terrible message to fans of the game by taking drugs to succeed. After commissioner Bud Selig cracked down on steroid use in 2005, several baseball player’s legacies have been ruined due to steroid allegations. Players are even being charged with perjury by lying to congress over steroid use to protect their reputation. Steroids in baseball need to stop immediately before the game is ruined. Steroids are not fair to the players who play the game the way it’s supposed to be played, without syringes. Steroids are ruining the fairness of the game of baseball and the credibility of the athletes participating. These days, if someone hits fifty home runs in a season, everyone thinks they are on the “juice”. “The Steroid Era” and Bud Selig have ruined baseball’s image as a clean and fair game.
Those who believe the use of anabolic steroids should be allowed in professional sports have numerous arguments for those in opposition. Professional sports leagues have tried to stop the use of steroids by drug testing players and punishing those who do not pass. A number of major athletes, such as Lance Armstrong, have been stripped of their athletic accolades due to discoveries of drug use. Despite witnessing the fall of great competitors due to “doping,” people continue to use. Because of unsuccessful attempts at banning the drug, many people believe “it may be time to head in the other direction: legalize performance enhancers” (Smith 1). No matter how many rules and regulations are made against the use of steroids, athletes will continue to abuse the drug in order to get ...
Steroids have become an athletic advantage to those becoming the best. Steroids first used in the early 1990’s were used by players as an everyday supplement, providing a boost in their game. This has evolved into a daily habit for players and teen accessing a life destroying choices just to be the best for once. For steroids have developments in the scandal with “13 Major League Baseball players, including Alex Rodriguez- the highest paid player in professional baseball” (Woerner). Showing PED’s will destroy the things you love the most, but only “effective in the short term” (Woerner). Meaning that the little amount you took won’t last you a lifetime.
Steroids are ruining sports in the United States, and they are also going to ruin future athletes if the United States does not put a stop to it. Many young athletes in the United States are taking performance enhancing drugs because they see that professional athletes are doing it and getting results. These teenagers are using steroids because they want to look muscular and fit, but they are not aware of the negative effects steroids have on their bodies. Young athletes do not know that they are not only risking their careers but also their bodies. Steroids may make a person look muscular and fit, but at the same time, it is ruining their heart. Steroids also cause people to act differently and do foolish things like using other drugs. Parents can prevent steroid use by teaching their children about it at a young age and staying involved in their children’s sport lives. Steroids have ruined professional careers. They ruined Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones, and Barry Bonds’ careers and almost ruined Alex Rodriguez’s career. Professional athletes use steroids to improve their performance which is cheating. The game is not fair if someone is performing better by using drugs, and everybody should be performing with what they got. There are many different ways to achieve what they want in fair and healthier way. Many high school athletes are using steroids in the United States. They are not doing it under a doctor’s supervision; therefore, they are ruining their bodies without them knowing. Many of these athletes are looking at the outcome only and not what there are doing to their bodies in addition to getting stronger, muscular, and fit. All governing sport bodies in the United States need to take steroid testing seriously and give at...
“We have to make some radical move to get the attention of everyone. Cheaters can 't win and steroids has put us in the position that it 's OK to cheat” (“Steroids Quotes”). Unfortunately, baseball has been plagued with the assistance of performance enhancing drugs to lengthen players careers, to boost statistics, and create an extraordinary ballplayer out of an average player. Contrary to the steroid abusers’ beliefs, steroids are not positively influencing any aspect of their game or personal life. The credibility and dignity of baseball has decreased due to performance enhancing drugs, which is not only cheating, but it also leads into a even
Opening day isn’t even here yet, and already we have enough controversy to last us the whole season. At a time when we’d much rather be thinking about the smell of fresh cut grass, hot dogs and pennant dreams, we’re forced to deal with a far darker issue. Now more than ever, there is alarming suspicion concerning apparent steroid drug use in Major League Baseball. As an avid baseball watcher and player of the game for twelve years this scandal is of great concern to me. In the time to come I will be informing you of how steroid use has tarnished baseball’s image, allowed for more records to be broken unfairly and the harmful effects it has on your body.
The era in sports from the late 90s and into the 2000s has often been nicknamed “The Steroid Age” due to the raging use of anabolic steroids and other PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) by professional athletes. The usage of drugs in sports has never been more prevalent during this time, and many people are making it their goal to put an end to the abuse. Influential athletes such as Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez, and Roger Clemens, who were once held as the highest role models to the American people, now watch as their legacies are tarnished by accusations of drug use. The American population, and lovers of sports everywhere, have followed in astonishment through recent years as many beloved athletes reveal their dark secrets. As organizations such as the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) and BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative) attempt to halt the use of PEDs, both the drug users and their high-end suppliers work diligently to avoid detection. The use of performance enhancing drugs in recent years has proven to be cancerous to the honesty and competition of modern sports. Although some strides have been made over the past few decades, the use of steroids is in full swing in Major League Baseball, The dangerous side effects of the drugs are often overlooked and many do not realize the message this sends to the youth. The support for halting the usage of PEDs is in need of attention or professional sports will face the loss of all progress made through the past two decades in its war on steroids.
There are many different kinds of steroids but anabolic steroids are the ones most commonly used by pro baseball player. Anabolic steroids are synthetic ...
In today’s day and age, steroids have plagued the reputation of many sports. It was first presented in Russia and sparked a new era of bigger athletes with no seeming end. Steroids have gotten its way into every sport with usage high school athletes all the way to the pros. Even though there are many effects to the users health, steroid use is through the roof. Because our athletes are bigger and stronger than they were 60 years ago, they feel the need to be the biggest and do not care if there life is on the line. From Lance Armstrong to Alex Rodriquez, also known as A-Roid, our greats have cheated their way to greatness. Although our government has pushed for several laws to cut down from steroid use, they have little to no use. It has been a huge issue in the world of sports and is now getting the attention and recognition it deserves in the media. Steroid use by athletes of all ages are tarnishing their reputation and destroying their lives, and a solution is needed.
...en put into the game of baseball and that is why it is referred to as “America’s pastime.” When you use steroids or any other performance-enhancing drug, you are blatantly disregarding what numerous generations of baseball players and fans have put into the game to make it what it is today. We may not know nowadays exactly how many players are using these horrible substances, but we do know one thing; they should not be allowed in not only Major League Baseball, but every single sport in the world, regardless of any excuse or reason the players have for using them. Steroids put our beloved players in danger with various health risks, they provide an unfair disadvantage which causes the game to lose some of its tradition, and they also provide a terrible influence on the young generation of children who aspire to one day become a very talented baseball player.
...enon in sports. Some resolutions to this issue include not supporting teams and players that have previously taken steroids by not purchasing their teams or player merchandise. Another solution to this issue in sports is mixing up the times of drug testing throughout the course of a season, making sure the athletes do not know when the tests are coming. Steroids should not be permitted at all in sports and they should incorporate a zero tolerance policy so that if athletes are caught the first time they become banned completely. The game is played fairer and more even when there is a fair playing field and everyone abides by the same rules and guidelines set by the sport. This unleveled playing field has made sports much less interesting for the audience and has a negative impact on sports as a whole. The issue of steroids should be evaluated in sports immediately.
My issue over the concern of athletes have been struggling with the usage of steroids has widely spread among athletes and others; not only do steroids give an athlete a hard times but it’s also an unfair advantage to the other athletes and what they’ve accomplish. “Besides making muscles bigger, anabolic steroids may help athletes recover from a hard workout more quickly by reducing the amount of muscle damage during the session” (“Steroids in Sports”,2005). Now a days steroids are everywhere as an athlete. Many males and female young athletes preferably take it because they want to look and feel good when it comes to impressing someone and trying to become someone they look forward too. Young teens and adults try to cheat themselves in the career of their dreams. When it comes to a sport, teen athletes are not aware of what type of consequences may happen to them at the time. It may come to the time where it’s too late to take care of. In other cases, some athletes may like feeling the aggressive they get when they take drugs such as steroids. Athletes shouldn’t take steroids as the harmful health effects of the anabolic steroid in population wise. Many people have had their lives ruined by the use of illegal steroids and yet the desired effects are overwhelming that people tend to forget about the results and consequences that may effect. Athletes on steroids believe taking steroids will enhance their performance, strength, and size without having to put necessary work. These benefits, however, are associated with much short-term and long term risk.
Over one million American seek short cuts to larger muscles and greater endurance with anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Steroids are drugs that act like chemical in the body. Most steroids are transformed into testosterone when they enter the body. Testosterone is a male growth hormone. While user may gain short-term results, they are seriously shortchanging their health (Kalawalski 13-15).
There are several types of steroids. Steroids are in your body to help your body with stress and puberty; there are medical steroids and these are taken for pain, asthma, or a skin problem but, these aren’t the steroids that athletes are using to get ahead of the opponent. Athletes take anabolic steroids and they are artificially produced hormones. They are taken in forms of pills, injections, or powders. Steroids are illegal if you don’t have a prescription in your possession.
Many people believe that drug use in professional athletics is not a serious problem, however it is more widespread and serious than people think. In professional athletics the use of drugs is looked upon as somewhat of a serious problem, but is also very discrete and low key. Every once in a while one might see a prominent figure in a certain sport being reprimanded for the use of some outlawed drug, however this is just one of the many who happened to get caught. Athletes today seem to find no moral problem with using performance-enhancing drugs, or in other words cheating. Also many of them feel that because they are "stars" there should be no repercussions for their illegal activity.