Athletes and Steroid Use

1267 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Negative effects of steroid use

In recent history American culture has become more and more dominated by sports. Out of all of these sports baseball is considered to be America's pastime. Over the last couple years America's pastime has come under scrutiny about some of its players using anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said, ¡§... hopefully we can figure out ways to solve this problem. It needs to be solved. There is no one I¡¦ve talked to who can say it is not a problem. Now the question is, What can we do about it?¡¨ (41). The commissioner is absolutely correct in saying that the steroids issue is a problem. Without a doubt the steroid issue is bringing the integrity of the game into question.

This steroid problem reaches farther than one might think. ¡§This issue was drawing so much interest President Bush mentioned it in last year¡¦s State of the Union address¡¨ (Random and off season). If the President of the United States feels that this is a big enough problem to mention in his State of the Union address, then this problem effects all Americans. Another way it effects all Americans is that US tax dollars are being used by the federal government to investigate the players who have been accused of using anabolic steroids. Finally, the steroid problem effects anyone who is a sports fan because these are the sports stars of our generation. If all of their accomplishments are negated by steroids, then we will have no one to represent our generation.

I have been watching sports, including baseball, for almost my entire eighteen years of living. When I was little I played baseball and wanted to grow up and be just like the players I saw on the television. I also collected hundreds of baseball cards all through my childhood. Through all of this I have become very knowledgeable on the game of baseball. To see steroids challenge the integrity of the game deeply concerns me.

The reaction of many people is to find all of the people who have used steroids and ban them from the game and the record books. These players are cheaters and do not deserve to hold records, be hall of famers, or even continue playing the game. By allowing these players to go unpunished, society is setting a bad example for the youth of America who admire these sports icons. Accomp...

... middle of paper ...

... these suspected cheaters from the game, baseball can save its integrity while punishing wrongdoers. By just asterisking the accomplishments of steriod users everyone benefits. Baseball players of this generation and of older generations will still be recognized for what they have accomplished on the field. Players today won¡¦t have their accomplishments erased. Players of past generations will still see that their accomplishments have no asterisk placed next to them. Fans will be able to trust the statistics they see without having almost our entire generation of players erased from the history books. Finally, the youth of America will learn that cheating is wrong.

Works Cited

¡§Bonds blasts media for continued steroid questions.¡¨ CNN 22 Feb. 2005: n. pag. 22 Feb. 2005 . Path: MLB; Bonds Blasts Media.

¡§Random and offseason testing instituted.¡¨ ESPN 13 Jan. 2005: n. pag. 20 Feb. 2005 . Path: MLB; Steroids.

Reilly, Rick ¡§No Doubt About It.¡¨ Sports Illustrated 13 Dec. 2004: 118

Verducci, Tom ¡§Is Baseball in the Asterisk Era?¡¨ Sports Illustrated 15 March 2004: 36-39

Verducci, Tom ¡§So What Can You Do, Bud?¡¨ Sports Illustrated 15 March 2004: 40-43

Show More
Related

  • Anabolic Steroids are Ruining Major League Baseball

    1233 Words  | 3 Pages

    Major League Baseball (MLB) has widely been regarded as America’s pastime for the longest time, however it is now becoming known as the sport tainted by one thing, anabolic steroids. An anabolic steroid is related to the natural steroid, testosterone. They are able to stimulate growth in the muscle tissue. They usually increase muscle mass and strength. The MLB has created some of the most historic American icons, such as Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. Players like them showed us what it was like to play baseball the right way. They played with passion, heart, and above all they had fun playing. Players today in the MLB focus way too much on becoming the best player ever to play. They see what the greats did before them and they want to match them, so they turn to anabolic steroids. An example of this is Alex Rodriguez. In 2003 he tested positive for anabolic steroids because he was “naïve” and couldn’t take the pressure of his expectations of being called the best. He felt the pressure from the game and he turned to steroids. Anabolic steroids are ruining the game of baseball. They are tainting the records and the changing the game for the worse.

    Read More

  • Steroids Use in Major League Baseball (MLB): Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds

    1591 Words  | 4 Pages

    Steroids in baseball, particularly in Major League Baseball (MLB), have become a major issue. Two specific athletes have affected Major league Baseball dramatically; these players are Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds. It is hard to catch a steroid user. Don Catlin, a former director at the UCLA Olympic testing lab says time after time they try to find the users and test them method, after they have evidence, however, this method does not work (Quinn). Mark McGwire’s and Barry Bonds’ use of steroids affected baseball in terms of trust issues, record holders, drug policies, and the future of baseball.

    Read More

  • Anabolic Steroid Use in Baseball

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    Baseball?s reputation has been painted with a red asterisk. The non-medical use of steroids has been banned according to the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990. Many baseball athletes have been caught or presumed illegal users of HGH or Steroids since the act passed in 1990. All these athletes have one thing in common, they want to have an edge or advantage on the game. Some athletes even admit to administering the drug to other athletes and themselves. Jose Conseco testified to personally injecting the steroids into Mark McGuire (Cote).

    Read More

  • Should Baseball Players who Used Steroids be Allowed in The Hall of Fame?

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    Verducci, Tom. “Why I’ll never vote for a known steroid user in the Hall of Fame.” www.sportsillustrated.cnn. A Time Warner Company, 08 Jan 2013. Web. 24 Jan 2014.

    Read More

  • Steroids in Baseball

    2573 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...sport continues to gain the reputation of a game of cheaters. Steroids are not fair to the players who worked hard everyday to achieve Hall of Fame status, without performance-enhancers. The MLB needs to eliminate drug use to regain the trust of the fans who love and respect the game. The game has seen a dirty past ten years and needs to reestablish their reputation as a fair league. Of course fans love watching their favorite player slug sixty plus homers in a season, but not if it is ultimately ruining the fairness of what was once a clean game. Selig needed to end the “Steroid Era” seven years earlier to save the reputations of Hall of Fame caliber players. Whose to know what steroid allegations will arise in the next few years to tarnish another all-star‘s shot at Cooperstown? Baseball will only regain its credibility when steroids are not present in any player.

    Read More

  • PED in Sports

    1628 Words  | 4 Pages

    Performance enhancing drugs have been a longstanding problem in sports. It not only deteriorates the honesty of the game, but also can have broader social affects that one may not even realize. The use of performance enhancing drugs is especially apparent in Major League Baseball. This problem can be traced back to the 1980’s when baseball was facing one of its first “dark periods”. During the 1980’s Major League Baseball was experiencing a home run drought. Home run totals were down as far as they had been since Babe Ruth, and fans were seemingly becoming bored with the sport. The lack of home runs was a growing concern for players whose salary relied on home run totals. Players needed to find a quick way to boost their power and performance in order to keep the sport alive and to keep bringing in their paychecks. This desire for fame and fortune introduced steroids into Major League Baseball in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Home run totals jumped tremendously during these decades and players were willing to risk being caught using illegal substances in order to shine above the rest. New idols and role models started to sprout up from these outstanding home run statistics and young children started to take notice. This all came tumbling down when these new idols and role models who were making the big bucks and hitting the ball out of the park tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Here lie the affects of a growing social problem in sports. These famed athletes become walking advertisements and promotions for the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. The influence professional athletes have over aspiring young athletes is very powerful and these roles models make it seem acceptable to use performance ...

    Read More

  • Steroids in Baseball

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    Steroids need to be allowed in baseball because it will bring more excitement back into the game. “Steroids will cause baseball players to build more muscle which means that they will most likely increase their offensive stats. The stat that it will mostly increase is the homerun” (Vass). People that watch baseball unless they are die-hard baseball fans do not want to watch baseball to see a team play a good defensive game. They do not want to see a low scoring game. They watch the game of baseball hoping a player will hit the ball four hundred and fifty feet out of the ballpark. They want to see a player come up clutch and hit a walk off homerun to win the game for their team and their ...

    Read More

  • Steroids Effects on baseball and the Players

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Mitchell report: Baseball slow to react to players' steroid use." ESPN. N.p.. Web. 7 Mar 2014. .

    Read More

  • Steroids in Baseball

    1986 Words  | 4 Pages

    We face the issue that players are not motivated to try hard, have an alternative option that puts a reoccurring substance in their body. Young adolescents should focus more on getting bodies into shape and ready for the sport they are pursuing. While upcoming stars should be making a name for them showing that without drugs can play my best and be the best too. But performance enhancing drugs have played a major role in sports, especially baseball. The usage of the drug has players performing over the top of others who work equally and mentally as hard. Enacting the new system will catch the players who are cheating in game of baseball with a blood test that checks if a player is enhancing their performance in the...

    Read More

  • Cheating in Baseball

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children who have grown up in America have been brought up with baseball and have looked up to a sports figure as one of their heroes. Steroids and other PEDS have tarnished the American past time favorite game. These drugs have cause doubts and suspicion about the validity o...

    Read More

  • Steroids are Ruining Sports in the United States

    1556 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Steroids Impact on Major League Baseball

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    The MLB arguably has conveyed a series of mixed messages with regard to its players and their use of steroids. On the one hand, the League apparently cooperates with lawmakers on the issue of regulating drug use among its players; on the other, some of the best athletes in the MLB are suspected of drug use and yet continue to be marketed and revered. Examples of drugs used by MLB stars have included: Anavar, Andriol, Clomid, Depo-Testosterone, Insulin, Stanozolol, and Testosterone1. These drugs are steroids, typically prescribed by medical professionals to patients fighting specific disorders (such as low testosterone or infertility) or provide relief for immense pain or other severe symptoms; they are used “off-label” by athletes for increa...

    Read More

  • The Steroid Era

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    SCHMIDT, Michael. "Baseball to Expand Drug-Testing Program." NyTimes.com. The New York Times, 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Athletes and Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports

    4514 Words  | 10 Pages

    Abstract:  Since the beginning of sports competition, athletes have always looked for some kind of an edge over their competitors.  They will do whatever it takes to be one of the elite and that includes injecting supplements into their bodies to make them bigger, stronger, and faster.  Steroid use is probably one of the most common drug misuses in sports competition.  Athletes found that with anabolic steroids one could become a better athlete twice as fast.  Not until 1975 was the drug first banned from Olympic competition because of the health risks it produced.  Shortly thereafter, the rest of the sports world did not allow anabolic steroids as well.  With the use of steroids no longer permitted athletes began to look for other alternatives.  On the rise is two substances called creatine and androstenedione, both of which are sold over the counter. These two performance enhancers have only had minimal testing done on them, excluding the long-term effects, simply because they haven't been around long enough.  Creatine and androstenedione have been said to produce results like steroids without the side effects.  The truth is they do produce side effects and irregular muscle growth. By banning the use of performance enhancing drugs, just like steroids, sports competition will have a much healthier and fairer environment to participate in.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech: Steroid Use Among Athletes

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Athletes and Steroid Use

Open Document