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Essay on anabolic steroids and its consequences
Essays on the use of steroids
Essays on the use of steroids
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Major League Baseball’s (MLB) commissioners are debating about the anabolic steroids situation that is occurring in professional baseball today. To many professionals are getting accused of using the harmful drug. Professional baseball players are getting tested twice a year for anabolic substances throughout the course of the regular season. In order to stop steroids in MLB, commissioners should pass random drug testing. Tony Larussa stated, “By having random drug tests, it would make the game of baseball true once again.” Steroids are ruining the game of baseball, and the commissioners need to decide on something soon. By having random drug tests in Major League Baseball throughout the season, it would fix the problems that baseball is having today.
Anabolic steroids are man made substances related to male sex hormones (Reilly). “Anabolic” refers to muscle building; pro baseball players use anabolic steroids to enhance muscle mass and speed. Steroids can be taken orally or they can be injected into the body. Most major league players combine several different types of steroids to maximize the effect of the drug; this procedure is called “stacking”. Stacking was first heard about in the 1996 season when Ken Caminiti admitted that he used steroids, and that he “stacked” (MVP in1996…). Most people think that steroids are not that harmful to the body, but the side effects are long term. Steroids cause terrible acne to the face and back. If the abuser scratches his or her body, scars are most likely to appear. Steroids also cause liver damage, jaundice, high blood pressure, trembling, heart arrhythmia and can even lead to body temperature problems. Behavioral problems can also occur when taking steroids, such as excessive anger, f...
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...egitimate reason. Random drug tests would fix all the drug problems Major League Baseball is having with their athletes. Random drug tests would not only make the game honest again but it would save athletes lives in the long run.
Works Cited
Haley, James, ed. Performance Emhancing Drugs. Farmington Hills: Green Haven Press, 2003.
"MVP in 1996 says taking steroids wasn't a mistake." 31 May. 2002. ESPN Baseball. ESPN. 18 Nov. 2004 .
“New law bans sale of anabolic steroids." Americam Medical Association Journal (2004). 18 Nov 2004
Reilly, Rick. "Steroid talk has been all the ‘rage’ in baseball recently." 8 Jul. 2002. Sports llustrated. 18 Nov. 2004 .
"Steroids: Side Effects." 11 Oct. 2002. Superior Muscle. 18 Nov. 2004 .
Williams, Lance. "Bonds used steroids in 2003, trainer says on secret recording ." San Fancisco Chronical 16 Oct 2004. 18 Nov 2004
Players since the beginning of baseball have used some type of drug to enhance their game such as in 1889 Pud Galvin ingested monkey testosterone and Grover Cleveland Alexander used banned alcohol to enhance his game (Chafets). This should prove that baseball will never fully stop the use of PEDs, they can only cover up the ones that have. As Zev Chafets puts it “Chemical enhancement won’t kill the game; it is the cover-up that could be fatal” (Chafets). This cover up will ultimately hurt the game of baseball so the league should give the players the opportunity to use the PEDs, and if they choose not to then that is their decision ...
The Web. 6 May 2010. Fainaru-Wada, Mark, and Lance Williams. Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and more! the Steroid Scandal That Rocked Professional Sports.
The biggest change which would make the players seriously think about taking anabolic steroids revolves around the consequences for taking these drugs. The consequences for taking steroids have to be much stronger than they are now. For the first positive test, I would like the player to be suspended for one full season. Hopefully losing a year’s worth of salary would stop them from ever using the steroids again. If there is a second offense, I feel the player should be given a lifetime ban from the MLB. Yes this is much tougher than the current policy, but the player has cheated at his profession. They were given another chance and they ruined it, so they deserve to be given a lifetime ban.
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.
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).
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.
Steroids in baseball need to stop immediately before the game is over. 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.
In Jose Canseco’s 60 Minutes interview, he stated that he and some of his teammates used steroids in the past. With all the hoopla surrounding Major League Baseball and its connection with allegations made by BALCO president Victor Conte, this report is intriguing at the least. High profile athletes such as Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds have been under direct scrutiny over the past year because of the steroid issue. Canseco firmly states that he and former teammate Mark McGwire casually injected together during their playing days as an Oakland Athlete. “After batting practice or right before the game, Mark and I would duck into a stall in the men’s locker room, load up our syringes and inject ourselves” with steroids, starting in 1988, Canseco wrote, according to an excerpt made by the N.Y. Times. Tony Larussa, manager of the A’s at the time denies that his players ever used steroids. Supposedly, steroids give an edge to a players’ psyche as well as increased size and strength. Larussa then reiterated that McGwire got his strength and size from weightlifting and a careful diet. In a league where the most glaring aspect of the sport is the art of the homerun, it seems as if these allegations could be possibly true. Homerun king Mark McGwire has made a name for himself with hitting the long ball. He and Sammy Sosa, another alleged user has a hit an impressive amount of homeruns over the span of their careers. Canseco also called out former Texas Ranger Rangers teammates, Ivan Rodriguez, Jose Gonzalez, and Rafael Palmeiro. All the players named above are potential Hall of Famers.
Jost, Kenneth. "Performance-Enhancing Drugs: An Overview." Performance Enhancing Drugs. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Rpt. from "Sports and Drugs." CQ Researcher 14 (23 July 2004): 616-622. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
Since at least the 1980’s performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) have been a major challenge in the world of Major League Baseball, and past trends indicate they will continue to pose an ongoing problem. A number of the most prominent and accomplished professional baseball players, such as Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens, are also the most famous examples of baseball players who have broken longstanding records, attracted countless numbers of fans, and allegedly have taken performance-enhancing drugs. Athletes who have been caught using steroids in order to increase and better their performance rates have been suspended, fined and traded from the teams on which they once played. Despite the punitive actions taken against them by the League and lawmakers, players continue to use performance-enhancing drugs and likely will continue to do so, because the associated athletic effects will draw more fans and bring more money to the individual player and franchise.
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.
Mohun, Janet and Aziz Khan. Drugs, Steroids, and Sports. New York, NY: F. Watts, 2008.
While the effects of steroids can seem desirable at first, there are serious side effects. Excessive use can cause a harmful imbalance in the body's normal hormonal balance and body chemistry. Heart attacks, water retention leading to high blood pressure and stroke, and liver and kidney tumors all are possible. Young people may develop and a halting of bone growth. Males may experience shrinking testicles, falling sperm counts, and enlarged prostates. Women frequently show signs of masculinity and may be at higher risk for certain types of and the possibility of birth defects in their children. The psychological effects of steroid use are also alarming: drastic mood swings, inability to sleep, and feelings of hostility. Steroids may also be psychologically addictive. Once started, users, particularly athletes, enjoy the physical "benefits" of increased size, strength, and endurance so much that they are reluctant to stop even when told about the risks. Major athletic competitions, including the Olympics, routinely screen athletes to prevent steroid use.
Steroids can seem harmless to the uninformed user but they actually have harmful side effects. According to the article “News examines relationship between steroids and heart-related deaths,” published by New York Daily News, “The study (presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago on Nov. 12, 2006) shows that deaths jumped from 476 from in 1980-1992 to 987 from in 1993-2005. Overall, 1,463 young athletes died between 1980 and 2005”(NY Daily News). This is a terrifying statistic and will only continue to rise.
Smith, Chris. "Why It's Time To Legalize Steroids In Professional Sports." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 05 Jan. 2014. .