When you were a kid, didn’t you want to play a professional sport? What would you give to be one of the best athletes in the world? Would you risk your reputation? Your health? Would you be willing to die? Although many studies have come out saying that steroids diminish one’s health, people still take them hoping to be the best. Imagine if you were a 28 year old who left college early because a pro team “guaranteed” you that you would play in the big leagues. Yet you just got stuck in the minors, and the only way you could get to the big’s was to take a pill that made you super-strong and super-fast. It would make sense to just take it. But what if that pill shrunk your testicles, hurt your heart and vascular system, and made your heart work 3 times harder than it is suppose to? An athlete would be pressured to take these pills, yet it would be smarter to say no. Why would athletes, of all people-risk harming their bodies? If I became a major league baseball player, and hit 65 homeruns, I couldn’t live with myself thinking that most of those wouldn’t have gone over that fence if I hadn’t taken steroids. I could never be proud of my stats or not be ashamed when a reporter told me how good I was and asked me how I learned to hit the ball that far. Although the benefits of steroids are good, the risks and side effects are too dangerous. Therefore athletes should not use steroids. Steroids have a surprisingly long and interesting history. Although steroids did not become popular until the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, they were around for a long time before that. In the 1930’s, anabolic steroids were developed to treat anemia and other muscle-wasting diseases. But it was not until 1954 that anabolic steroids began to appear in athletic competition when Soviet weightlifters supposedly used them at the World Championships. In 1958, a doctor by the name of John Ziegler developed Dianabol; the first mass produced anabolic steroid, with the help of a Pharmaceutical company, and in 1960 distributed Dianabol to the U.S. weightlifting team. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) banned the use of anabolic steroids in 1974, just 7 years after it hired a medical commission to perform drug tests on athletes. Two years after the ban by the IOC, eight athletes were disqualified from the Montreal Olympics after testing positive for steroids. The NFL started ... ... middle of paper ... ...y if every player uses them. Also when sports were invented it was made to be challenging. Baseball wasn’t invented for someone to go up to the plate and hit 2 of every 10 balls pitched to them over the fence. When a player hits a homerun it is supposed to be special. When golf courses need to be renovated from 500 yard Par 5’s, to 650 yard Par 5’s, because players are driving the ball 350 yards, it kind of defeats the purpose of the game. What is the point of watching it when the players are too good for the courses they play on. Are all sports going to become obsolete or boring to watch from the use of steroids? The answer is yes, if the use of steroids isn’t stopped. Bibliography Congress gets baseball to act on steroids www.comcast.net/news/sports Fredric J. Frommer Associated press writer Steroid use a growing problem among American High School athletes www.opposingviewpoints.com Gary Mihoces USA Today Athletes have the right to accept the risks of steroids www.opposingviewpoints.com Robert Lipsyte New York Times United states must spearhead reform to eradicate drugs www.opposingviewpoints.com Barry R. McCaffery Retired U.S. Army general
Professional athletes, throughout history, have been exalted for their outstanding abilities and achievements in sports. Unfortunately, many athletes have turned to anabolic steroids in order to give them an edge, a boost their athletic performance. Starting with the 1954 World Weightlifting Championships, where the Soviets unexpectedly dominated their lifting classes with the use of steroids, it has become increasingly popular among athletes to cheat with the help of this drug. Although the appeal to steroid use is evident when observing how it increases someone’s athletic abilities, many users fail to consider the detrimental side effects of the drug. Also, in my opinion, athletes should be expected to perform based upon their natural abilities, opposed to abilities enhanced by anabolic steroids. Ultimately, anabolic steroids should continue to be illegal in professional sports due to their major health risks and the unfair advantage they serve players.
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.
In today’s society in athletics, muscle mass and strength seem more important than in years past. It is believed that many athletes use anabolic steroids to increase their muscle mass and also their strength. Anabolic steroids are a group of synthetic hormones that promote the storage of proteins and the growth of tissue, sometimes used by athletes to increase muscle size and strength. Before the mid 1970’s the use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) was used mainly by highly trained athletes especially those involved in weight training. Since then other athletes including those involved in recreational sports and non-competitive sports have started using the steroids. Steroids are also being used by many school age children especially those involved in sports in the schools. Everyone wants to be bigger, stronger, and faster and will do almost anything to gain this.
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...
...ia has told them. The legalization of steroids in sports would not only have positive effects on the fans and players but also on the sport itself. Steroids would not only create better, but safer games. Many of the steroid arguments about players would subside and overall the playing fields for athletes would be more equal, and would yield greater competition. While steroids have had a presence in sports, they will only continue to be around and create a bigger and bigger presence unless something is done. Since taking asteroids out of every sport is nearly impossible, the only way to keep the game fair may be to legalize steroids. The legalization of steroids does not mean that every player has to take them, it is still a choice, it just means that players have the opportunity to take them and try to increase their athletic ability without getting in trouble.
There are many problems with using steroids. One problem is that the person who takes steroids has advantage over the person who follows the rules and does not take it. Steroids help change a player’s ability from what they were before they took steroids. This is unfair to the player who has not taken steroids because the person that is taking them do not have to work as hard on their ability as the person who does not take them. Another problem is its illegal. This is a problem because even though it’s illegal players are still using steroids. This is not fair to the ones who are following the rules and not getting to play because of a player who is breaking the rules are getting better because of steroids not because they are deserving it. Steroids are also dangerous to take. Steroids can cause high blood...
...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.
Athletes still take PHD drug even with the severe health risks. There are several instances where a Pro will take them because the pressure of his or her fan base. The pro needs to meet the expectations of themselves and the people around. Steroids will give a slight advantage over your opponent, which is a proven fact. Steroids do things chemically that the body cannot perform naturally. There are times when an athlete does everything in their power to not take performance enhancing drugs. Drug free athletes will fall behind physically. Pressure to compete will suck some of these athletes into steroid use. Physical appearance is just as important as being competitive to a lot of athletes, steroids will improve muscle tone and decrease body fat along with Dailey exercise, this alone draws in loads of steroid users.
But it is also a good thing for the players to be able to access a better athlete of themselves. To find a part of them that they would never even imagine. We need to stop worrying about everyone being the same person, because let’s face it they are not. Everyone is a different person and have different ability’s. if someone wants to be better than what they are now and they think they can become a better athlete, let them use steroids to be where they want to be in life. Who are we to judge someone on their lives decision? There are possible risks of a person having problems with their life later on but that is the person’s own risk of taking the drug. We should let the athletes chose to use steroids instead of controlling them on their every move through life. We do not own them, yes we are there boss, but we can’t control them. When I say we I am referring to the people on the board of the Sports Association. Yes, the teams have bought them for a price they could not refuse, but the owner of the team and the board won’t own them as people. We all have freedom, but it’s what you do with the freedom is what makes you. If it does not affect other peoples lives, then why should it matter if a player wants to take steroids? It does not change the way you live your life. People want to see you succeed in life, especially the fans want to see
Steroids are being used more commonly today in normal people's lives. They are also being used so athletes can become stronger, but they have many consequences that follow the advantages. Most people believe that steroids are a false measurement of an athletes ability, and others believe that steroids are good because athletes can become stronger and make their sports more exciting to watch. This is a very important issue today because athletes today are using steroids to gain an unfair advantage over the other athletes.
Steroids became an option to athletes in the Olympics and other major sporting events during the 1950’s. But this use of steroids among athletes only became widely apparent when Canadian sprint runner Ben Johnson tested positive for steroid use after winning the gold medal for the one hundred-meter dash during the 1988 Olympics (Francis, 45). Now a skinny fifteen-year-old can just walk down to the local gym and find people who either sell or know how to get in contact with those who sell the drug that will make him envious of his friends. Steroids are an attractive drug. While steroids seem harmless to the unaware user, they can have a risky effect. Most of the time whether the users are new or experienced, they do not know the dangerous consequences steroids can have on their bodies and their minds. Though steroids cause a relatively insignificant number of deaths in our society, the banning of steroids is justified because steroids have a lot of side effects not known to the uninformed user.
Currently it is an estimated that at least 6.67 percent of high school seniors in the United States have tried steroids, which is 500,000 males between the ages of 17 and 18 (Anabolic Steroids). The pressure of steroids on teenagers is constantly drilled into their heads because they associate increased strength with perfection. Teenagers are under immense pressure to be perfect. Kids are pressured to do well in school, sports, and any other activities that they are participating in. Anything other than the best is unacceptable and failure which strikes and leads to disrespect. Failure has the sole purpose of tearing people from their self confidence and lending them to be insecure, questioning their abilities and themselves. It does not help that kids have role models that choose the easy way to accomplish their goals. It also sends a message to those who admire them that taking certain sacrifices to reach self-goals and standards are very much acceptable. Hard work and determination has become something of the past when it is possible to do the same amount of work and receive results faster if you just take a couple risks. Steroids should not only be banned from sports, but athletes who are found to have used steroids should receive a more distinct and severe punishment. No matter how it is said or defended steroids truly are cheating. Steroids are becoming a substitute for hard work and determination.
Steroids where originally made back in World War I as an aid for soldiers who suffered from any sort of weaknesses to being stronger. Steroids have been a known substance for increased performance in anything physical for the past 100 years now. Steroids have been looked upon and even banned all the way back in the 1910s in the Olympic games. The Anabolic Steriod Act was passed in 1990 which placed steroids in the same class as other illgal drugs such as amphetamines, methamphetamines, opium and morphine. It was then finally banned in Baseball on June 7, 1991. “Major League Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent said, The possession, sale or use of any illegal drug or controlled substance by Major League players or personnel is strictly prohibited... This prohibition applies to all illegal drugs and controlled substances, including steroids” (Farrey). And ever since the banning of steroids, its usage has still been high and everything is done in order to stop it.
With all the lights and cameras, of course, athletes want more attention than the others and for them steroids is the answer. Steroids not only affect your body physically, but your brain emotionally and that’s why there is a higher risk than thought when it comes to the decision to use steroids or not. For your body, you are essentially quickening its deterioration and actually weakening it while you are trying to strengthen it. It’s a domino effect of future health problems. From
Have steroids become a problem in professional sports? The answer to that question is yes! According to CNN “The use of performance-enhancing drugs by professional athletes, or "doping," has been acknowledged as a problem since at least the 1960s.” Athletes will do anything they can to be the best and excel above others. Constantly in the news you hear about some new athlete using the performing enhancing drug “steroids” to help them out. If someone has the opportunity to be stronger/faster/better of course they are going to take it. Many athletes believe steroids should be legal in sports. Also many athletes will admit that the drug helps athletic ability and endurance making one better at competing. Is there enough research to show that this