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What are the effects on the human body of anabolic steroids
Drug use in professional athletes essay
Consequences of steroids in sports
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Drug abuse among professional basketball players is a problem as old as time. In some circumstances it may not be the athletes fault. For example when they are treating a minor cough or a cold, the medications used will sometimes contain small amounts of alcohol. On the other hand some athletes purposely abuse drugs for a variety of reasons. Some attempt to cover up the presence of other drug abuse but most abuse drugs because they will enhance their performance. The most common abused drugs in professional basketball are: anabolic steroids, marijuana, and amphetamines. Each drug has its own effect on performance, and disciplinary actions.
When an athlete uses anabolic steroids, they usually feel that they will give them a competitive advantage over their opponents. If you think that only football players, weightlifters, and sprinters take steroids your wrong. Steroids are designed to mimic the bodybuilding traits of testosterone. The exact effects of anabolic on the athlete and athletic performance remain controversial but some test results have shown that steroids affect the professional basketball player’s performance in different ways. Steroids are said to make the athlete feel more energized, more aggressive, and able to train harder. When athletes choose to abuse anabolic steroids it also results in disciplinary actions if they are tested positive by the league. Three types of testing in professional basketball are reasonable cause, first-year, and veteran testing. If any player tests positive for the first time during any of the three tests, they will be suspended for five games. A second offense for anabolic steroid abuse will result in a ten-game suspension and a third offense will result in a twenty-five game suspension. The National Basketball Association will release any player if they are convicted of, or plead guilty to a crime involving the use or possession of steroids.
Marijuana is the most widely used of the illicit drugs in the National Basketball Association. Marijuana has many negative affects to using it: it impairs skills requiring eye-hand coordination and fast reaction time. It also reduces motor coordination, tracking ability, and perceptual accuracy. When using marijuana you may have side affects such as difficulty concentrating and times where you are in dreamlike situ...
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... Arrested for marijuana possession at airport in Canada.
1997 “Mookie” Blaylock NBA Basketball Arrested for possession of marijuana while already on probation for marijuana and drunk driving convictions.
1996 Isaiah Rider NBA Basketball Arrested for marijuana possession.
1996 Juwan Howard NBA Basketball Arrested for driving under the influence.
1995 Vernon Maxwell NBA Basketball Charged with marijuana possession. Convicted in 1998, spent 45 days in jail.
-http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/prevention/ideas/drugged_athletes.html
Consequences of using marijuana in Athlete’s Health. Journal of Health and Health. Chicago: Chicago University Press, pp. 56-57.
Anabolic steroids have become an epidemic amongst athletes since the 1950's when a Swiss company by the name of Ciba Pharmaceuticals introduced what was to become the most popular anabolic drug for athletes called methandrostenolone. “By this time, the era of the steroid athlete was well underway and world records were being shattered and re-shattered with remarkable regularity.” (Oklobdzija & Weyrauch, 1989, para 3) From then on, there have been many cases throughout professional sports where athletes are reported or caught using anabolic steroids.
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.
With players, franchises, and fans looking the other way when it comes to PEDs it is easy to see why more is not being done to counter the issue. But what about the person who is the judge of all substance abuse cases in the MLB? The recently retired Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig, was the previous enforcer of the MLB’s drug policy. The problem with the commissioner determining policy is that he collects paychecks from franchise owners, who obviously influence him to create and enforce policy in their favor. With this influence from the owners the former commissioner was either so naive, or so corrupt, that he did not believe there was a serious issue with PEDs in baseball. Bud Selig said in 2010, “The use of steroids and amphetamines
Drug use is happening in the NFL and one of the most heavily used drugs is alcohol. This paper will analyze the effects of alcohol on players and discuss what the NFL can do to better combat the problems of alcohol usage and abuse. The NFL Substance Abuse Policy can be tweaked and modified so it more focused on helping the players, rather than disciplining them. In addition, the paper will discuss the sociological issues associated with NFL players abusing alcohol and the negative impacts this deviant behavior has on society.
Marcovitz, Hal. How Serious a Problem Is Drug Use in Sports? San Diego: Reference Point Press, 2013. Print.
Marijuana is a drug that is harmful to a person¡¯s health. It has been found to have adverse impacts on one¡¯s mental processes such as memory, attention, judgement, and problem- solving (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2004, p.415). Also, marijuana can interfere with a person¡¯s ability to think rationally and logically. Thus, the lapse in judgement caused by the drug use can lead to risky sexual behaviours and this may result in increasing sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS. Moreover, the long-term use of marijuana may cause chronic breathing problems and cancer ...
Barksdale's arrests consisted mostly of disorderly conduct, weapons and drug possession (i.e., marijuana), with no actual convictions of drug pushing, according to one relative interviewed in July 1995.
It's nothing new for the National Football League's players to be abusing anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Drug abuse in the league has recently focused around recreational drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol. The newest drug being abused is painkillers. The commissioner and his personal need to change their policies. Will they wait until many more players start to die before they tighten up their drug policies? The National Football League (NFL) can stop most of these drug problems by having more random drug tests given, enforcing stricter punishments when players are caught using drugs, and requiring every team to educate its players annually on the effects and consequences of all drugs.
Goldman, Bob, and Ronald Klatz. Death In The Locker Room II: Drugs and Sports. Chicago: Elite Sports Medicine, 1992.
One athlete that has committed this crime is Donte Stallworth (“Financial agreement avoids lawsuit 2009”). Stallworth is an NFL player who currently holds a contract with the Cleveland Browns (“Stallworth suspended indefinitely 2009”). Stallworth was charged with DUI manslaughter and was sentenced to thirty days in jail. May 2 along with many hours of community service added (“Stallworth suspended indefinitely” 2009). Tony Adams, a professional soccer player for Arsenal FC was also charged with drunk driving in 1990(Adams 2009); Adams was sentenced to 4 months in jail, but was released after serving 33 days (Adams 2009).
Abstract: Since the beginning of sports competition, athletes have always looked for some kind of 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.
Marijuana has many bad side effects that harm the body. According to Szara Braude, marijuana slows down reactions causing problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking, and loss of coordination (Marijuana as a medicine 53). Many people use this drug not knowing wh...
Warren Sapp was one of the best defensive players in the 1995 NFL draft. Sapp had tested positive for drugs mainly marijuana, seven times while playing college football at Miami, including once for cocaine (Wolff 49). In the beginning Sapp called reports, "a total fabrication," but later changed his story and said he did flunk one drug test at Miami (Wolff 49). Even after this admission of guilt, the NFL, still wanting to allow him to play so he could make them money, tried to brighten his image by saying that Sapp did not test positive for cocaine, oddly omitting any mention of marijuana (Price 48).
Doping can be strictly defined as the consumption of any substance (whether food or drug) to improve one's performance. This definition can be applied in a variety of situations, from college students drinking coffee in order to stay awake to athletes who take steroids to make them stronger. The problem with doping is where one draws the line. The drugs used in doping often have detrimental effects to one's health, both mental and physical. In the short run these drugs improve one's performance, but in the long run they can kill.