What exactly are steroids? According to Wikipedia, steroids are drugs used by some athletes to increase the size and strength of their muscles and improve endurance. Several stories of steroid usage in sports have made the news. Americans love sports, we idealize the players we watch. Young athletes look up to the artificially enhanced competitors they see on television. When those athletes are using steroids they are sending the message to their supporters that drugs are needed to become successful. Fans often get a false sense of what a true athlete is. So, do you think steroids in sports are okay? I, for one, do not think that steroids should be allowed in any athletic events. Some people may argue that steroids improve your endurance, build …show more content…
According to an article by the New York Daily between 10 and 40 percent of the athletes in the NFL use steroids. Every once in awhile, the NFL does surprise drug tests. An occurrence happened during the 2006 season, San Diego Chargers’ linebacker, Shawne Merriman, happened to fail a drug test and got suspended for four games. In 2005, during the suspected steroid use, Merriman was awarded NFL Defensive Rookie of the year, ranking in with a total of 54 tackles and 10 sacks. He also had a total of five defended passes and two forced fumbles. He was one of the starting players in 2005, and he lead his team in sacks in the 2006 season. This is an example of cheating through steroids. The incident, in which Merriman tested positive for steroids, lead to him being forbidden from being selected to the Pro Bowl that year. This rule that forbid him to be selected is referred to as the "Merriman Rule". Though they may improve your performance, they are cheating and you will be …show more content…
Some people get prescribed steroids to combat sickness, but when you distribute or illegally use these drugs you will be punished. In the United States steroids, when not prescribed by a doctor, are completely illegal. The Steroid Control Act of 2004 has placed steroids in the same category as amphetamines, methamphetamines, opium and morphine. Simply owning this drug is automatically a federal offense. According to Anabolics.com first time offenders, will receive a minimum $1,000 fine and up to one year in prison. Second time offenders, will be fined $2,500 or more with a maximum of a two year prison sentence. For third time offenders, the fine is doubled to a minimum of $5,000 and an extended prison time to a maximum of three years. Those charged with distributing this drug will receive a far more severe punishment. Failure to obey these laws can result in fines up to $250,000, and a five year prison sentence. Repetitive offenders may receive as much as ten years in prison, and a fine that is determined by the court. After the punishments the offender still has to deal with probation for a certain amount of time set by the court. They will now have to live with their permanent record for the rest of his or her life. Because of this, the person will lose their basic rights such as voting and gun ownership not to mention making it very difficult to get a job and simply being forced to live with a felony.
Many athletes use steroids to become stronger and improve their ability to play their sport. Certain players believe there is nothing wrong with using steroids. Athletes who excel greatly would normally be chosen to be in the Hall of Fame, but if using steroids, they should not be allowed. Steroids have many effects on people. Baseball players are big influences on children and teenagers, which could cause even more steroid use because of major league baseball players.
history of sports, the Black Sox scandal is the most infamous in all of sports history. The Pete Rose
Every year high school, college, and professional athletes try to get just ?a little bigger,??a little stronger,? and to increase the amount of weights they lift by, ?just a few pounds.? To achieve these goals athletes often turn to anabolic steroids to aid them in achieving their goals. Anabolic steroids are a quick, but dangerous way to increase muscle mass, and they can carry many risks including some life threatening side affects. Years after taking steroids athletes can live to have serious heart problems, sterility, or possibly not even live, all because of foolish decisions they made in the past. These potentially fatal drugs are not widely known by young athletes at all, because they don?t know about the risks that can go along with them. In school, every student is taught about marijuana, cocaine,heroin, sex, liquor, and all those other health risks, but they?re never taught about ?roids? or ?juice.? (slang words for steroids) That should be changed, because it is known that student athletes often use steroids, not knowing the risks. Many times they take the risk because they hear about professional athletes taking steroids. But, despite their widespread use in sports, steroids can have more negative than positive effects on athletes of all types. Steroids are chemical substances that can be made naturally by the body or produced synthetically. There are many different types of steroids that are used for different things other than just athletes enhancing muscles. For example, there are types of steroids that can be used by women as birth control pills, and other types that are used for menopause treatment. The abuse of steroids is almost always found to be in the case of athletes, and that is the focus of this paper. ?All anabolic steroids are synthetic compounds whose molecular structure is similar to that of the natural male sex hormone testosterone. Testosterone affects development of the male body in two important ways: it has an anabolic effect - increases growth, especially of muscular and skeletal tissue - And an androgenic effect - increased development of male sexual characteristics. Anabolic steroids are constructed stythetically in such a way that they maximize the anabolic effect of testosterone while minimizing the androgenic effect.? The way that steroids work can easily be interpreted by a foo...
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...
In Forbes Magazine, David DiSalvo’s article “College football steroid use is rampant and little is done about it” talks about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in college football and its rising use in football today. Everybody always bashes baseball and other sports for steroid use but nobody really cares if it’s used in football and many people are starting to question why. Another question that needs to be answered is how are these football players not getting caught by the many drug tests they are forced to take. In most cases it’s blatantly obvious that most of these players are on something. David’s article has opened many of the football fans eyes and people seek the truth behind all of this.
There is a difference between working very hard to see progress and finding an alternative way to see ultimate progress. Most athletes love to work out to get bigger and better at their certain sport, there training for but you also have athletes who would go beyond extra to see improvements while still lifting or training and that extra way is called steroids. It 's a common drug that has its pros for athletes use to improve athletic ability, improves muscular strength and performance. Now, steroids have its cons as well, you could get arrested for using them illegally, can damage organs and veins and also damage your growth. You see, it 's not what athletics aspect, but it has happened even its good or bad. You highly hear that pro sport
Anabolic steroids are a group of muscle building chemicals, which are synthetic versions of the male hormone, testosterone. Developed in the 1930’s, they were prescribed to aid in muscle tissue repair by those who had undergone surgery or had degenerative diseases. Now the patients do not only use them but also athletes. Starting in the 1940’s steroids were introduced into sports. Steroids were one of the main reasons that Russia’s 1952 Olympic weightlifting team came out with pile of medals. With these results other nations thought their competitors should have the same advantage, and the use of steroids spread like wildfire.(NIDA pg 2) But now steroids are illegal to use if not prescribed by a physician, and have been banned by nearly all-athletic organizations, both professional and amateur.
Perhaps one of the most controversial topics in Major League Baseball is the discussion of the use of steroids and human growth hormones. Both are completely illegal in the sport, and come with drastic consequences. One would think a fifty game suspension as a first offense would scare players away, but for some reason steroids in baseball is occurring more and more often to the disappointment of Major League Baseball. The reason players take steroids in the first place is to enhance their performance on the field. Steroids make players stronger and they perform at a higher rate. Another use for steroids is to help the players on certain rehab assignments for injuries. Either way, it is still illegal and banned in the sport.
Sports is one of the most popular forms of entertainment we have today. Whether it’s football, basketball, soccer, baseball, etc., fans are willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money in order to watch sports. There are few issues in the world of sports. But there is one issue that stands out, steroids. Although steroids may increase strength, stamina and athleticism, they are incredibly harmful to your body and should never be used. Still, some athletes persist in taking them, knowing that these substances provide a physical advantage. Although this is true, steroids can cause serious physical and psychological side effects.
The penalty for trafficking anabolic steroids is up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, and this is only if it’s your first-offense (DeNoon 1). Second-offense trafficking can result in double the penalty (DeNoon 1). Anabolic steroids are (non-prescribed) steroids used for increasing human growth hormone (HGH) levels within the body. These types of steroids were first created in the 1930s and were originally used to treat children suffering from delayed growth. Should steroids be allowed for open use to the public? According to multiple sources, no, steroids should be limited to doctor prescription only. Steroids are not safe if they are available to the public for a multitude of reasons; side-effects can be deadly in the form of many different types of sicknesses, positive effects are small and only occur in a small area, negative effects vary in terms of physical appearance, reasons why people illegally use steroids are unjust, and there are several ways in preventing anabolic steroid use.
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.
Anabolic steroids also have long-term consequences legally. Anabolic steroids are classified as controlled substances under U.S. federal law and the laws of many states (Collins). Since the non-medical possession or sale of anabolic steroids is illegal, strength athletes must not only consider the possible health risks but also the potential legal consequences of involvement (Collins). Many athletes who take or sell anabolics have no clue as to what might happen if they were to be caught by law enforcement. According to Rick Collins, in 1991 Congress placed anabolic steroids into schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Under this legislation steroids are defined as, “any drug or hormonal substance, chemically and pharmacologically related to Testosterone that promotes muscle growth” (Collins). There is a maximum of 1 year in prison and a $1,000 fine for using or buying steroid. The penalty for trafficking for a 1st offense is a maximum of 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The penalty for a 2nd offense for trafficking the punishment above doubles (Collins).
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 are more than just muscle enhancers. It goes into more depth than that. Athletes use them to get the advantage on their opponent but that’s all one really knows. What really happens with the users body besides going weak to strong? It’s the science that goes in to it that gives the user its physical results. Steroids have many effects on the body both good and bad, whether it’s becoming bigger or becoming less of a man or woman, literally. When someone makes the choice to use steroids, they are getting into more than they can imagine. Steroids change your body completely and can be more bad than good. Steroids have more effects than one may think and are definitely overlooked when it comes to being a medicine and a science rather than a performance enhancer.
These substances can lead to serious injuries and unethical actions. The use of steroids and other PEDs are a major health risk for adults and children and diminish the value of true talent in professional sports. Not only is the use of steroids unethical in most minds, it is detrimental to one’s health and emotions. Studies have shown “uncontrollable aggression stems from taking anabolic steroids.