Firstly, steroid use has tainted out national pastime and tarnished the game of baseball forever. Since random drug testing for steroids has been imposed since 2003, many of the
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have come forward and admitted to using or denounced any link to abusing the muscle enhancing drugs. In an interview with 60 Minutes on February 13, 2005, Jose Canseco an all-star player back in his day, admitted that he would never have been a major league-caliber player without using the drugs. Then there are famous players like Mark Mcguire, and Barry Bonds who have been exploited by others for using steroids, but repeatedly deny the accusations. In a recent ESPN.com poll, 93% said that using steroids is wrong and taints the sport. Baseball, unlike any other sport needs people to believe the players are faithful and in backing of playing fairly, since so many people see themselves through them. If professional players are doing it, younger players are seeing it as ok to cheat to get an edge. Secondly, using steroids has unfairly helped players smash records, making them huge stars. One of the biggest records broken was the single season home run record, by Mark
Mcguire. Although he has not been accused of using steroids, he did admit to using a non steroid supplement that helped him unjustly break the record. The prior holder, the famous Yankee Roger Maris was dead at the time but his family did not want to see the record broken by a so called steroid user. Another famous player as of recent, Barry Bonds who has been the main player behind the current issue, is also in lieu of breaking a legendary record of the most homeruns in a career. Now the biggest star in baseball because of the eminency of breaking this record, do we consider it a fraud or fair play. Bonds is, at minimum a liar and a fool, and at worst, could go down as one of the biggest frauds ever. Lastly, although steroids have enhanced athletic performance unjustly, the adverse side effects can jeopardize your health.
Steroids can cause serious health problems. Many changes take place inside the body and may not be noticed until it is too late. Some of the effects will go away when steroid use stops, but some may not. Many may not truly know what the side effects of steroids are. In one human study by Sara Farrell of the American Psychological Association, male adolescent steroid abusers who were currently on a use cycle had significantly higher levels of depression, anger, and mood disturbances than those who were not on a cycle. Heavy steroid use, even if it is stopped after a few years may increase the risk of liver cancer. High doses of steroids can also increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Finally, a steroid user who quits may suffer a side effect commonly linked to low testosterone which may cause severe depression. In some cases people have been known to kill themselves because the depression is so bad. Many of times muscles, tendons and ligaments are pulled and strained to cause serious
injury. In conclusion you can now understand how steroids has tarnished baseball's image, allowed for increased athletic performance leading to broken records, and the adverse side effects that harm your body. Steroids can do remarkable things with a person's body, while also destroying it. Jose Canseco said it best in the interview with 60 seconds, "I don't recommend steroids for everyone and I don't recommend growth hormones for everyone, but for certain individuals, I truly believe, because I've experimented with it for so many years, that it can make an average athlete a super athlete. It can make a super athlete incredible. Just legendary."