Why Do Athletes Use Steroid?
Steroids
Back in the 1930’s when you looked in the sports page of the newspaper; everything would be great stories of incredible sports events and feats. But now, when you look at the sports pages in the newspaper, it’s all about steroids and cheating in sports. One of the biggest issues in sports today is the severity in danger of athletes using steroids or performance enhancing drugs. Illegal doping is the process of using steroids or other performance enhancing drugs while participating in a sport. I don’t think that athletes should be allowed to take performance enhancing drugs or any other type of steroid because it ruins the authenticity of the game, it’s a hazard to the health of players, and it will cause an unnecessary spike in statistics and make players a lot more susceptible to injuries. If steroids were harmless, and posed no threat to athletes, they would be completely fine. But since they are as risky as they are, they really aren’t good for the sport in my opinion.
The one thing that could possibly prevent athletes from taking steroids, are the drug tests that most teams administer. Teams from all around sports are giving players drug tests, and finding results to be quite surprising. Ryan Braun, a star baseball player from the Milwaukee Brewers, tested positive for performance enhancing …show more content…
drugs after the season was over. It was probably the worst time for the allegations to take place for Braun. Right after he won the league MVP. He was ashamed at how his image as a player and as a person was soiled. Baseball Hall of Famer, Joe Morgan, said that when he discovered that Braun tested positive for steroids, he was “shocked”. “That's why this is devastating for baseball," Morgan said. This isn't just some player. This is an MVP who everyone liked. He was one of my favorite players.” "It just breaks my heart," Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson said. "You want to desperately follow the game, love it and root for players, and now you don't know who to believe.” If it weren’t for the drug tests, Braun’s drug usage would have never been detected and he would have illegally been playing the game. Despite the fact that there could be a false positive, the technology they use is too advanced to make such a mistake. And it isn’t like the tests harm the players; they are usually administered by urine. And the tests don’t just detect steroids; they also find other illegal drugs like marijuana, etc. Those other illegal drugs are more commonly used in sports than steroids. The tests aren’t always correct though. There always is a very minimal possibility of the test being false. The technology isn’t advanced enough to always confirm or deny steroid usage. (Nightengale)
Another problem with drug testing is the fact that the teams don’t test all of their players. They only test the star players that they would suspect to take steroids as opposed to the bench players or the players that don’t produce as much as others are the ones that wouldn’t be tested for performance enhancing drugs.
Steroids “over boost” performance when they are taken. When an athlete were to lift weights and gain natural strength as opposed to gaining artificial strength from steroids, the strength that they have would be a lot better for the player. It’s one thing to work out a lot and gain natural strength and muscle. But when a player took steroids, his/her strength and stamina would skyrocket, sending overall power into overload. When steroids are taken, it gives the body artificial strength; which isn’t as safe and as durable as natural strength. Despite the fact that working out doesn’t give you as much strength as steroids would, working out does pay off more in the long run.
Steroids are also not healthy for the body if they aren’t taken right. To take steroids right, they would have to be prescribed by a doctor, and it would have to be for medical purposes only. Medical steroids aren’t allowed in sports, but they still are okay for your body. Performance enhancing steroids are illegal in sports, and they also severely harm your body. They can lead to heart failure, heart attacks, kidney failure, osteoporosis, cancer, strokes, seizures, and death. Steroids also shut down the immune system which over a long period of time, can lead to a small cold causing you to die.
After all of the so-called “chaos” that surrounded Ryan Braun’s steroid allegations, he was in fact proven to be not guilty of using steroids, as the test did show a false positive on the initial analysis. That is a perfect example of a test not being correct, or possibly the urine sample somehow being tampered with (illegally changed), or something along the lines of that.
Around five years ago, a legendary baseball player named Barry Bonds was not so lucky with his steroid trial. Bonds was accused of taking steroids, and then lied to the courts about it. So not only was he convicted of illegal steroid use, he was also indicted on perjury (lying under oath). Bonds is the all-time leader in home runs in major league history, but his record will always have an asterisk right next to it, from all of the people that believe Bonds stole the record from Hank Aaron (previous record-holder).
Arguably the best professional cyclist of all time, Lance Armstrong was also accused of steroid use. Armstrong won cycling’s “world championship” the Tour de France a record seven times, and was brought up on federal charges of illegal doping. Several years passed of investigations and trials, and finally about a month ago, all charges were dropped, and investigations were brought to an end. Armstrong was thrilled at the fact that he didn’t have to worry about anybody chasing him around, begging to know whether he did steroids or not, because they knew that the evidence wasn’t strong enough to prove him guilty, so technically, Armstrong never took steroids.
Another player who had a tremendous impact on Major League baseball was Manny Ramirez. Nobody had a personality like his. Everything he would do on the field, and all of his mid-game antics were downright hilarious. But good humor is no mach for steroids as last year he tried to fight allegations of steroid use. The tests came back positive, they were presented to the league, and Ramirez was suspended for 50 games. But apparently Manny didn’t learn his lesson, because before serving his suspension, he was caught yet again using steroids, which resulted him in a 100 game suspension. He still refused to serve it. After hearing the news of his whopping suspension, Ramirez decided to retire from baseball. Quite similar to his length of time that he served his suspension, his retirement didn’t last long either. The next season he “un-retired” from baseball, and when this season begins, he will have to sit out 100 games. And that just shows how such an incredible personality can be soiled with one (or in his case, more than one) mistake.
A good friend, and former teammate of Ramirez’s, David Ortiz (Big Papi), was also suspended 50 games for steroid abuse. But unlike Manny, Big Papi served his suspension with no complaints whatsoever, and was back to normal in no time. Ortiz also had a great personality and was a good person. As for his image, down the drain.
One of the widest televised steroid investigation was when Roger Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers of all time, was accused of steroids.
Investigations started in 2004, and are still going on as we speak. Clemens won two World Series Championships over his illustrious 23 year careers. He was most well known for his bad temper, and he often threw at batters’ heads. He was nicknamed “the Rocket”, and for a good reason. Because just one spark, and he’ll shoot off (like a rocket). It is clear to many people that Clemens took steroids. A person doesn’t get that big without using some sort of drug. As I said earlier, working out can only get a player so
far.
A good example of how steroids can physically effect a player’s health over quite a short period of time is Lyle Alzado, a historical figure in the creation of the Oakland Raiders. Alzado took steroids almost all of his football career, and unfortunately died at the young age of 43 due to steroid use. His bones had deteriorated, and his liver had completely given up, he lost hair, and developed brain cancer. He always played the game with the mentality that he wanted to hurt somebody, and hurt them badly. He was an all-pro defensive end, and was named the Player of the Year multiple times. Off the field, he was known as a gentle giant, sort of like a teddy bear. He always cared about everybody, always was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of others. He also suffered from “roid-rage” (when the steroids affect your behavior negatively). “I started taking anabolic steroids in 1969 and never stopped. It was addicting, mentally addicting. Now I’m sick, and I’m scared. Ninety percent of the athletes I know are on the stuff. We’re not born to be 300 lbs or jump 30 ft. But all the time I was taking steroids, I knew they were making me play better. I became very violent on the field and off it. I did things only crazy people do. Once a guy sideswiped my car and I beat the hell out of him. Now look at me. My hair’s gone, I wobble when I walk and have to hold on to someone for support, and I have trouble remembering things. My last wish? That no one else ever dies this way.” Those are the famous words of Lyle Alzado.
As facts and evidence have shown, steroids are nothing but trouble. Nothing mentally, or physically good can come out of using them. Yet millions of people every day continue to use them. Why?
Back in the 1930’s when you looked in the sports page of the newspaper; everything would be great stories of incredible sports events and feats. But now, when you look at the sports pages in the newspaper, it’s all about steroids and cheating in sports. One of the biggest issues in sports today is the severity in danger of athletes using steroids or performance enhancing drugs. Illegal doping is the process of using steroids or other performance enhancing drugs while participating in a sport. I don’t think that athletes should be allowed to take performance enhancing drugs or any other type of steroid because it ruins the authenticity of the game, it’s a hazard to the health of players, and it will cause an unnecessary spike in statistics and make players a lot more susceptible to injuries. If steroids were harmless, and posed no threat to athletes, they would be completely fine. But since they are as risky as they are, they really aren’t good for the sport in my opinion.
The one thing that could possibly prevent athletes from taking steroids, are the drug tests that most teams administer. Teams from all around sports are giving players drug tests, and finding results to be quite surprising. Ryan Braun, a star baseball player from the Milwaukee Brewers, tested positive for performance enhancing …show more content…
drugs after the season was over. It was probably the worst time for the allegations to take place for Braun. Right after he won the league MVP. He was ashamed at how his image as a player and as a person was soiled. Baseball Hall of Famer, Joe Morgan, said that when he discovered that Braun tested positive for steroids, he was “shocked”. “That's why this is devastating for baseball," Morgan said. This isn't just some player. This is an MVP who everyone liked. He was one of my favorite players.” "It just breaks my heart," Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson said. "You want to desperately follow the game, love it and root for players, and now you don't know who to believe.” If it weren’t for the drug tests, Braun’s drug usage would have never been detected and he would have illegally been playing the game. Despite the fact that there could be a false positive, the technology they use is too advanced to make such a mistake. And it isn’t like the tests harm the players; they are usually administered by urine. And the tests don’t just detect steroids; they also find other illegal drugs like marijuana, etc. Those other illegal drugs are more commonly used in sports than steroids. The tests aren’t always correct though. There always is a very minimal possibility of the test being false. The technology isn’t advanced enough to always confirm or deny steroid usage. (Nightengale)
Another problem with drug testing is the fact that the teams don’t test all of their players. They only test the star players that they would suspect to take steroids as opposed to the bench players or the players that don’t produce as much as others are the ones that wouldn’t be tested for performance enhancing drugs.
Steroids “over boost” performance when they are taken. When an athlete were to lift weights and gain natural strength as opposed to gaining artificial strength from steroids, the strength that they have would be a lot better for the player. It’s one thing to work out a lot and gain natural strength and muscle. But when a player took steroids, his/her strength and stamina would skyrocket, sending overall power into overload. When steroids are taken, it gives the body artificial strength; which isn’t as safe and as durable as natural strength. Despite the fact that working out doesn’t give you as much strength as steroids would, working out does pay off more in the long run.
Steroids are also not healthy for the body if they aren’t taken right. To take steroids right, they would have to be prescribed by a doctor, and it would have to be for medical purposes only. Medical steroids aren’t allowed in sports, but they still are okay for your body. Performance enhancing steroids are illegal in sports, and they also severely harm your body. They can lead to heart failure, heart attacks, kidney failure, osteoporosis, cancer, strokes, seizures, and death. Steroids also shut down the immune system which over a long period of time, can lead to a small cold causing you to die.
After all of the so-called “chaos” that surrounded Ryan Braun’s steroid allegations, he was in fact proven to be not guilty of using steroids, as the test did show a false positive on the initial analysis. That is a perfect example of a test not being correct, or possibly the urine sample somehow being tampered with (illegally changed), or something along the lines of that.
Around five years ago, a legendary baseball player named Barry Bonds was not so lucky with his steroid trial. Bonds was accused of taking steroids, and then lied to the courts about it. So not only was he convicted of illegal steroid use, he was also indicted on perjury (lying under oath). Bonds is the all-time leader in home runs in major league history, but his record will always have an asterisk right next to it, from all of the people that believe Bonds stole the record from Hank Aaron (previous record-holder).
Arguably the best professional cyclist of all time, Lance Armstrong was also accused of steroid use. Armstrong won cycling’s “world championship” the Tour de France a record seven times, and was brought up on federal charges of illegal doping. Several years passed of investigations and trials, and finally about a month ago, all charges were dropped, and investigations were brought to an end. Armstrong was thrilled at the fact that he didn’t have to worry about anybody chasing him around, begging to know whether he did steroids or not, because they knew that the evidence wasn’t strong enough to prove him guilty, so technically, Armstrong never took steroids.
Another player who had a tremendous impact on Major League baseball was Manny Ramirez. Nobody had a personality like his. Everything he would do on the field, and all of his mid-game antics were downright hilarious. But good humor is no mach for steroids as last year he tried to fight allegations of steroid use. The tests came back positive, they were presented to the league, and Ramirez was suspended for 50 games. But apparently Manny didn’t learn his lesson, because before serving his suspension, he was caught yet again using steroids, which resulted him in a 100 game suspension. He still refused to serve it. After hearing the news of his whopping suspension, Ramirez decided to retire from baseball. Quite similar to his length of time that he served his suspension, his retirement didn’t last long either. The next season he “un-retired” from baseball, and when this season begins, he will have to sit out 100 games. And that just shows how such an incredible personality can be soiled with one (or in his case, more than one) mistake.
A good friend, and former teammate of Ramirez’s, David Ortiz (Big Papi), was also suspended 50 games for steroid abuse. But unlike Manny, Big Papi served his suspension with no complaints whatsoever, and was back to normal in no time. Ortiz also had a great personality and was a good person. As for his image, down the drain.
One of the widest televised steroid investigation was when Roger Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers of all time, was accused of steroids.
Investigations started in 2004, and are still going on as we speak. Clemens won two World Series Championships over his illustrious 23 year careers. He was most well known for his bad temper, and he often threw at batters’ heads. He was nicknamed “the Rocket”, and for a good reason. Because just one spark, and he’ll shoot off (like a rocket). It is clear to many people that Clemens took steroids. A person doesn’t get that big without using some sort of drug. As I said earlier, working out can only get a player so
far.
A good example of how steroids can physically effect a player’s health over quite a short period of time is Lyle Alzado, a historical figure in the creation of the Oakland Raiders. Alzado took steroids almost all of his football career, and unfortunately died at the young age of 43 due to steroid use. His bones had deteriorated, and his liver had completely given up, he lost hair, and developed brain cancer. He always played the game with the mentality that he wanted to hurt somebody, and hurt them badly. He was an all-pro defensive end, and was named the Player of the Year multiple times. Off the field, he was known as a gentle giant, sort of like a teddy bear. He always cared about everybody, always was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of others. He also suffered from “roid-rage” (when the steroids affect your behavior negatively). “I started taking anabolic steroids in 1969 and never stopped. It was addicting, mentally addicting. Now I’m sick, and I’m scared. Ninety percent of the athletes I know are on the stuff. We’re not born to be 300 lbs or jump 30 ft. But all the time I was taking steroids, I knew they were making me play better. I became very violent on the field and off it. I did things only crazy people do. Once a guy sideswiped my car and I beat the hell out of him. Now look at me. My hair’s gone, I wobble when I walk and have to hold on to someone for support, and I have trouble remembering things. My last wish? That no one else ever dies this way.” Those are the famous words of Lyle Alzado.
As facts and evidence have shown, steroids are nothing but trouble. Nothing mentally, or physically good can come out of using them. Yet millions of people every day continue to use them. Why?