The most serious athletes face enormous pressure to excel and will admit the competitive drive to win can be fierce.  It can be so fierce they resort to taking steroids to help win the game, win medals for their country, secure a spot on a professional team, or improve overall physical status.  Unfortunately, the use of steroids has become increasingly common today.  Using steroids does not come without risks.  The abuse of steroids ruins the human body.  Professional athletes gain an unfair advantage and affect the integrity of the games they play.

What exactly is a steroid drug?  Steroids are strong medicines that can typically have negative side effects if misused.  They are any type of synthetically produced variants of the naturally occurring male hormone testosterone.  Generally, steroids can be categorized into two types:  corticosteroid and anabolic steroids. Corticosteroids are drugs usually prescribed by doctors for controlling inflammation in the human body. They are used to help specific conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and asthma. They are unlike the anabolic steroids that attract a huge media attention because of their usage by some athletes.  Anabolic steroids, referred to as synthetic hormones, have the ability to boost the human body’s ability to build muscles and prevent their breakdown.  It is the anabolic steroids that tend to be abused, mainly because they are very similar to the male hormone testosterone and can help to improve endurance and performance.  Physicians prescribe anabolic steroids to treat hormone problems in men, delay puberty and muscle loss from some diseases.  Because of their potentially serious side effects, they must be prescribed and used only under close medical supervision.  There are many ways anabolic steroids can be taken into the body.  They include pills that are taken orally, creams or gels that are applied to the skin, stick-on patches, spray-on steroids, and direct injection into the blood stream.  The common street or slang names for anabolic steroids include roids, pump, stackers, hype, juice, and gym candy (Walker 14)

Anabolic steroids may seem like the way to go when someone wants to get stronger or improve physical status.  That is very false because there are many dangerous physical and psychological side effects, both short and long term, that come along with using steroids.  Even though using steroids is a unisex action, females tend to see negative effects before men do because of the increased amount of testosterone entering the female body.  For example, women may tend to experience breast reduction, deepened voice, menstrual changes and growth of facial hair. Some of the minor, short term negative side effects that steroids have on the body include increased amounts of anger which is called “roid rage”, acne all over the body, random bruises spread out on the body, increased oil production on the hair or face, and increase in appetite.  Some of the more serious, long term effects that steroids can cause include attacks on the endocrine system, the musculoskeletal system, the cardiovascular system, and the liver (Robson 29). 

The endocrine system is a system of glands that produce hormones to control metabolism, growth, sexual functions, and mood.  Steroid use affects the endocrine system.  In males, some of the negative effects include male-patterned baldness, sperm count depletion, gynecomastia which is evident breast size increase, and even testicular atrophy which is the shrinkage of a man’s testicle(s).  The long term effects that women could see would be baldness, broadened shoulders and even clitoral hypertrophy which is the enlargement of the clitoris.  The way that steroid abuse could harm the musculoskeletal system would occur when the testosterone levels in the body are too high. The body actually believes  someone is fully grown and will tell other parts in the body to stop growing, such as the bones (Robson 31). 

The cardiovascular system is one that transports blood throughout the body.  Steroids can affect the cardiovascular system by increasing blood pressure and increasing the risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.  Another way steroids attack the cardiovascular system would be the increased chance of having a blood clot.  A blood clot can block the blood flow to any part of the human body.  As a result of a blood clot, blood can be blocked from reaching the heart and resulting in death.  Lastly, steroid abuse can affect one of the most important organs in the human body, the liver.  Steroids can attack the liver because of tumors on the liver and conditions of peliosis hepatis, the random distribution of blood-filled pockets in the liver, can be found in avid steroid abusers.   If one of these pockets or tumors were to break or pop open, the person would bleed internally, and it could lead to death if not caught in time (Walker 24).  Although there are many, various and harmful side effects, some men believe the negatives are worth it and that steroids are actually “the closest thing to a fountain of youth man will ever find” (Quinn 130).

Many people believe that taking steroids is a relatively new idea.  This is simply untrue, since the use of steroids as we know them today can be traced back to the early 1930’s.  History shows that Adolf Hitler believed strongly in steroids.  In 1935, Hitler found through studies that steroids increased the amount of muscle mass found in the human body, so he and his Nazi soldiers took steroids to promote aggressiveness and physical strength on the battlefield.  Looking back on it, Hitler’s doctor claimed his mental state toward the end of his life showed characteristics that some scientists would correlate with steroid abuse: suicidal thoughts, mania, deep aggression, violent behavior, and depression.  Another example of early steroid use dates back to the 1954 Olympic Games when it became quite evident that Soviet athletes performed at exceptionally high levels. It was learned that these athletes were getting some kind of advantage, and that advantage was the use of testosterone.  An American physician by the name of Dr. Zeigler created a more selective form of what we know today as anabolic steroids. This brought about a new era in the history of steroids as the invention and the rise of anabolic steroids truly began to escalate.  In 1983, when Dr. Ziegler was close to dying, he spoke out against his invention and stated he wished he had never created the anabolic steroid after watching the drug be abused by athletes to cheat and gain an unfair advantage in the games that they played (Walker, 12).

When it comes to statistics on steroid abuse, originally most abuse was found on college campuses and in Olympic and professional sports.  Today, most steroid abuse continues to occur among athletes, both amateur and professional, both on and off the playing field.  The sports arena is taking a hard stand on steroid misuse today.  The laws and legislation surrounding steroids have evolved over time and are now stricter than ever before.  For example, “George W. Bush signed into law the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, which requires much stiffer penalties for steroid use near sport facilities as well as for those seeking to sell them within 1,000 feet of a sports arena” (Robson 67).  Even though Congress passed the Anabolic Steroids Act of 1990 with some sort of punishment for the possession of steroids is a fine of $1000.00 and up to one year in prison, the unfortunate problem of steroid misuse still seems to grow (Robson 67).

Today, steroids are a huge issue across the network of professional sports.  First of all, steroids are illegal when used without a prescription from a doctor or for non-medical reasons.  Second, players who use steroids in professional sports are cheating to gain an unfair advantage over their fellow competitors.  Performance-enhancing drugs like steroids are a problem in almost every sport imaginable across the globe.  Although they enhance abilities such as strength, speed, or flexibility, steroids will not make you the best player of all-time.  For example, golf is one of those sports where taking illegal substances will not make you the best of all-time.  Pia Nilsson, who was the coach to Annika Sorenstam, one of the greatest female golfers, once said, “It's a very complex combination of skills” (Rudy 113).  Nillson claims that golf is a game with a compilation of skills other than strength.  It includes touch, feel, precision, flexibility, and even mental focus.  Tiger Woods, one of the greatest golfers of all-time, once said, “Drugs wouldn't be much of a benefit to a golfer because the game isn't just about strength” (Rudy 113).  To be great at any given sport, one needs to have more good attributes to themselves than being strong. They need to be fast, flexible, and they need not only to be great on the field, but they need to be great off the field as well.

A modern day example of the benefits of athletic participation while steroid free is the most recent election of Ken Griffey, Jr. to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Although Griffey, Jr. played baseball in an era when steroids were rampant, he was never accused of using steroids, nor was he ever implicated in the various investigations which took place at that time.  Counterparts of his who were accused of using steroids or admitted to using steroids, such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens, have not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, even though their accomplishments on and off the field make them prime candidates for admission.  It is clear that Bonds, McGwire and Clemens have all been denied admission because of their steroid use.  Griffey, Jr. is a shining example of the accolades and achievements someone can accomplish when he is dedicated, devoted and committed to performing athletically without the use of steroids.  In truth, steroids have no business in sports.  

A man by the name of Pete Rose is banned from the game of baseball because he bet on the game of baseball.  Rose never jeopardized the integrity of the game because he never bet on his team to lose.  If he would have bet on them to lose, he would have jeopardized the integrity of the game, since he could have thrown games to lose on purpose; but he did not.  Steroid users jeopardize the integrity of the game because they gain an unfair advantage over their competitors.  The unfair advantage is rather simple.  It is getting a competitive edge by becoming illegally stronger than everyone else.  Steroids rapidly increase the amount of muscle mass in the human body, making one stronger, faster, and even bigger.  Some men such as Rodger Clemens, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds are all considered legends in the game of baseball.  All of their careers are tainted because they were involved or associated with steroids in some way, shape, or form.  Barry Bonds is the all-time home run leader who was involved with steroids for the majority of his career, and hee is eligible to be in the Hall of Fame even though he is thought of as a cheater.  Barry Bonds served a short tenure as the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins, this is significant because a cheater like Bonds is allowed in the game of baseball, but a man who wanted to make a little extra money, like Rose, is not.  Mark McGwire, who was also involved with steroids for some time in his career, is also allowed to participate in MLB activity, even though he is considered to be a cheater as well.  McGwire has been associated with the MLB for quite some time, and he has been affiliated with a few organizations as a small-role coach, such as a bench coach or a part-time hitting advisor.  Roger Clemens could be considered as the best pitcher of all-time.  Clemens lied under oath about using steroids, so his great career is now thought of as a fluke because he cheated.  Both Bonds and McGwire are coaches in the MLB and Baseball Hall of Fame eligible, even though they were avid steroid users but Pete Rose is not allowed to be either of those because he bet on some games when he played in the games himself (Posnanski 14).  

Mark McGwire is considered one of the greatest power hitters of his time, but his career is ruined because he was an avid steroid user in the MLB.  People may view steroid users as cheaters, liars, and fakes because people know just how bad steroids are and how they really affect the game.  Fans, especially young kids, looked up to McGwire as a role model and a hero.  Unfortunately, people may view steroid users differently when admitting to using illegal substances, such as performance-enhancing drugs (PED’s) in McGwire’s case.  McGwire claims that he took steroids to overcome injuries that happened naturally while playing baseball.  He admitted out right to using steroids for over ten years, so there is no way that he was injured for ten years.  McGwire certainly knows how wrong he was in using steroids and how many people he has hurt and disappointed in the process.  Sadly, he also knows that his reputation is ruined and he is now thought of as a big phony. (Roberts & Chetry).  

Mark McGwire was not the only baseball great to be involved with steroids.  Other players like Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Manny Ramirez all put up astonishing numbers throughout their careers.  Although they all put up fabulous numbers, they ruined their star status because of their involvement with illegal use of drugs.  Alex Rodriguez is one of the only baseball legends to be suspended for steroid use because drug testing was not as big back then as it is now.  Rodriguez was originally suspended 211 games for his involvement with drugs, but those 211 games was shortened to a full season in the MLB which amounts to 162 games in total (Anderson). 

Contrary to popular belief, baseball is not the only sport where steroids are widely used.  Yes, baseball is statistically where the steroids are being used most and abused in sports today.  Those numbers are so high because of not just the MLB, but the MLiB as well.  The MLiB is where most of the suspensions and drug allegations are coming from.  The MLiB is the Minor League system, and most of these failed drug tests are a struggling ball player having a hard time keeping his job.  So, he might take some illegal drugs to help get his game back on track to work his way up to the majors (Goldman 28).   In every major sport, there has been someone has been suspended and penalized for using steroids.  NFL, NBA, NHL, PGA, MLB, Cycling, FIFA, and The Olympics, have all had someone suspended for the use of steroids.  All of these sports have one item in common, and that is the testing method for drug use.  All of these professional organizations use the urine sample method to test their athletes for drugs.  For all of these sports comes different polices and consequences.  For example, in baseball, they are tested twice per year, but not every player will get tested.  In football, they are tested at least once a year and everyone will be tested throughout the season.  In basketball, they are tested zero to four times a year but not everyone will be tested.  Lastly, in hockey they are tested zero to three times in a season and not everyone will be tested (Spira). 

Also, with the different sport and season length comes a different suspension length.  For all first time PED offenders, here are the following suspension lengths: MLB is 31% of the season (50 games), NFL is 25% of the season (4 games), NBA is 12% of the games (10 games), and the NHL is 24% of the schedule (20 games).  There is different suspension lengths for second time offenders, and they are as follows: MLB is 62% of the season (100 games), NFL is one full season (16 games), NBA is 30% of the season (25 games), and the NHL is 73% of the season (60 games).  A third time offense results in a lifetime ban in the NHL and MLB while in the NBA it is only one season  In the NFL, a third time offense can lead to at least a two year suspension of games (Spira).

A man by the name of Lance Armstrong is now looked down upon because of his use of steroids.  Lance Armstrong was considered one of the best athletes of his time, and maybe even all-time.  He was an American cyclist who won just about every race he actually raced in.  He won seven straight Tour de France titles.  A Tour de France is what the World Series is to baseball or what the Super Bowl is to football; it is the biggest and hardest race of the cycling season.  Lance was also a cancer survivor, and that made him even more popular to some.  Armstrong was living the dream with all of the money from winning, endorsement deals, all of the pretty women in his life, and most of all, the fame and hype because of his accomplishments.  Armstrong was accused of doping or using illegal drugs various times throughout his career.  He always denied the allegations and always made the media feel embarrassed for saying something so hateful towards a celebrity and a cancer survivor.  If anyone wrote a story about him doping, he sued them or bullied them to withdraw the story or publicly saying that it was just untrue.  If any of his fellow cyclists ever accused him of doping or said publicly that he was doping, he would again deny it and then he would spread false rumors about that particular cyclist (Adee 18).

In 2010, teammate Floyd Landis came forward and told everyone about Lance’s doping problem.  Lance famously denied these rumors again and spread false rumors about Landis to try to take the heat off of him and change the subject in a way.  In October of 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) released a 1,000 page report to the world, and that very same day, Lance Armstrong’s world came crashing down before him.  This report stated how Armstrong lied about everything and had been doping ever since he pedaled onto the cycling stage.  Shortly thereafter, all of his sponsors immediately dropped him; he had to give his 2000 Olympic bronze medal back and was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.  In January of 2013, he finally admitted to doping, even though the whole world already knew that he had done so.  He ended up doing this on a television episode of Oprah.  Armstrong was very apologetic about lying about the whole unfortunate situation.  He was not sorry about the doping aspect of it, because he claimed he had to so he could stay at the top of his game.  He even said, “If you take me back to 1995, I’d probably do it again” (Braun 19).  That just shows the entire world how badly he wanted to win, he was willing to face the consequences and evidently that he had to pay the price for doping (Braun).

Many people have been caught doping or using steroids in some type of way.  Using steroids jeopardizes the way someone lives their life.  If they want to live with being bald, have severe acne, smaller testicles or even severe mood swings just so they can bench press fifty more pounds then by all means, they should do so and shoot up with some anabolic steroids.  But, if the intentions are not to get a little stronger and they are to cheat and gain a competitive advantage over the competitors, like Mark McGwire or Lance Armstrong had done so.  They should be ready to face the consequences that would come along with a failed drug test.

Professional sports are very special around the world. One reason for this is the spirit of competition.  However, steroid use taints this competition, gives those athletes an unfair advantage, and affects the integrity of the games that they play.  The abuse of anabolic steroids by athletes is an illegal and dangerous practice. Athletes must be made aware of the physical and psychological dangers associated with steroid abuse. The "win no matter what it takes" attitude taken on by some athletes must be redirected and replaced by personal dedication to the sports that are played; a full and complete knowledge and understanding of the sport's physical demands and requirements; maintenance of a healthy lifestyle; and an appreciation of the satisfaction that comes from steroid free participation.  One should never jeopardize their life or career with the use of steroids. As President George W. Bush stated in his State of the Union Address years ago, “The use of performance enhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football and other sports is dangerous and it sends the wrong message – that there are shortcuts to accomplishment and the performance is more important than character.”  Again, steroids have absolutely no business in sports or in the lives of the users.
