Imagine this: the sports of baseball, basketball, cycling, hockey, and football that so many people have grown to know and love tarnished because the best players go from the most athletically talented and hardest working to the player who uses the most steroids.
Hall of Fame players like Cy Young had amazing careers without the influence of Performance-Enhancing Drugs.
People are upset, the sport is ruined, and records set by hard workers such as Jerry Rice, Hank Aaron, and Cy Young are replaced by arrogant young players who think that they rule the World and can just take shortcuts to be all-stars and get mega-million dollar contracts.
This is what steroid use can do to sports within the next 10 years.
There is also the legal effect; people like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens take steroids, then say that they didn’t, and are found guilty in trials on counts such as Obstruction of Justice or Lying to Congress, which can lead to possible jail time.
Steroids, Human Growth Hormones, and other performance- enhancing drugs (PEDs) absolutely are terrible, and the penalty for using them should just become expulsion from the sport forever. There also needs to be stricter testing on PEDs.
Now ask yourself, do you think PEDs are good for sports? Here is more detail on some of the reasons just outlined on why when PEDs are used, everybody loses.
Performance-enhancing drugs ruin sports. The new comment when a new star shines on the baseball diamond, the NBA hardwood, the NHL ice, or the NFL gridiron is “Oh, that guy must be on steroids or something!” This should not be the case.
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Baseball is the sport most affected by PED use.
On the night of December 13, 2007, Major League Baseball suffered its worst night in almost one hundred years. George J. Mitchell, a former U.S. Senator developed The
Lance Armstrong won 7 Tours de France, but has been accused multiple times of using steroids, his image is permanentaly damaged.
Mitchell Report, which called out eighty-nine MLB players on using PEDs. In the report, not only does Mitchell confirm these players, but also talks about the effects steroids can have, and says why he thinks they should be banned with stricter enforcement. On that night, many baseball fans were torn, and young children were outraged when they learned that many players that they had idolized, had, in fact, cheated themselves, their teams, the game of baseball, and, of course, the fans. The effects of steroids on health and the game of baseball are horrific, and use needs to be totally banned.
Steve Courson was a defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who admitted to using steroids, and won a Super Bowl with the Steelers in 1979. He suffered from a heart condition which was caused by his steroid use.
The opposing position in this argument will, of course come from the unethical, big-headed, cheating, lying, tarnishing, ignorant, full-of-themselves superstars that want the easy way out. The opposing position is that the part of sports that people want to see is immense home runs, highlight touchdowns, out of this world goals, 7 time Tour de France winners, and unbelievable dunks. Yes, this is true, but not the immense home runs, highlight touchdowns, out of this world goals, 7 time Tour de France winners, and unbelievable dunks that are influenced by steroids.
Imagine that you are playing a game of pickup basketball with your friends. You can control the scoreboard, and they won’t even notice. You are losing the game, but change the scoreboard so that you win. Now think, does it really feel like you won? Of course not, your friends may think you won, but deep inside for every cheater, there is that voice telling them that they didn’t really win, eating away at their heart and soul.
These players may think it is great for the game of baseball so fans can really see home runs, their teams can win more games, and win the World Series, Super Bowl, Tour de France, Stanley Cup, or NBA Finals. The truth is, though that the fans don’t like it at all what so ever. While to some, this opposing argument of home runs and winning might seem great, to most it is not. Especially if they see the health risks involved.
Steroids make you big. Steroids make you strong. Steroids make you play better. Steroids make you happy about yourself. Steroids help you win. Steroids help you hit home runs. Steroids make you run faster.
All of these statements are true, but now let’s see the more deep and complex truth that most users don’t want to hear.
Jim Thome hitting his 600th home run is a modern-day example of a player reaching a giant feat without the influence of Performance-Enhancing Drugs.
Steroids can cause cancer. Steroids shorten life span. Steroids can lead to severe depression, which can lead to suicide. Steroids can cause liver damage. Steroids can cause heart attacks. These are from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Finally, steroids can hurt the reproductive system.
Out of these two paragraphs, the latter one is much more true.
The medical effect that steroids can put on a player aren’t red roses at all, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, steroids can make a player more likely to get prostate cancer, baldness, and an enlarged head are some of the side effects.
Why go for the increased level of play with these health risks?
I don’t know, why don’t we ask Alex Rodriguez, who confessed to using PEDs in 2009:
“When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the
Alex Rodriguez admitted that he used steroids while with the Texas Rangers, his career will be tarnished forever.
world on top of me and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day. Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance. And for that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful.”
The health risks are out there, which is another reason that the idea of using PEDs is ridiculous.
Also, why does Pete Rose get banned from baseball forever for just betting on his team to win, while someone who takes steroids, influences wins, loses, and the record books gets nothing but a suspension?
That has to be changed.
Performance-enhancing drugs are absolutely terrible for sports. Stricter testing needs to be put in place. Also, there needs to be harsher punishment for those who abuse the rules against PED use. This punishment should become the golden rule of sports:
If you use performance-enhancing drugs, you are banned from your sport forever.
Now, let’s let honesty and integrity take over the world of sports.
By Sam Brief
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