Steroid Use In Sports example essay topic

Peanuts, hot dogs, the cracking sound of a bat crushing a ball over the left field wall. The ability to thrill so many on limitless levels is a familiar characteristic associated sports. So much attention, time, and money are devoted to sports these days, maybe even too much. Perhaps all the pressure is what has sparked steroid use in sports and stimulated numerous controversies over the subject. The use of steroids is an unfair training method for sports. Unfairness is contrary to laws, marked by deception, and unethical.

When the legality, lack of work and advantageous ness, and cheating are examined it is easy to see how steroids are extremely unfair in more than one way. First of all, the use of steroids is an unfair training method because steroids themselves are very illegal. "Steroids are illegal in the United States unless prescribed by a doctor for a known medical condition". (SI. com) If steroids are illegal it is obvious you should not have them or be using them at all. Steroids are an illegal drug, just like marijuana and cocaine. Society looks down on drug addicts and sentences them to jail, but how much different are steroids.

These illegal drugs are all the same, they are illegal, bad for your health, and can cause serious addictions. Steroids are not any less minor a penalty than other illegal drugs. Yes athletes do have a right to privacy like all other citizens, but by playing professional sports they are putting themselves at risk of losing privacy and they know it. Whenever you become famous you still have your rights, but with those rights athletes still must accept responsibility for all rights, not only the ones they want to have to protect themselves. Texas law states that penalties for possession of any prohibited substance are based on the weight of the substances in grams. (Steroid. com) The only reason steroids would be legal is by a doctor's prescription, because of the numerous health risks you take while using steroids.

So if steroids are just as illegal as any other drug and pose numerous health risks, how can they be acceptable for professional sports? Not only are steroids illegal in sports in this country, but the past few Olympics have had controversies over the use of steroids. The rest of the world looks down upon steroid use and considers their use illegal in sports. Many professional sports teams do have doctors that work for the team, but what athlete needs steroids for medical reasons? If the athlete has medical conditions that require steroids, they most likely should not be playing the sport in the first place. Besides medical conditions, the team doctors do not have authority to prescribe steroids to the athlete for no reason.

In addition to the legality of steroid use in the nation, they are also illegal in many professional sports. So the answer to whether or not if steroids are hurting professional sports is absolutely yes. Perhaps the reason behind steroid use is being able to achieve higher in the sport, which brings up the next concern of steroids being unfair. Usage of steroids is an unfair training method because of the advantages created from the drugs and the lack of work done to enhance performance. Athletes have gotten where they are and achieved all their accomplishments through nothing but hard work. The usage of steroids has corrupted the work ethic of athletes.

Many times it is obvious when athletes are using steroids. Some athletes that have been household names and America has come to love have had drastic changes to their bodies in the past few years over extremely short periods of time. It is almost impossible to achieve results such as athletes have recently through natural training methods. Steroids are able to greatly increase muscle size and strength which can obviously place some players at an extreme advantage over athletes trying to excel naturally. Steroids are also able to increase stamina, allow quick weight gain, and can even help with pain that many athletes experience. These are the problems athletes face everyday in their career track, but it is unfair when they abuse illegal substances in order to achieve results dishonestly.

The use of steroids is an unfair training method because it is cheating. Thousands of athletes have made their mark on society but only the best of the best stick out eternally in our minds. What is it that makes those select few forever live on through our stories? Anyone can hit a home run or dunk a basketball in professional sports, but what makes certain things so spectacular, what moves us so much to pay millions just to see?

The legends and hall of farmers are the ones who touched us with their undying spirit to sacrifice themselves for the game, their team, and the fans. Jackie Robinson broke down countless barriers through all of his hard work and dedication. Hard work has always been the only way to make it in professional sports. Recently it has been much easier to extend careers and stay in professional sports for countless athletes, not by hard work but through the use of steroids.

If the work has been taken out of professional sports then no team deserves to win any trophy or any championship. Like any other job anybody would have, athletes must work in order to receive what they want. If you want to receive a paycheck you must work for it, there is no slacking off in the office. The fields, the courts, the gyms are athletes' offices. The moment they sacrifice working and trade their job for steroids, all pride and honesty is stripped. Sports are a very competitive and fierce environment, which makes it understandable how the pressure can get to many athletes and make them feel cornered into steroids.

But part of the competitive nature of sports is the hard work that you put into your training. Through all the pain and sweat comes pride and honor, things that steroids will never be bale to achieve. "More than six in 10 say baseball players who are found to have broken the sport's rules by using performance-enhancing drugs should have their statistics stricken from the record books". (Poll) The majority of the public views steroid use as cheating. How do you compare stats of an athlete on steroids to one who never used any? Babe Ruth obviously did not use steroids but had amazing talent.

How could we possibly compare him with any player who has the advantages of steroids, it is not fair or legal. Current players are closing in on records and even breaking them, but with nowhere near the same talent level. It is unethical to cheat record holders out of their glory through use of steroids, not to mention its illegal in numerous sports. Not only are steroids cheating in sports, but they are cheating the youth out of true role models and heroes.

The youth of this nation used to be able to look up to athletes, but that is certainly out of the question with big sports names having to testify in court hearings and have arguably covered behind the scene acts to protect reputations. Why are we so fascinated and obsessed with sports? It is the athlete's ability to entertain us, astound us, and astonish us. It is not the athlete's ability to use performance enhancing drugs. Everyone struggles at points in their lives or careers, but breaking regulations and deception are not the answers to anything. Steroids are unfair when the dishonesty and validity are forfeited.

If at first you don't succeed, don't resort to steroids.

Bibliography

Cohen, John. "Poll: Americans Support Punishment for Steroid Use". ABC News. 2005 22 Mar.
2005.
Collins, Rick. "Maximum Juice Punishment". Steroid. com. 2003.
21 Mar. 2005.
Sports Illustrated. "Caminiti Comes Clean". SI. com. 2002.