Steroids in Sports

Should performance enhancing drugs (such as steroids) be accepted in sports?

The United States of America is by far the most superior country of them all. America is not only known as the land of opportunity and for its guns, but for sports too. The country's greatest past time is athletic events, whether it is football, baseball, soccer, or competing in the Olympics. Sports have always been involved in the American culture, it goes as far back as the country itself. The most fascinating part about sports that people love to watch is the competition and the motivation to win. This urge and drive to win becomes so strong that athletes tend to use outside sources to give themselves a little bit of an edge.
When discussing an argument or a debate topic, there is always two sides, who have different or opposing ideas. The argument here is about illegal drugs in sports to help players perform better. The people who are in support of steroids and the others who are against the use of drugs, they are both stakeholders to the situation. Besides the athletes that chose to take performance enhancing drugs, the athletes that do not take drugs are also affected by this as well. Players have to strive to be the best the can be to perform better, but when athletes cheat and use drugs it is not fair to those who play by the rules.

The debate over athletes using steroids is nothing new, but studies show that in recent years, more and more players are using drugs to give themselves an edge over the opponent. Steroids are illegal just about everywhere; however, what is starting to be the issue now is the safety and health concerns of using steroids. The side-effects and drawbacks are becoming greater and greater, but athletes are not paying attention to this, because their eyes are still on the prize. The use of doping agents, particularly anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), has changed from being a problem restricted to sports to one of public-health concern.

Most serious athletes will tell you that the competitive drive to win can be extremely strong. Besides the personal accomplishments and records, athletes often pursue winning a medal for their country or earning a spot on a professional team. In these situations, the use of performance-enhancing drugs has become increasingly common. Steroids are called performancing drugs for a reason, they make you perform on a whole new level. Some players like the way these drugs makes them play, so they juice up more and more. Eventually this leads to extreme cases of taking steroids the results can be deadly, or very severe. One of the most common sport field that uses steroids is in bodybuilding and professional weight lifting.

Besides all the negative side effects of using steroids, if used properly and safely, steroids can produce very satisfying results. Two of the biggest and most sought after results of using steroids is superhuman strength and massive amounts of muscle growth of muscle in a very short period of time. This is why most bodybuilders use steroids in order to maximize muscle growth and in the end to win Mr. Olympia or The World's Strongest Man. Two other benefits that steroids yield is, cardiovascular strength and fast muscle recovery. When weight lifting and strength training one big key factor is recovery, the faster you recover and your muscles repair themselves the faster you can get bigger and stronger.

1. Anabolic Androgenic Steroidslike testosterone, that builds muscle and masculinize (hair, deep voice, sex).
2. Glucocorticosteroidslike cortisone or prednisone, that are anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressants used in swelling, rashes, asthma, or bronchitis.
3. Minerocorticosteroidslike vasopressin, that are produced by the adrenal glands for salt and water regulation.

The most common steroid is testosterone. One doctor describes steroids as playing poker and winning. When a player is at poker table and they are winning, the player is getting all the money. So they keep playing, but here is the catch they can't leave the table or they lose all their money. How is steroids like a poker game? According to the FDA, when the male body is on testosterone, the natural levels of testosterone go down, because the body doesn't have to produce as much since it is being supplemented. This leads to male reproductive problems, emotional problems, and more. If athletes are okay with these side effects, then they have to worry about their life it self. Steroids has been linked to multiple cases of ending people's lives early. A famous bodybuilding, Rich Piana, died unexpectedly at the age of 46 when he went into cardiac arrest. He was known for juicing up to perform better in competitions, these drugs ended his life.

One of the most infamous stories about drug use is in the sport of baseball with a 3rd baseman named Alex Rodriguez. Alex played for the New York Yankees, which is one of the league's elite teams, in 2013 when he was suspended for using performance enhancing drugs. He was suspended for 162 games or roughly a full year of baseball. A reporter, George Mitchell, discovered that dozens of baseball players as having used steroids and described their use as "widespread." Track star Marion Jones pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about steroid use in October. And last summer, several riders were disqualified from the Tour de France on charges of using banned substances.

Those who oppose the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs say that the athletes who use them are breaking the rules and getting an unfair advantage over others. Medical professionals say the athletes are endangering not only their own health, but also indirectly encouraging young athletes to start doing the same thing.

Athletes are going to take steroids and turn to doping regardless of the rules. Drug use in cycling is seemingly as old as the sport itself, and baseball players have tried to cut corners wherever possible, whether it be with spitballs, corked bats, stimulants or steroids. It doesn't justify the actions of Armstrong, Cabrera or Colon - they knew the rules and chose to break them - but the current system has continually failed to establish a level playing field for the world's most talented athletes. Legalizing steroids, doping and other performance enhancers would finally set an even bar, and that would just be the first of many benefits, Chris Smith (Forbes Staff).

Others who are in favor of legalizing steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, are in favor that people will always get there hands on these drugs. There is no stopping it, so the illegal just might as well be lagal. Some players are admit that they are cautious due to all the side effects with steroids, but new researching is showing that these drugs are becoming safer and more effective. Another main point of the people who support steroids share is that, all of sports across the world would be more interesting, due to more points, bigger tackles, and yes more roid rage. Roid rage is common term used in sports to describe a player that is hyped up or angry enough to lose their cool.

Some athletes take a form of steroids ” known as anabolic-androgen steroids or just anabolic steroids, to increase their muscle mass and strength. The main anabolic steroid hormone produced by your body is testosterone. Testosterone has two main effects on your body: Anabolic effects promote muscle building, Androgenic effects are responsible for male traits, such as facial hair and a deeper voice. Some athletes take straight testosterone to boost their performance. Frequently, the anabolic steroids that athletes use are synthetic modifications of testosterone.

Many athletes take anabolic steroids at doses that are much higher than those prescribed for medical reasons, this causes many risk. Anabolic steroids come with serious physical side effects as well. Men may develop, Prominent breasts, Baldness, Shrunken testicles, Infertility, Impotence, Prostate gland enlargement. This risk are extremely harmful the human health yet athletes still use steroids and other performance drugs despite the negative side effects. With all this being said. Drug use is on the rise and has been increasing. New technologies are creating legal drugs but still give an edge to athletes. So if legal drugs are being made, is it still cheating if athletes are performing better?

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