Steroids in Our Culture

Steroids in our Culture

At what point do you sacrifice dignity for fame? Where is the line drawn as to what's "fair" when it comes to winning? Cheating has always been considered wrong, no matter what circumstance. Plagiarism, lying, stealing, and other indignant acts of conduct in any kind of competition is considered cheating; and for the most part, has been dealt with accordingly. However, throwing sand in the opponent's eye or stealing large parts of someone's speech to call your own can be detected a lot more easily than other forms of cheating. How can you tell if someone is cheating if there is no evidence? I am here to talk to you today about steroids in competitive sports. It seems that many have lost the dignity we so strive for in our daily races. Nowadays, it would appear that the importance of winning has exceeded the means of how it is accomplished. This, "I need to win no matter what" mentality has brought forth new means of cheating - particularly steroid use. One of the many problems with steroid use is the fact that without random drug testing, it is virtually impossible to detect. Sure the user may look physically bigger and stronger, but what's not to say this increase in muscle came from good old fashioned exercise? Our society is so concerned with looking good and being strong that we've turned a blind eye to how these goals are achieved. Today we will look at the problems steroids cause, and why more should be done to eliminate the use of steroids, and punish those who use them in an effort to dominate in competitive sports. Steroids, as one would notice with today's sports scandals, is becoming an increasingly popular habit, and will surely continue to become ever more popular if it's not taken seriously by sports organizations and fans alike.

First, we will take a closer look at just what exactly steroids are. According to a series of articles published by ESPN in 2006, "Anabolic steroids are the synthetic derivatives of the naturally occurring male anabolic hormone testosterone. The word "anabolic" has origins from the Greek: anabolic, meaning 'to build.' The hormone's anabolic effect helps the body retain dietary protein, which aids in the development of muscles." Basically, taking anabolic steroids will help increase muscle mass and strength, features that are quite appealing to that runner who needs to shave a couple seconds off his lap time to compete in the national event. It doesn't take long to stumble across these cases of steroid use in Major League sports either. Let me refer back almost a decade ago to 1998. Mark Maguire was chasing the all time home run record in the United States Major League of Baseball. While he finally did accomplish his goal of breaking the home run record, it was later found that he did so with the help of performance enhancing drugs. Mark admitted taking Androstenedione. This substance falls under a category of androgenic steroids that helps produce more testosterone in the human body(KidzWorld 2004). Lucky for Mark, this substance was not yet banned in Major League Baseball, giving him the right to use it. Nowadays, however, substances like these are banned from most sports, and players caught using them face penalties at their own risk.

But are steroids only used by professionals looking to break records? Studies show that there are many other reasons why athletes take steroids. According to an article published by the NCAA in 2002, many athletes feel that they have to take steroids to compete with those around them, as they presume that everyone else is using steroids. Also, many individuals use steroids just to look better, to gain appearance. This mentality of "bigger is better" fuels the need for many, especially younger individuals, to use steroids.

Like most great things in life, using steroids comes at a significant cost, both in the wallet and the body. Sure, you may add a few solid pounds of muscle, but what's more important is the side effects that occur with the use of these steroids. In both sexes, the use of steroids can have serious side effects. High blood pressure and heart disease, along with blood clots and strokes are some of the many problems related with steroid use. Other problems like acne, migraines, baldness, sleep problems, nausea and vomiting are also linked to steroid use.

Men also experience different side effects than women. Because the human body of a male produces testosterone anyways, adding more testosterone can cause a chemical imbalance in the body. The body will recognize the excess amount of testosterone in one's system, and begin to limit its own production of testosterone. This will cause the testicles to shrink, and even cause impotence, which neither sex wants.

This is not to say that women do not experience side effects, however. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, women who use steroids will suffer from reduced breast size and menstrual problems. They also may notice an increase in facial and body hair, as well as a deepening of the voice.

Another growing problem, as I mentioned before, is the amount of adolescents who are becoming involved with the use of steroids. The younger the person is, the more harmful the effects may be. Anabolic steroids have been proven to stop the normal growth of the human adolescent body, even when taken at small doses. This, again, is caused by the addition of testosterone to ones already changing body. As the body recognizes the testosterone, it decreases its own production of it. This results in the stunted growth. Adolescents also may be at risk for becoming dependent on steroids and those who use steroids are also more likely to use other addictive drugs and alcohol.(Kuipers 1998).

While steroids, as I have explained, can cause serious physical side effects, there are also emotional side effects caused by the use of them. "Roid rage", a term many of you probably recognize, is the severe aggression in behavior caused by steroid use. This seemingly uncontrollable rage can result in anger fits and violence. But "roid rage" is not the only emotional side effect. Other side effects include severe mood swings, hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren't really there), paranoia, extreme anxiety and panic attacks, depression, and thoughts of suicide (Hurst). Are all of these side effects really worth the muscle? Steroids are not healthy ways to produce muscle. They are also not fair ways to produce muscle. Using steroids in competitive sports illegally is cheating, and should be punishable by law.

Until threatened with an act of Congress, Major League Baseball had no rules against using steroids. Thankfully, there are now penalties for being