Steroids_in_Sports

Steroids in Sports: A Rising Epidemic for All Ages Josh Reyes Oakland University Abstract Many have claimed that the United States is a “juiced nation, a nation on dope, and a nation looking for enhancement.” We say this because in sports, professional athletes inject human growth hormones and testosterone into their bodies to gain an unfair advantage over other players. Dr. Mark Gordon, one of 20,000 members of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, cites a 2004 study that found that more than $1 billion was spent annually on legal Human Growth Hormones, also known as HGH (McCallum, J. The Real Dope). The Mayo Clinic reports that 2.4 million testosterone prescriptions were filled by U.S. pharmacies in 2004, more than twice the number filled in 2000 (McCallum, J. The Real Dope). Steroids and other performance enhancing drugs are becoming a serious problem in professional sports as well. In order to stop the use of these drugs, the federal Government should take more charge seeing as all of these drugs are illegal in the first place. Another approach that the MLB, NFL, NBA, etc. could take to abolish steroids and other drugs from the game could be increasing times of suspension or even skip straight to expulsion. Also, since we know athletes love their money so much, maybe there could be a way to implement a clause in a player’s contract stating that if they get caught using a banned substance then their contract can be terminated and the money they earned under their current contract would have to be repaid. Mayo also estimates that three million people in the U.S. use anabolic steroids, the synthetic versions of testosterone that are illegal when they are used for non-medical reasons such as building an impressive physique and increasing endurance for training. Anabolic steroids are also the most popular steroid available for consumption around world. Anabolic steroids are growth hormones, mainly male sex growth hormones such as testosterone, which are heavily used by men, engaged in muscle and body building (Chisholm, K. How Do Steroids Work'). When injected, testosterone molecules filter into muscle cells and stimulate them to increase production of protein molecules, which, in turn, aids in the formation and development of more muscle cells (Chisholm, K. How Do Steroids Work'). Using these drugs can create an extremely unfair advantage in any sport. Could you imagine taking injections that make it easier to build muscle' This would eliminate putting in the strenuous hours it takes going to the gym and getting stronger the old fashion way. Athletes are being paid millions of dollars to entertain us by showing off their sheer athleticism and raw talent in their respective sports, but with the uprising of steroids and HGH, who is to say that these professional athletes are so talented and really deserve millions of dollars' Introduction My last year of high school during my football season a lot of my friends and others who were on the team noticed that one of our teammates had changed a lot from last season. He was a sophomore going into his junior season and he was completely different from the previous season. He had more aggression in the weight room when we were all working out, and his overall body mass seemed much larger than it had the previous year. Before the season started we hold a players and coaches get together at a camp not too far from my house and we all camp out and tell stories throughout the night. As the session ends we tell stories that are almost like secrets, and only stay in our “football family.” This teammate had a very revealing story to share and was very ashamed of it. He told everyone that night that he had used steroids all summer because he wanted to play more and get stronger quicker. He thought they would help him achieve his goals but he was paying a price by using these steroids, he was suffering from a lot of different emotions, basically mood swings. He told us he was very ashamed of himself and wanted us to help him stop. It was a big shock that he came to us for help, but we did everything we could, and helped him quit. Steroids have major health consequences because they can have major side effects. Depending on the length of use, the side effects of steroids can be irreversible (Tygart, T. Steroids, the Media and Youth). Steroids among youth is also starting to become an epidemic throughout the U.S.. Adolescents are at a particular risk as steroids can affect growth throughout puberty, permanently resulting in stunted physical development. It seems to me that the benefit of taking steroids is far less than the damaging side effects that could come from steroid use. Depending on the length of drug abuse, there is a chance that the immune system can be damaged (Tygart, T. Steroids, the Media and Youth). Steroids can tear tendons in the legs and arms, stunt bone growth by causing bones to stop growing, damage kidneys, increase the chance of liver cancer, and can even cause heart attacks and strokes. Even though the U.S. claims that we are the gold standard in out-of-competition, no-advance-notice testing programs; we have a comprehensive list of prohibited substances and methods for which we test; we have a substantial education program that provides athletes and youth with tools for living and competing healthy and drug free; we conduct research to advance the anti-doping science; and we have developed effective partnerships with law enforcement agencies to ensure that all parties to doping activity are held accountable (Tygart, T. Steroids, the Media and Youth), there are still many drugs that professional sports can’t test for. Even though professional sports test for these banned substances, there is an uprising problem throughout the sports world. The new type of steroid “human growth hormone,” also known as HGH, is very hard to test for. The problem with this drug is that there is no conventional urine test to find HGH. Urine testing has been the method that has been used for so long to identify whether or whether not an athlete is taking a banned substance. According to an article by Jim Baumbach, it is not yet possible to test professional athletes for human growth hormones using a conventional urine test. Dr. Don Catlin of the Los Angeles based Anti-Doping Research Institute said that “their work has not shown that they are going to be able to detect growth hormone in urine” (Baumbach, J. No Urine Test for HGH Possible). If there is a drug that urine tests can’t test for, who is to say that there aren’t more growth hormones and other steroids that urine testing can’t identify' Let’s not forget to mention that with the technology we have today, more growth hormones are probably being developed to bypass urine tests as we speak. This shows that all professional sports need to take action by finding a new testing method to find athletes who are using banned substances. Background Information An approach that has been talked about that can be more effective than urine testing would be blood testing. The MLB and NFL have long resisted blood tests, citing lack of reliability. In 2006 MLB gave Dr. Don Catlin a $500,000 grant to develop a urine test, but by phone Catlin said that a traditional urine test for HGH “is not going to happen” (Baumbach, J. No Urine Test for HGH Possible). The best use of blood tests would be unannounced tests for performance enhancing drugs, such as those administered during baseball and football seasons. The New York Times reported that the MLB hopes to begin blood testing for HGH in the minor leagues this year. The NFL is also trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, and blood testing could become a sticking point in the agreement ( Baumbach, J. No Urine Test for HGH Possible). Many still want to use the conventional urine tests but they have been proven to be very inaccurate when it comes to diagnosing HGH. Blood testing is already used throughout the Olympics and has been proven to be effective so there is hope for professional sports. Blood testing is going to be the future of drug testing and will hopefully be effective enough to keep steroids and other performance enhancing drugs out of sports. Something else that is being brought up is to give the Federal Government more control over this issue. In today’s society, the economic and intangible rewards for extraordinary athletic achievements and winning performances are substantial. Athletes use all sorts of ingestible non-muscle building dietary supplements that facilitate athletic performance such as carbohydrates, electrolyte drinks, energy bars, vitamins, and minerals. However, athletes’ usage of Federally controlled substances such as anabolic androgenic steroids, which include “designer steroids” such as THC (tetrahydrogestrinone), and steroid precursors is characterized as doping by sports governing bodies and, if detected, punishable by sanctions (Mitten, M. Is Drug Testing Necessary'). The Federal Government should be the ones who are cracking down on the prevalent use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in sports. They should be working on preventing the access to such drugs and prosecute those who distribute these substances illegally. Also, the Government could fine and even jail athletes for breaking controlled substances laws by knowingly using illegal performance enhancing drugs. Punishment has also been discussed. To a professional athlete a $250,000 fine is like nothing. A first time offender in baseball is only suspended for ten days, and even if you get caught four times you’re only banned for a year (Roberts, J. Steroid Rules for Baseball). A plan that could possibly be taken could be if caught once you are suspended half a season, if caught twice you would be suspended for a whole season, and a third time would result in a lifetime ban. Athletes don’t seem to be scared by the consequences of using steroids and other drugs so professional sports leagues should raise the penalty to really make athletes think twice before taking banned substances. Solutions There are many options available for trying to rid the sports world of steroids, and it will hopefully only be a matter of time until steroids, HGH, and other performance enhancing drugs are gone from athletics. When blood testing is brought to every league, that should help improve the accuracy of the drug tests. Tweaking the rules a bit to be stricter could help by making athletes think that they don’t want to give back money from their contracts, miss an entire season, or even be banned for life. And also if the Federal Government were to get involved, and player and dealers were caught using or selling, steroids or other performance enhancing drugs could disappear faster since people would be scared to serve jail time. If all of these can somewhat come into effect, I am sure that professional sports can be drug free in no time, and that would be a nice change for fans all around the world. Conclusion Steroids have become a major problem, not only in professional sports, but also in college and even high school. With all of the dangerous side effects people need to realize that this is a major epidemic throughout the United States. Not only that, but professional athletes who take these drugs are also cheating the fans as well because they are making millions of dollars for athleticism that is not truly their own, they are achieving their status by using performance enhancing drugs. I really hope one day all kinds of athletics can be drug free and people will play for the love of the game and not cheat, just so they can get a fatter check. References · McCallum, J. The Real Dope: Steroids in America Part 1. Sports Illustrated 108 no11 28-34, 36 March 17 2008 · Chisholm, Ken. How Do Steroids Work' In ehow.com. · Tygart, T. Steroids, the Media and Youth: A Q&A with Travis Tygart. The Prevention Researcher 16.S1 (2009) · Baumbach, J. Expert: No urine test for HGH possible. Newsday [Melville, NY] 25 Feb. 2010. Academic OneFile. · Mitten, M. (2005, November). Is Drug Testing of Athletes Necessary' USA Today (Periodical) v. 134 · Roberts, Joel. New Steroid Rules For Baseball In cbsnews.com. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/13/entertainment/main666580.shtml