Should drugs and steroids be legalized in professional sports - Research Paper Example

?Should Drugs and Steroids be legalized in Professional Sports? OUTLINE Thesis ment: The regular use of steroids by professional as well as amateur athletes is counterproductive and is likely to adversely affect their physical as well as mental health in future. Steroids and performance enhancing drugs should not be legalized as this would merely serve to hasten damage of the athletes’ muscles. I. Introduction to Steroids a) Definition of Steroids b) Brief History of Steroids II. Advantages (if any) of Steroids and Performance enhancing drugs (i) Multitude of Users (ii) Physical Improvements (iii) Steroid Myths. III. Negative Effects of Steroid Use. (i) Risks for the human body (ii) Risks for Men (iii) Risks for Women IV. Steroids in College Athletics and Professional Sports (i) Reasons for steroids use (ii) Testing for Steroid Use (iii) Incidents in the lives of Professional Athletes as a result of Steroid Use V. Steroid Use in the Adolescent Population (i) The "Hero Factor" (ii) Peer Pressure (iii) Risks for Teenagers who abuse steroids VI. Conclusion Ways of discouraging steroid use Name Professor Module Date Should Drugs and Steroids be legalized in Professional Sports? INTRODUCTION Eitzen, Stanley, & George, Sage. Sociology of North American Sport 7th Edition. California: McGraw Hill, 2003. Anabolic steroids refer to group molecules that contain synthetic analogs of testosterone as well as the authentic male sex hormone, testosterone. In the present sports scene, many athletes use anabolic steroids in order to build up on muscle mass. The history of the use of steroids goes back to the 1930s. Steroids first appeared in World War 2 when they were developed for the German army and legalized so that German soldiers could use them to be more destructive in war. After the war, American as well as European doctors often used steroids to take care of blood disorders such as anemia. Today, most steroids are utilized in veterinary medicine in the production of meat. Steroids help in building more muscle in lean beef cattle. Steroids are also used to generate muscle mass in race dogs and horses. According to this Sage and Fitzen, there is evidence to suggest that there are more than 3,000,000 standard anabolic steroid users in America even though they have not been legalized (Sage and Fitzen 22). Most of these users procure anabolic steroids through illegal means. According to these authors, who have comprehensively addressed different issues concerning the use of anabolic steroids, it is mainly the healthy athletes who turn to steroids in order to improve their already amazing performances in sports. The colloquial name for steroids, by which it is commonly referred in the streets, is ‘juice’ or ‘roids’. Benefits of Steroid Usage Assael, Shaun. Steroid Nation: Juiced Home Run Totals, Anti-aging Miracles and a Hercules in Every High School: The Secret History of America's True Drug Addiction. New York: ESPN, 2007. According to Assael, who has given a graphic account of the extent of steroid abuse among teenagers as well as professional athletes, steroids are not just the preference of athletes in sports that value a ragged physique (Assael 93). Some male and female athletes in different sports fields such as weightlifters, body builders, football players, baseball players, runners, tennis players, basket ballers and swimmers have in the past used steroids to enhance their performances. In the present sports culture where many sport’s body’s have began to institute regulations that call for regular testing of athletes in order to counter steroid use, there are many tests that athletes in competitions like the Olympics have to undergo. This has not been successful in lessening steroid use, but has simply served to cause athletes to come up with more ingenious ways of ingesting steroids. By imitating the anabolic impact of testosterone, athletes believe that steroids help in generating additional tissues, contributes towards muscle recovery when they experience injuries in the field and strengthen bones. Amateur as well as professional athletes train all through the year to prepare for various competitions. This incessant training, according to Assael, can result in injuries and fatigue which the athletes treat by taking steroids (Assael 94). Athletes can take large quantities of steroids as they tend to believe in myths that say that there are minimal health risks that can result from steroid administration. The reality is that legalizing steroids will result in higher numbers of serious ailments such as liver cancer, the fusion of developing bones, high blood cholesterol, hepatitis, heart disease, epileptic fits and high blood pressure. Adverse Effects of Steroid Use Pope, Harisson, Gen Kanayama, Martin Ionescu-Pioggia and James Hudson. “Anabolic Steroid Users’ attitudes towards Physicians.” Addiction 99.9 (2004): 1189- 1194. Pope, Kanayama, Ionescu-Pioggia and Hudson have exhaustively covered the effects of steroid use in the bodies of both male and female athletes (Pope, Kanayama, Ionescu-Pioggia and Hudson 1190-1193). Apart from changes in liver condition and heart muscle, athletes of both genders are also affected in their reproductive function by steroid use. Male athletes can experience lower sperm concentrations, infertility and reduced testicular size. These conditions will return to normal if the user of the steroids abandons regular usage. Moreover, if there is continued use, the male body will even develop enlarged mammary glands, a condition that is usually irreversible (Pope, Kanayama, Ionescu-Pioggia and Hudson 1191). For females athletes, steroid use can adversely affect the menstrual cycle and cause it to stop altogether, or result in the development of facial hair. One of the most dangerous results of using steroids is in their effect on the heart. Steroid use can result in increased plaque build-up, which in turn results in the hardening of the heart’s arteries; thus increasing the chances of suffering from a heart attack. The long term use of steroids also affects some of the brain’s chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, as well as pathways. Given the combined effect of their multifaceted indirect and direct actions, it is not shocking that anabolic steroids can change an athlete’s mood and personal behavior in serious ways, resulting in depression, anxiety, irritability, confusion, panic, delusions, forgetfulness and paranoid jealousy. Athletes using steroids also tend to have a false sense of invincibility that can cause them to take chances with their bodies that will actually result in serious injuries. Legalizing steroids could result in the incidence of numerous athletes who suddenly develop irrational behavioral patterns and become a danger to themselves as well as their family members and communities. Steroids in Professional Sports & College Athletics Fainaru- Wada, Mark. Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports. New York: Gotham, 2007. According to Fainaru - Wada, most athletes who compete in professional sports at the collegiate or even Olympic level have at one time or other engaged in illegal steroid use (Fainaru- Wada 43). Famous athletes such as sprinters Justin Gatlin, Marion Jones, Asafa Powell and renowned cyclist Lance Armstrong are just some of the few athletes who have been accused of using steroids to improve their performances in the recent past. There have also been reports that reveal that teenage athletes have begun using steroids so that they may reach peak performance in their college years. According to a study mentioned by Fainaru-Wada, an estimated 70% of the one million Americans who regularly use steroids are in high schools (Fainaru-Wada 42). Professional sports organizations have been clear in their ban in the use of performance-enhancing drugs. For instance, the National Football League is one of the professional sports establishments which outlaw the use of steroids. To deter the use of steroids in professional sports, diverse organizations have passed anti-doping policies that support random testing. When found guilty of using steroids most athletes usually face penalties such as being banned from games by the sport administration bodies. Steroid abuse can result in the alteration of an athlete’s behavior in negative ways. These changes have in the past been linked to destructive incidences in the personal lives of professional athletes. Chris Benoit, for instance, was a professional wrestler who often took steroids and murdered his entire family before committing suicide a few years ago. UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz’ assault of his wife, Jenna Jameson, is also thought to have been the result of steroid abuse. Other athletes who have had incidents that exposed their steroid abuse include Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco (Fainaru-Wada 43). The legalization of steroids could result in the multiplication of such incidents. Steroid Use among Adolescents Bailes, Julian and John McCloskey. When Winning Costs Too Much: Steroids, Supplements and Scandal in Today's Sports World. Lanham: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2005. According to Bailes and McCloskey, the teenage use of steroids is becoming a trend in most Western nations (Bailes and McCloskey 39). The main reason why teenagers use steroids is because they want to look like the men that are often touted by the media as being the most handsome characters. The teenagers want mature bodies and are not prepared to wait until their bodies are developed in order to build on the existing muscle mass. Teenage males often see billboard models as representing the best buff physique which they desire to have. Teenagers may also be exposed to peer pressure to conform to the idea of what is perceived to be the standard as far as boys are concerned. According to Bailes and McCloskey who have studied the culture of steroid use among teenagers, the most troubling aspect of this subject is that teenagers tend to hide their use of steroids because they do not want to be identified as being regular users of such drugs (Bailes and McCloskey 39). This means that teenagers use steroids without having the input of professional medical monitors. This can result in worse incidences of abuse that result in side effects such as liver complications and fatigue among other symptoms. What can be done to Positively Change Societies Views of Steroid Use? Perry, Paul, Brian Lund, Michael Deninger, Eric Kutscher and Justin Schneider. “Anabolic Steroid use in Weightlifters and Bodybuilders. An internet survey of drug utilization.” Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 15 (2005): 326-330. Paul, Lund, Deninger, Kutscher and Schneider have studied different methods of countering steroid use among professional athletes (Paul, Lund, Deninger, Kutscher and Schneider 329). They have stated that it is important to encourage health educators to speak, particularly to teenagers, about steroid use and pressure to acquire a certain body image. It is also important to use real life examples when speaking to teenagers about steroid use because this impacts them more than mere theoretical discussions on the disadvantages of using steroids. It is also important for student athletes to be compelled to get a physical before being permitted to take part in extracurricular sports. Sports administrators can also encourage the family practitioners of the students, as well as their family members to actively take part in talking to the students about the disadvantages of using steroids. For professional athletes, regular mandatory drug tests conducted by respectable sports authorities have to be conducted often in order to discourage steroid use. Steroids should not be legalized because their advantages are far outweighed by the physical and mental effects that they cause in the human body. Works Cited Assael, Shaun. Steroid Nation: Juiced Home Run Totals, Anti-aging Miracles and a Hercules in Every High School: The Secret History of America's True Drug Addiction. New York: ESPN, 2007. Bailes, Julian and John McCloskey. When Winning Costs Too Much: Steroids, Supplements and Scandal in Today's Sports World. Lanham: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2005. Eitzen, Stanley and George Sage. Sociology of North American Sport 7th Edition. California: McGraw Hill, 2003. Fainaru- Wada, Mark. Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports. New York: Gotham, 2007. Perry, Paul, Brian Lund, Michael Deninger, Eric Kutscher and Justin Schneider. “Anabolic Steroid use in Weightlifters and Bodybuilders. An internet survey of drug utilization.” Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 15 (2005): 326-330. Pope, Harisson, Gen Kanayama, Martin Ionescu-Pioggia and James Hudson. “Anabolic Steroid Users’ attitudes towards Physicians.” Addiction 99.9 (2004): 1189- 1194. Read More