Steroids in Sports

Should Steroid Testing in Sports be Stricter? Everything in life has a trade-off. This statement out into simpler terms means that everything you do has some sort of effect and reaction. This phrase can be applicable in many different scenarios and it fits this topic as well. Recently, the integrity of some sports has been called into question because of the use of steroids. Thus, testing has become regulated and mandated in most major sports. However, mistakes are still being made with the way they test for steroids and causing the commissioners of these sports to look bad. Steroid testing should be random, often and have a more organized system than the one in place now. If this is able to occur, not only will the playing field be level once again, it will restore the integrity of some of these pronounced sports. Steroids have been around for many years and only within the last 15 years or so, has testing taken place. During this time, we have seen the rise of many athletes because of steroids and the fall of many athletes because of steroids. The saying goes, if you live by the sword, you die by the sword. This statement easily relates because these athletes had been relying on steroids for their amazing performances and many of their bodies break down and end their careers early because of them. There are over 20 different side effects that arise from taking these steroids. Some of which include, liver failure, high blood pressure, acne and “roid rage.” (Steroid Abuse Information and Resources) All these conditions stem from abuse of steroids and the improper ways people take them. Along with this, once you begin a steroid regimen, you cannot simply stop taking them because not only do they help your body build muscle mass, they help your body recover better after a long workout and make it possible to work out longer and more frequently. (Anabolic Steroids: Side Effects) Steroids appear to have had the biggest impact on the players and coaches involved with baseball. Whether it is from the cleanup hitter who can bench press 500lbs, or even the manager who hasn’t played in twenty years, they are all involved in this one way or another. Many coaches and managers realize that some of their players take steroids and look the other way about it. They do this because they realize that they do help a player get better, but at what cost? Isn’t it morally wrong to cheat and haven’t you been taught since you are a little kid that cheating is wrong? Now grown men are letting their players inject the drugs into their bodies to improve their game, knowing what it could possibly do to them. Many people look at the late Ken Caminiti as a prime example of what steroids can do to a person. Ken began his career with the Astros in 1987 and played for them for seven more. They saw him a modest hitter with middle of the road power and a good glove at third base. Once he joined the Padres however, his career took a dramatic turn. His power numbers went through the roof and he jumped from 15 home runs to 26 and then 26 to 40 while winning the MVP in their as well. ("Ken Caminiti." Baseball-Reference.com) Many people attribute his power surge for those two seasons because of steroids. Ken’s career eventually became injury plagued, and never returned to his power form after that 1996 season. At this time steroid testing was in its earliest stages, however Ken realized what it would do to his reputation and he attempted to clean himself up. Eventually Ken came out publically and said that about half the people in the game use some sort of supplement to enhance their skills. Ken was eventually hounded by the media because of this and killed himself in 2004 because of this. Many people also believe that the steroids he did take damaged his mind and made him psychologically vulnerable. This just proves even more so what harm the steroids can do to your body and how it can drive people to do some stupid things. Barry Bonds is probably the most famous case of an athlete whose life and legacy has been tarnished forever because of steroids. Bonds began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and played for 21 seasons. In that time he eclipsed what seemed to be an impossible record to break and not without controversy. ("Barry Bonds." Baseball-Reference.com) Bonds is currently on trial for perjury and lying to a grand jury about his steroid use. If it wasn’t obvious by his numbers, it is now with all of the news attention and media coverage he has received. Along with Bonds, other athletes like Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco have received extensive media attention because of their steroid abuse. This all could’ve been simply avoided if MLB got off of their butts sooner and implemented a policy sooner and they would not be receiving all of the bad publicity they do today. The policy MLB uses today has yielded many positive results because of its crack down on steroid abuse from its athletes. However, as recently as this offseason did MLB make a mistake with their policy. Ryan Braun, the 2011 NL MVP, failed a drug test and was suspended fifty games because of it. Not only did the sample of Braun’s go missing for 44 hours, the suspension was lifted by the third party arbitrator, Shyam Das. He believed that in that window of time, Braun’s sample had been tampered with and this was evidence enough in his opinion to overrule the decision made by MLB. This not only made them look like they were targeting one of its stars, but also it looked as if the policy they have in place was flawed and people wondered how many other tests were like Braun’s. Many people do not look at the steroid user’s point of view when making the argument against them and are only looking at the bad parts of them. They fail to realize why athletes do use these steroids and how it could benefit them. If you were to be a professional baseball player making about 2 million a season, you have a pretty good life. What if taking steroids makes your numbers better and better numbers means more money. Money will drive a lot of people to do crazy things, including taking these drugs. However, after taking these drugs and receiving this fat pay check, you might be tempted to keep taking them and seeing how much you could make with them. Some of these athletes argue back, saying that if every player in a certain sport were to take these steroids, the playing field would be leveled and even for everyone. As it is now, the level isn’t balanced do to the number of players who take these steroids and if everyone did, the playing field would be evened out. Many players believe this is morally wrong and will not take steroids because of this and would much rather play with their God-given talents, than have to rely on an artificial steroid to make themselves better. Overall, MLB has recently stepped up its drug prevention policy and trade to crack-down on the steroid use as best as possible. If MLB wants to fix the mess they’ve created, they must have random testing done more frequently and have a safe way of collecting the samples from players, so they are not tempered with. Once this happens, MLB will have once again leveled the playing field and restored the integrity of America 's Pastime.

Works Cited
"Anabolic Steroids: Side Effects." Anabolic Steroids: Side Effects. Web. 07 June 2012. <http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/anabstereff/anabstereff.html>.

"Barry Bonds." Baseball-Reference.com. Web. 08 June 2012. <http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml>.

"Ken Caminiti." Baseball-Reference.com. Web. 07 June 2012. <http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/caminke01.shtml>.

"Steroid Abuse Information and Resources." Side Effects of Steroid Abuse. Web. 07 June 2012. <http://www.steroidabuse.com/side-effects-of-steroids.html>.

Cited: "Anabolic Steroids: Side Effects." Anabolic Steroids: Side Effects. Web. 07 June 2012. &lt;http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/anabstereff/anabstereff.html&gt;. "Barry Bonds." Baseball-Reference.com. Web. 08 June 2012. &lt;http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml&gt;. "Ken Caminiti." Baseball-Reference.com. Web. 07 June 2012. &lt;http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/caminke01.shtml&gt;. "Steroid Abuse Information and Resources." Side Effects of Steroid Abuse. Web. 07 June 2012. &lt;http://www.steroidabuse.com/side-effects-of-steroids.html&gt;.