Steroids

In today’s world, the word “steroids” is synonymous with sports, as it has been since steroids were first used. The first known steroid use was in ancient Greece, where the Olympic athletes used natural steroidal substances such as “plant derivatives, all meat diets and animal testicles” to enhance their performances. Throughout time athletes have used all sorts of things to become better athletes, but today’s “anabolic steroids” were discovered in the 1930’s by German scientists. But the first time in modern history that steroid use was notably recognized was at the 1952 Olympics, when Russian weightlifters were seen taking pills before the competition and left the games with a vast amount of medals. After that, the Americans thought they should be on a level playing field with the Russians, and American scientists and doctors began working on developing anabolic steroids. These doctors concluded their research into anabolic steroids in 1958, and had seen a lot of the negative side effects that came along with them. But by then the time had passed to spread the word onto athletes who had an intense competitive drive and would do anything to win. Steroid users in the 1960’s and 1970’s were athletes who competed in things that relied on strength (football, weightlifting), but in the late 70’s and early 80’s, they started spreading to non-athletes and other sports like running and swimming. In the past fifteen to twenty years, steroids have been primarily linked to baseball, although other sports like football and hockey still have their own steroid problems. Recently, Congress has taken a great interest in steroids within baseball and there have been numerous hearings on the topic, with a lot of players being subpoenaed to testify against others. The verdict is still out on what will happen with this.

In the article “What’s wrong with steroids?”, the authors make the statement “Wall Street traders take Ritalin and everyone uses caffeinated drinks during work to stay alert. News anchors get face lifts and actors take Botox so more people watch them. What's different about athletes?”. They are making the point that athletes taking steroids is no different that people taking Ritalin, drinking coffee etc. They are doing to stay on top of their game, be the best at what they do and make the most money they can while they are still in shape. Being athletic will not last forever for people taking steroids, and they’re thinking about having enough money to live off of after they can no longer play their sport. They also argue on how true the side-effects from steroids are, and bring in the fact that baseball deaths are extremely rare. The last deaths of baseball players had absolutely nothing to do with steroids. In 2004, the death of former league MVP Ken Caminiti due to a heart attack was believed to be cause by steroids. But the allegations “proved a false alarm. The medical examiner ruled that the death was due to an overdose of cocaine and opiates.” Also, in 2003, Baltimore Orioles minor league pitcher Steve Belcher passed away during spring training after taking a diet supplement called Ephedra which is a stimulant. Senators and congressman immediately called for tougher tests and standards. Later on, news surfaced that Belcher had been dehydrated, not eating regularly, was overweight and had a history of heart problems. All of which were the main factors in his death. Others have argued that this is America, it’s your body and you can put whatever you want into it, no matter what the risks and rewards are. Congress’ involvement in this issue has also raised a few eyebrows. Our country is at war, gas prices are at all time highs and Congress is spending all this time worrying about a game?

Clearly, the negative impacts of steroids on the human body are indisputable. Nobody is definitely sure of the long term, high dosage effects, but there are many short term side-effects. Studies show “shrinking of the testicles, reduced