Why Do Steroids Use Performance Enhancing Drugs

Superior Essays
Steroids and Performing-Enhancing Drugs
Performance-enhancing drugs are used in sports to give the player an advantage over the other players. There have been many professional athletes that have been caught using performance-enhancing drugs. Many players are caught when a drug test is administered. Professional sports leagues have introduced a random drug test so athletes that do drugs cannot prepare for the test. Performance-enhancing drugs are banned in sports and if a player is caught using these drugs they might be banned or kicked out of the league. Drug use in professional sports is illegal, but the consequences are not strict enough.
The professional leagues have implemented random drug testing. This has helped lower the rate of people that use performance-enhancing drugs. By randomly holding drug tests, those that use the drugs do not know when the drug test is. This means that the athlete cannot prepare for the drug test. Steroids are the most common drug used in professional sports. Most athletes fear the random drug test because they do not want to get caught. Steroids enhance muscle and strength. Steroids build up muscle which causes them to get stronger and enhance the player's abilities. In baseball and football, steroids are used to improve the player’s game. In baseball, a ball may be hit farther and thrown faster. In football, steroids can make a player bigger, faster, stronger, and recover more quickly from workouts, playing or injuries. Baseball and football are the most common sports with athletes using steroids. Steroid use in a professional sport can be considered cheating. Not only are steroids illegal and considered cheating, they are also very dangerous. Many people have had severe health issues from steroid use.”To date, there has never been a single death in history attributed solely to anabolic steroids whereby the coroner upon examination of the deceased’s body has marked the cause of death as anabolic steroids.”(Steroids 14) Many people that take steroids do not understand what can happen to them. There are some side effects of taking steroids. Side effects include acne, stunted growth, cancer, mood swings, liver, kidney and heart problems, blurred vision, high blood pressure, and weight gain. Some of the biggest names in baseball have taken steroids, such as Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark McGwire. According to an article from ESPN, “The San Francisco Chronicle reports Bonds admitted receiving "cream" and "clear" substances from his personal trainer during the 2003 baseball season.”(Bonds 1) Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Mark McGwire all had small side effects of taking steroids. They all had blurred vision and trouble sleeping. Steroids are also heavily abused. If you take steroids there is a very good chance they will be used again. When steroids are taken, muscle is gained and strength is increased. The body is tricked into thinking it needs to have more of the steroids. “An undetermined percentage of steroid abusers may become addicted to the drugs, as evidenced by their continued abuse despite physical problems and negative effects on social relations. Also, steroid abusers typically spend large amounts of time and money obtaining the drugs, which is another indication that they may be addicted.” (Anabolic 1) The human body thinks that it needs the steroids to survive causing a person to take more and more. The more that is taken the higher the chance of health issues. There are many consequences for using performing-enhancing drugs. Leagues have restrictions or bans in place. If you are caught using steroids or
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If you take steroids there is a very good chance they will be used again. When steroids are taken, muscle is gained and strength is increased. The body is tricked into thinking it needs to have more of the steroids. “An undetermined percentage of steroid abusers may become addicted to the drugs, as evidenced by their continued abuse despite physical problems and negative effects on social relations. Also, steroid abusers typically spend large amounts of time and money obtaining the drugs, which is another indication that they may be addicted.” (Anabolic 1) The human body thinks that it needs the steroids to survive causing a person to take more and more. The more that is taken the higher the chance of health

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