Why Steroids Are Bad free essay sample

E. D’s. Big-time athletes, like Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa, have all opened the doors to a whole new way sports will be played. So what are some of the most prominent people in society today telling all of America? They’re telling them two different stories that could mean life or death; two stories that could mean a promising career or no career at all. P. E. D usage must be stopped at both professional and school levels because the number of users is growing every single day. Performance enhancing drugs have slowly become a big part of professional sports. Many athletes are now relying on them to either boost their performance or help them recover faster from an injury; and it’s working too. Although they are getting better and recovering faster, they are hurting themselves, and the kids that look up to them. According to an article by Dr. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Steroids Are Bad or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Robert R Franks, Senator John McCain is worried about what affect that P. E. D usage in the MLB might have on high school athletes. What these young athletes fail to realize is the damaging effect steroids have on a person’s physical and psychological health over time,† says Michael J. Sampson, DO, an osteopathic sports medicine and family physician at Virginia Tech and Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine. â€Å"The more we learn about these drugs, the scarier they become. † Sometimes I wonder, â€Å"Do professional athletes know that they’re supposed to be role models? † I usually answer yes, as well as most of America will answer too. They know that they are â€Å"professionals†; they know they are role models. But it does not matter to them that they are doing something illegal. All that matters is money and success. The most important thing is that kids do idolize them. For example, if Barry Bonds uses steroids and Jonny Smith’s favorite player is Barry Bonds, a little light goes off in Jonny’s head that says, â€Å"If you want to be good and hit homeruns like your favorite player, do whatever he is doing. † Don’t you think that’s a problem? Because Barry Bonds would be very disappointed in Jonny since Jonny is essentially messing himself up for when he’s older. If P. E. D usage was made legal in professional sports, there would be a lot more athletes using P. E. D’s, and fans everywhere would notice an increase in performance. ABC and ESPN announcer Brett Musburger says that if a professional doctor administers professional athletes using performance enhancers, they could be used in a positive manner. In a way he is right, because the use of them in the right dosage would help athletes recover faster and give them the ability to be faster and stronger and ultimately, that is what the fans want to see no a days. But at what cost to an athletes health are they willing, or should they be willing to have better statistics? The side affects that performance enhancers can cause are not worth the â€Å"numbers† and frankly neither is the message or the hit your image takes worth it either. The most common health consequences from steroids include liver cancer, heart attacks and elevated cholesterol levels, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Steroids have also been shown to cause increased irritability and aggression. Dr. Gary Wadler, who leads the committee that determines the banned-substances list for the World Anti-Doping Agency says that,† Hes (Musburger) categorically wrong, and if hed like to spend a day in my office, I can show him voluminous literature going back decades about the adverse effects of steroids, If we want to put a stop to this breakout, the punishments handed out by our court system and commissioners need to fit the crime. One article by Bradley Sinko says that the punishment is not enough (Sinko). Obviously the unishment is not enough if professional athletes are still using them. Jose Conseco thinks that, â€Å"one day†¦steroid use will be more common then Botox is now. Every pro athlete will be using at least low levels of steroids. † (Conseco) Steroid use by every player would destroy baseball, and possibly all of professional sports in general. If players are still using steroids after knowing the punishments, then the punishments need to be stricter. If Major League Baseball does decide to up the punishment less players will take steroids, and less high school players will take P. E. D’s also. Professional athletes will feel cleaner, more natural, and will not have to look down upon young athletes who use steroids, even though the professional athletes themselves cause it. Every young child dreams of becoming a professional athlete and â€Å"It’s not hard to see why many kids grow up idolizing athletes. Some sports stars may deny they are role models for a younger generation, but a new study suggests quite the contrary. † (Stenson) 57% of kid’s middle school thorough high school said pro athletes influenced their decision to take anabolic steroids. Stenson) As much as young athletes know it is bad for them, they continue to use them. Young athletes know the affects and punishments of steroid usage, but even worse, they know how it can improve their game. They watch sports and they pay attention to stats. Then when they find out a guy who hit 60 homeruns uses steroids and he receives a small suspension they know that the punishment f or becoming better is not that severe. 57% said that even if it shortened their lives, they would take a pill or powder. (Stenson) So what’s wrong with this picture? Kids are putting performance before health and it is all because of professional athletes. Kids aren’t going to listen to Mark McGuire when he talks about how steroids are bad for you after he just hit 60 homeruns. Its not rocket science, athletes know kids follow in their footsteps and in order to keep the younger generations safe, the steroid usage and hypocrisies need to stop now. A message needs to be sent. A message needs to be sent to everyone. Steroid usage in professional sports needs to be stopped.