Steroids in Sports: Worth the Risk?

            In his book Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love, Dave Zirin states that when you press fans about what disgusts them about sports, they invariably speak about steroids and performance enhancing drugs. Unfortunately, steroids and performance enhancing drugs have become something all too familiar to us as sports fans. Major League Baseball has been at the heart of the issue with players like Mark Mcguire and Sammy Sosa, amongst others admitting to their use of steroids but many other major sports are often overlooked in the matter. MLB players are hit with sanctions that may last their entire seasons while NFL players are hit with only a few games, it is pretty remarkable considering an MLB season consists of 162 games while the NFL season is a mere 16.

            Steroids have hit college sports as well, most notably College Football. Jason Scukanec, a former lineman for Brigham Young University, told the Portland Tribune that steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs are common in Division I football. The NCAA began testing in 1986 at championships and football bowl games after steroid use became more common in locker rooms across the country. Do the NCAA’s random drug tests work? Some believe it does not because only slightly more than three percent of all student-athletes will be tested annually by the NCAA’s random drug-testing program. (http://dailyemerald.com/2006/06/09/steroid-prevention-the-ncaa-way/)

            The most important question in the matter of steroids is it worth the health risks? First, why do athletes feel the need to take them? They believe that anabolic steroids can improve competitiveness and performance, uninformed or misguided athletes; sometimes encouraged by coaches or parents, abuse these drugs to build lean muscle mass, promote aggressiveness, and increase body weight. Athletes such as Sammy Sosa and Mark Mcguire have enjoyed much success while using steroids but have seen their reputations tarnished and their stats, much less their abilities questioned after their steroid use became known. What has steroid use done to their bodies? Anabolic steroids can cause serious health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease; liver damage and cancers; and, stroke and blood clots. Other side effects of steroids include: nausea and vomiting, increased risk of ligament and tendon injuries, headaches, aching joints, muscle cramps, diarrhea, sleep problems and severe acne. (http://www.health.ny.gov/publications/1210/)

            So, is steroid worth the risk? Many athletes believe it is due to the volume of players admitting to steroid use but the matter of whether they will live long enough to wreak the benefits of their use is another matter. In short, steroid use heightens performance which can lead to bigger and better contracts, endorsements, and so on but is all that fame and fortune worth a person’s life? Many athletes are willing to pay the price during their careers, not until after they are done playing do they realize that the price they paid might be the ultimate one.

Zirin, Dave. Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love. New York: Scribner,

2010. Print.