Danny Mitchell

Danny Mitchell
Professor Reed
Composition 1
16 September 2015
Steroids in Todays Sports
Sports have changed dramatically from when your grandfather watched
them and from todays sports era. There have been many new things that make the
sports industry a lot more competitive and entertaining; from better equipment to
better training facilitys to more money and better contracts. To become a
professional athlete and be good at it you have to separate yourself from the others
and to do so, some people take steroids which are illegal in sports unless prescribed
by a doctor. Steroids, a medicine used to enhance a players abilities, have
several side effects. People have several uses for steroids and those who used them
experienced many consequences when they were caught using them illegally.
According to dictionary.com, a steroid is any of a large group of fat-soluble
organic compounds, as the sterols, bile acids, and sex hormones, most of which
have specific physiological action. This means that it is a hormone group injected
into the bloodstream that rapidly increases the rate of growth of the tissue, which is
muscle. There are many side effects from steroid usage which include acne, rise in
blood pressure, anger, liver and kidney damage, insomnia, rapid hair loss, high
cholesterol, excess water retention, and testicular atrophy.
People often ask, if a player is so good at their sport, why do they have to
take steroids to be better? There are many reasons why people use steroids. They
take them to gain muscle and strength. When players gain muscle and strength
from this product, they tend to begin to play better on the field. What some people

Danny Mitchell
do not know is that sometimes doctors prescribe certain steroids to these athletes
for the good of their health. According to medicinenet.com, When inflammation
threatens to damage critical body organs, steroids can be organ saving and, in
many instances, life-saving. For example, they may help prevent the progression of
kidney inflammation, which can lead to kidney failure in people who have lupus or
vasculitis. Some people who abuse steroids to boost muscle size have
experienced physical or sexual abuse. In one series of interviews with male
weightlifters, 25 percent who abused steroids reported memories of childhood
physical or sexual abuse, according to drugabuse.gov. Steroids can be used for
medical reasons but people also abuse them.
In the sporting era of today, no one wants to see the same things over and
over again. Everyone wants to see a record being broken and athletes understand
that. Many feel the pressures to overachieve and in turn, take steroids and try to
beat those records and be the one that everyone talks about. Famous athletes such
as David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Jiambi and Barry Bonds, who were at once the
faces of baseball chose to use steroids for similar purposes as these. After a rapid
increase in statistics they were tested for steroids and tested positive. Sometimes,
there were athletes that were pressured to do so like baseball all-star Alex
Rodriguez. When he was caught in 2009 he said, "When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I
felt an enormous amount of pressure," Rodriguez said. "I felt like I had all the weight
of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform -- and perform at a high level -every day. But, when athletes take this risk of doing these drugs, they also take
the risk of getting caught and facing major consequences if it happens. Cyclist
legend Lance Armstrong has won 7 Tour de France races and is an Olympic bronze
medalist. He was caught using steroids however and admitted that he did take the

Danny Mitchell
drugs. He was stripped of all 7 of his Tour de France tittles and his Olympic bronze
medal.
Players in sports are in a lot of pressure to perform. Many chose to use
steroids as a mean to be the best they feel that they can. Though there are several
reasons that people use them, the side effects are numerous and can have a
negative effect on them. From famous athletes to body builders, many take steroids
and have seen repercussions from their illegal usage. Steroids have become a part
of todays mainstream sports era.

Danny Mitchell

Resources
"Athletes Using Steroids." Athletes Using Steroids. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept.
2015.
"A Look At The Problems In Sports Today." Bleacher Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
Sept. 2015.
"10 Famous Athletes That Have Used Steroids." Made Man. N.p., 19 Mar.
2010. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.
"Why Do People Abuse Anabolic Steroids?" Why Do People Abuse Anabolic
Steroids? N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2015
"Lance Armstrong's Doping Drugs - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network,
n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.
"Rodriguez Reveals He Cheated, Lied." Major League Baseball. N.p., n.d. Web.
20 Sept. 2015.
"What Conditions Are Treated with Steroids? - Steroids to Treat Arthritis: Side
Effects of This Treatment." MedicineNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.