Athletes and Steroids

Athletes and Steroids

Taylor Hooton was a young pitcher who learned of the dangers of steroids the hard way and would eventually pay the price. Taylor took steroids as in attempt to gain muscle in order to become a star, but he would eventually be killed due to the effects steroids had on his mind. Steroids caused Taylor to be angry often have "roid rages", Steal money so he could buy his steroids and eventually killed himself as a result of depression from withdrawal from steroids (Fraser). Was the roller coaster ride that Taylor Hooton brought his friends and family on really worth it? Some athletes think so, and that is the problem. If steroids can be stopped at the professional level, they could also be stopped at the teenage levels. Mandatory drug testing is the best way to control the use of steroids in sports, protect the health of the players, keep the games fair for all, and prevent teenage use.

Mandatory drug testing is the best way to control the use of steroids in professional sports. Mandatory drug testing would involve every professional athlete to take drug tests once a month in order to make sure every player is clean of performance enhancing drugs. Currently in Major League baseball the drug testing policy is random with a ten game suspension for testing positive the first time. The second time a player is caught using steroids they have to face a 30 game suspension,followed by “60-game and one-year suspensions for subsequent failed tests” ("A Comparison of Testing"). With this new monthly testing policy the penalties can remain the same, but if players are tested more often than the frequency of penalties will increase. If there is a higher rate of penalties then players become more likely not take steroids because the chance of getting caught increases.

The first reason to get steroids out of professional sports is to protect the health of the professional athletes. Steroids cause people to become very angry and have ‘roid rages. ‘Roid rages make people act in ways they wouldn't normal and makes them become overly aggressive(Fraser). These are only some of the many side effect of steroid use. Others include future growth problems, High cholesterol, Prostate cancer and Psychological problem (Fraser). All of these health effects can be prevented by not taking steroids. Mandatory testing is the best way to keep players away from steroids and protect players heath. Players are often not concerned with what their health will be like when there older. They are only concerned with what they can achieve now with steroids. If mandatory testing is supplemented then the number of players using these performance enhancers will decrease.

Another reason to get steroids out of baseball is because it is unfair