Steroids
are commonly used by bodybuilders and athletes of all levels.
You will find steroids in High School sports, steroids in baseball,
steroids in football, and, of course, steroids in the Olympics. All
these sports, and many many more, use anabolic steroids in one form or
another. DO NOT be fooled into thinking that any NFL players are
natural and steroid free. Even retired NFL players admit that at least
70% of their team was using human growth hormone (HGH)!
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You’d be hard-pressed to find a sport that doesn’t have links to
steroid use in some way, shape or form. Well, maybe curling, but I
don’t think I can even guarantee that! It’s just a part of the game
that athletes always want to gain whatever advantage they can over
their opponents. Sometimes that means training more than the next guy,
sometimes that means getting one-on-one coaching and sometimes that
means giving your body a little help to develop the muscles and
endurance it needs to go the extra mile.
That is exactly where steroids
come into play. Steroids started out as simply a drug that
weightlifters used. Then it trickled into the Olympic sports and now
they have pretty much permeated every sport out there. What’s more,
they’ve even become popular in probably the most dangerous area: in
high schools and middle schools. What’s important for everyone to know
is that steroid use isn’t going to make you a better athlete. What they
might do, however, is help with training. Taking a steroid and doing
nothing else is not the answer to being better at your sport of choice.
The keys to success lie with personal will to succeed.
Steroids
in sports, particularly baseball right now, have caused quite
a stir in the United States. In fact, at this point, I think it’s
probably generally assumed that most professional athletes currently
use or have used steroids at some point in their careers. The bar for
success in these sports is raised so high right now it would be very
difficult to compete without them.
Even so, even the U.S. government is trying to implement or, at the
very least, encourage change. President Bush is calling for
professional athletes to “set better examples for children”.
Sports organizations are taking steps to help stop the use of steroids
but implementing steroid policies to collaborate with the current laws
against them. But this all relies on testing and you know what they
say: “Where there’s a will there’s a way.” It is nearly impossible to
keep the drug tests up to par with new steroids as well as new ways to
use them. Those that want to use steroids will keep finding new ways to
get around the drug tests just as fast as those who develop the tests
find ways to detect the steroids.
Of course, there is the criticism against these policies as well. Many
people who want strong policies to prevent the use
of steroids in sports feel that the policies in place, such
as the one in place in the MLB are too soft. The consequences aren’t
strong enough for real deterrence, they say.
The other question is whether or not the general public is ready to go
back to a sports world without steroids. You have to admit that
watching the record-breaking hit or the amazing touch down pass is fun
and exciting. It might not be legal but it is fun to watch!
Sources:
Shea, John. “Bush Calls for Pro Sports to End Use of Steroids.” San
Francisco Chronicle. www.sfonline.com.
“Steroids: Play Safe, Play Fair.” American Academy of Pediatrics.
www.aap.org.
* Steroids in Baseball and Sports. Ezine Article.Steroids in
Baseball and Sports.
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