...[Debate 3: Steroid Use in Professional Sports] | A view opposing the use of steroids | Merriam-Webster defines a steroid as “any of numerous natural or synthetic compounds containing a 17-carbon 4-ring system and including the sterols and various hormones and glycosides.” A more specific steroid is called an anabolic steroid. The definition for Anabolic steroid is “a class of man-made drugs that are chemically related to the male hormone testosterone.” Anabolic steroids are more accurately called anabolic-androgenic steroids. This name defines their two principle characteristics. Anabolic means to synthesize or build up; thus anabolic steroids increase skeletal muscle mass. Androgenic means involving male sexual characteristics. Anabolic steroids are related to testosterone and affect the body in many of the same ways as testosterone. As of 2009, not a single anabolic steroid had been manufactured that was free of negative side effects. In many developing countries, anabolic steroids can be purchased without a prescription. However, in the United States, they have been controlled substances since 1991. Possession of an anabolic steroid without a prescription is illegal and can result in a maximum one-year prison sentence and a minimum fine of $1,000 fine for the first offense. Steroids only purpose for the professional athlete is to artificially boost muscle mass and power. The steroid user gains a significant edge over their fellow competitors who do not employ such unscrupulous...
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...Comp I 4/26 /13 Steroids in Sports Should athletes be allowed to use performance-enhancing drugs in order to improve their performance? Steroid usage in sports has long been a real big issue for many athletes both professional and amateur. Steroids are not allowed in any sport however; some athletes do take the chance by using performance-enhancing drugs in order to increase the chances of a successful outcome in a competition. Many athletes have been banned from participating in certain sports because they were convicted of taking steroids. In light of this, one can only wonder how many top athletes have won events due to the use of steroids. There are many sides to the debate of whether or not athletes should be able to use steroids. Despite health reasons there are quite a few people who do believe that athletes should be allowed to use performance- enhancers. On the other hand, there are those who believe that steroids should not be used. First, in the current sports arena , professional athletes are known to have well paid salaries and because steroids have the potential to improve performances and to heal injuries, it is not surprising that research activities have been enhanced to develop better and acceptable alternatives for testosterone. The Germans had started taking steroids during the 1960s in order ...
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...Professional athletes are the best of the best, but should they be able to use steroids to make themselves that much better? Using steroids to enhance performance and physique has been and is very popular among athletes. Many times, athletes view steroids as the main contributing factor in efforts to reach the highest level in their profession. Steroids are not good for sports as they have an impact in the world bigger than the effect on each individual steroid user. Sports have been seen as a display of pure skill and talent, but with an integration of steroids, that model is hard to tell as athletes become bigger, faster, and stronger. Steroids should be avoided in sports because they create unfair advantages, affect the integrity of the sport, and lead to poor choices in younger ages as the professional athletes are seen as popular role models. Steroids have been supported by multiple people and continue to lead to discussions as to whether or not they belong in professional sports. Being among the greats takes years of practice and raw skill...
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...Steroids are one of the most controversial drugs known to the human race. These drugs are seemingly notorious for their ability to produce large amounts of muscle mass in an attempt to exploit ultimate power, performance, and dominance in a person. However, the negative effects of steroids tend to have a severe impact on the justification of the drug’s use in today’s society. When I say society, I am rather referring to a more predominant superior subculture, the professional athlete that can easily be held accountable for the cultivation and spread of steroids. This “high-class” group can denote the contrary of ethics; that is, revealing actions which tend to expose a sense of narcissistic personal qualities that hinder our beliefs of what is right and what is wrong. At one point or another, performance enhancing substances outspokenly seem to enter every professional athlete’s mind. The issue of steroids or any performance enhancing drugs in this matter has significantly heightened recently and seems to be a legitimate issue within professional sports. In an attempt to meet expectations and standards, reduce the pressures to perform, and alleviate public scrutiny, many professional athletes are left quivering in fear whether or not to take the two-faced drug that’s so readily adhered to by many. In my attempt to explore the mainstream issue of steroids in professional sports, I wish to focus on three imperative aspects that will help assist in the configuration...
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...winning and losing. The use of performing enhancing drugs has given athletes an advantage, over those who do not use them. Not only have athletes engaged in the use of anabolic steroids, but other drugs such as stimulants, beta-blockers, diuretics, and human growth hormone. Society has placed a pressure on athletes...
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...his consumption of performance enhancing drugs. As a young boy, Rob started to play little league, trying to match his favorite sport hero, and dreaming to make it to the baseball major leagues. Prior to high school, Rob was getting pushed by his coaches he had and scouts start to follow him to have him take supplements and more things that will help him gain weight compounds in other to build muscle in the training program. When Rob was 15 years old, he was playing with a team that was scouted by the California Angels and was encouraged by people who were working with him on weightlifting, condition, taking supplements, and anything else to help him gain weight. He was given creatine which is a type of performance enhancing drug, this supplement is over the counter dietary supplement, and protein powders for weight gaining. His throwing arm strength, defensive skills, running speed, and hitting were outstanding to the coaches. His parents confronted him on his male patterned balding, acne on his back and shoulders, upper body muscle mass, weight gain, and uncontrollable rage and irrational, Rob continued to hold back his use on performance enhancing drugs. His parents did not suspect any abuse at first because Rob always determined about not wanting to jeopardize his mental capacity and health. The first time his parent’s learned about him taking steroids was when he went into the hospital for his first admission. Rob was put into a three nine week cycle in a period of two years...
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...Involvement with drugs and athletes is a big step towards future activities. It can cause hazardous predicaments by taking illegal drugs, not following the laws that’s required for an athlete to compete. The drugs that are used by athletes are to be used for considerable reasoning. Instead, it gets used for the wrong reasons. Cheating your way towards a great success, will soon catch up and turn out into a tragedy due to eagerness. Athletes must find a way to abstain from this type of virus. Any and everyone can do this, but it takes time to do so with the certain capabilities that will help. It might appear that drugs are being abused by athletes, but as to them, it is taken as a concise product. By athletes enhancing drugs, risks are being taken. In results, athletes rely on drugs by keep them in the best shape of their lives as well as performing at their best level Testing Drugs on Athletes "Drugs have changed the way athletes perform. It has spread throughout the world in many different ways and is an effect towards the young, as well as the elderly" (Adler, 2009, p.44). Athletes are first tested by giving a urine sample. Athletes must first go through this progress in order for them to proceed. A drug test is an ANALYSIS of specifics through hair, blood, urine, sweat, or saliva. It’s to determine whether or not a person is on drugs. Drug testing is assembled all throughout the world. Discovering drugs on athletes can be critical at times. Any athlete can...
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...mills 10/31/13 Mrs.Budd English 111 ANABOLIC STEROIDS IN SPORTS Sport: “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”.-websters dictionary. The new additive to this definition would be science. The new supplements we put forth today can push the human body to new physical strains, with the simple injection or consumption of steroids. Steroids a synthetic hormone developed by scientist’s to artificially enhance ones testosterone and protein synthesis. This superhuman creating compound can push the body past ones normal limits causing great strain on many athletes trying to stay clean of them in today’s world. These A.K Kitman. Pharmacology of anabolic steroids. 26 may 2008. . “Steroids can seem necessary to compete at the highest levels, and the quick rewards can outweigh the long term consequences to the user's health.”(-Howard Berman.) this quote by Howard Berman is as real as it gets in the world of sports as athletes are pushed to always be bigger and stronger than their opponents stopping at nothing to succeed. The quick effect of steroids is very appealing to the young and older athletes allowing them to turn into a form of super human. The effects of steroid use let the user workout, practice, and perform for longer durations without rest, allowing them to get the most bang for their buck. and in the competitive world of sports entertainment it is promoted by owners, and...
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...29 March 2013 Word Count: 1,766 Steroids should be legalized Abstract The use of steroids and illegal performance-enhancing drugs appears to be growing in professional athletics. More and more high profile athletes are being busted for their use and consequently ostracized by fans and those in the athletic community. Beyond that, there are thousands of other professional and amateur athletes who have resorted to these drugs as well. As someone who has found a passion for all things fitness, and aspires to open up my own gym and train athletes someday, this issue is of high importance to me. Although many have accepted steroids as illegal and a type of cheating, these drugs should be legalized in sports. While it is widely accepted that performance-enhancing drugs pose health risks, I think it is the athletes’ own choice whether or not these risks are worth the benefit. In this research, I will argue why it makes sense to lift the current ban on steroids in professional sports. The effects of steroids are well known. They will help increase athletic performance and they also come with negative side effects. In a study done by clinical biochemists, it was found that use of anabolic steroids combined with exercise was highly effective. This research took 43 volunteers and divided them into four groups. One group of people took a placebo pill and exercised, one group took a placebo with no exercise, and two groups took an anabolic steroid with one of them exercising. The study...
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...In Sports Axia College of University of Phoenix The use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in sports The use of Performance Enhancing Drugs or PED’s in sports today has become an ongoing battle. From the media to athletes, to the doctor who prescribe the drugs to now involving the Federal Government, the issue of whether or not it is cheating has played a major roll in today’s sports. Baseball players, Football players, Swimmers, Track and Field runners, Olympians, Professional Weight Lifters, Cyclists, and the list goes on and on have all been in some way or another connected to steroids. Once thought to be a problem strictly associated with body builders, fitness "buffs," and professional athletes, the abuse of steroids is prevalent in today’s society. Athletes of all ages are starting to turn toward the use of these drugs in hopes to improve their performance and give athletes that edge to win as well as improving their appearance. This is not only wrong but it is cheating, and these drugs can cause serious health problems in athletes later on down the line. Performance Enhancing drugs have been around for hundreds of years. Anabolic-androgenic steroids or AAS were 1st discovered in the early 1930s as a therapeutic drug to treat growth hormone replacement in deficient children, menopausal symptoms, impotence, and the retardation of the effects of aging by stimulating the rate of synthesis of protein molecules (The use of performance enhancing drugs in sports p.1)...
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...Steroids : Not so Good After All In recent years there have been many stories of athletes, especially in baseball, that have gotten caught using steroids. People single out the idea that the competitor did not abide by the rules. Because of this narrow-minded act, they tend to not look at the harmful effects these drugs have on the body. Steroids are extremely damaging physically and psychologically. There are multiple ways in which a human can experience long and short-term effects from the use of these horrible drugs. The most common effects include diseases and severe brain problems. While HGH and Anabolic steroids are a serious concern for sports, it is a more prominent problem in baseball, but the frightening part people fail to recognize, is that the drugs cause life-threatening problems. Steroids were invented by “A doctor by the name of Dr. Ruzicka, who in the early 1930’s created it for medical purposes, essentially to fight conditions like cancer and AIDS” (Steroids in Sports).The drugs are mainly byproducts of the male hormone called testosterone. When a person takes steroids, they are putting extra testosterone into their body. Excessive testosterone eventually leads to rapid muscle growth. As humans use steroids, they can be faced with horrible health problems such as “high blood pressure, HIV/AIDS (when taken with shared needles), fluid retention, depression, anxiety, mania, low sperm production, and over-exertion” (Steroids in Sports). Additional effects...
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...Banning Steroids Steroids have been around in some form for a great deal of years. They have been used in all types of sports by professional and amateur athletes as well as people who just want massive muscle growth. Steroids have always played a major role in sports and sparked a great controversy of whether professional athletes should be allowed to use different forms of steroids or not. In Let Steroids into the Hall of Fame by Zev Chafets, the author discusses this topic of steroids being made illegal in professional sports. Steroids in sports have been frowned upon for years now as people see it as a way of cheating the system and having unfair advantages over other players. A topic that is commonly missed when talking about steroids is the health risks that it holds. People tend to focus on the performance part of steroids more than the deeper issue at hand which is, how will this affect a persons overall health? Steroids have been known to help peoples health in some cases but not very many. Steroids should be an illegal drug in professional sports due to the fact that the negatives by far outweigh the positives when it comes to peoples health. Steroids have always been used in sports but especially in the medical field. Despite all the negatives that steroids brings along, it can not be denied that many people have been helped by the use of steroids. Steroids when prescribed and taken as directed by the doctor are often safe and effective. One area that steroids can...
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...WORKING OUTLINE TITLE: Effects of Steroids Topic: Steroid Abuse Specific Purpose: To inform the audience about the abuse of steroids and how it affects the person mentally and physically THESIS STATEMENT: Although steroids can be medically beneficial when taken at a correct dosage, they tend to get abused by athletes and have serious side affects INTRODUCTION: (Attention-Getting Material) When you think of Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Marion Jones or Jose Canseco, what comes to mind? Credibility Material: I’ve seen first hand the effects of steroids on the body Preview: Going to tell how steroids are being abused by athletes and teens and the side effects of using steroids BODY: Main Point # I: What steroids are and what they are used for Sub-point A: Everyone produces their own steroidal hormones, either from the adrenal gland, pituitary gland, or the sex organs Evidence/Support_______________________________________________________________ Sub-point B: Two types called corticosteroid and anabolic steroids Evidence/Support: corticosteroids are used in medicine for skin conditions such as eczema and burn victims, inflammation, jumpstart metabolism, and to inhibit growth. Anabolic steroids are not used in medicine but is a synthetic drug and is used to help build muscle and enhance performance in many different sports. TRANSITION STATEMENT: Now lets talk about how anabolic steroids are abused by athletes and other people...
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...satisfaction of personal accomplishment, athletes often pursue dreams of winning a medal for their country or securing a spot on a professional team. In such an environment, the use of performance-enhancing drugs has become increasingly common. But using performance-enhancing drugs — aka, doping — isn't without risks. Take the time to learn about the potential benefits, the health risks and the many unknowns regarding so-called performance-enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids, androstenedione, human growth hormone, erythropoietin, diuretics, creatine and stimulants. You may decide that the benefits aren't worth the risks. What is a drug? | A drug is a chemical substance that, when absorbed into the body, can alter normal bodily function. Many drugs have been banned in sport if they are deemed to provide an unfair advantage, pose a health risk, or are seen to violate the ‘spirit of sport’. The use of banned drugs by athletes is referred to as ‘doping’. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), and more recently, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have been leading the way in the battle against drugs in sport. | Why do some athletes use drugs? | Most athletes take drugs to enhance their physical performance in an attempt to prevent them falling behind other competitors, even if it does mean damaging their health and risking their sports careers. Other athletes may use drugs to help them wind down and relax, to cope with the pressures and stress associated...
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...Anabolic Steroids: A Perceived Means to Perfection At what point does the quest for perfection become an obsession? In the world of athleticism, the point of mania is usually when a person turns to performance enhancement by means of ergogenic aids. An ergogenic aid is anything that enhances a person’s athletic abilities. Examples of ergogenic aids are vitamins, foods, caffeine, and the most controversial anabolic steroids. Anabolic Steroids have sparked worldwide interest in the media because of the potential dangers associated with usage and moreover the fact that steroids are illegal in the professional sports arena. Anabolic steroids are classified as ergogenic aids, because they are chemically made substances that promote increased stamina when training, resulting in greater amounts of fat free mass and overall strength. The use of anabolic steroids has evolved into further drug experimentation and dependence, destroying the most critical aspect and fundamental of training “quality vs. quantity,” thus creating a “by any means necessary” athletic society. What Are the Affects of Steroid Use on Athletic Performance? Over the last five years several allegations and indictments have been made against athletes for their use of performance enhancing drugs. According to Steven M. Cohen, “Athletes use these drugs to enhance athletic performance, but not in the manner one might assume. Anabolic steroids won't make an athlete “better” at his or her sport. Steroids aren't...
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