One of the favorite forms of entertainment is watching sports events and competition. Many people enjoyed watching professional athletes compete for the first place. Some people also look up to some of the athletes and idolized them. Some of the athletes serve as an inspiration to many hopefuls and they attempt to copy their style, attitudes and ways. However, there are issues that are tainting the good image of professional sports. Steroid abuse is prevalent in the society.
The problem caused considerable concern as it branched out to other problems like the increased in abuse of substance as well as the availability of the substance and related products (“Steroid Abuse in Today’s Society”).
Steroids or anabolic steroids are compounds that are related to testosterone which is the male sex hormone. The legitimate medical use of steroids is for the treatment of certain kinds of anemia (Partnership for Drug-Free America).
Today, steroids are ban in most sports organizations sponsoring sports events and competitions.
The inception of abuse of steroids in sports started on World Championships in Vienna, Austria in 1954. The Soviets easily get the championship title and their team physician admitted that the athletes used testosterone injections as part of their training (Steroid. com).
Athletes claimed that steroids render a competitive advantage as well as improve their physical appearance. The substance is often used by body builders, cyclists and long-distance runners. It is reported that steroids make an athlete stronger and enables them to train longer and harder.
Steroids also render health risks and adverse effect on the body such as liver tumor, high blood pressure, fluid retention and jaundice. Since steroids is related to the male sex hormones it also cause hormonal imbalance in the body due to abuse of the substance. The effects of steroids in male are shrinking of testicles, infertility, reduced sperm count and baldness. Abuse of steroids in women also has negative implications such as cessation or different menstrual cycle, growth of facial hair and deepened voice and other characteristics that are reinforced of the male sex hormone.
There are also reports that abuse of steroids also affects the person emotionally which include delusions, irritability and paranoia (Partnership for Drug-Free America).
Many people questioned the medical and ethical aspects of illegal use of substance in professional sports. Steroids can render positive results when used and administered safely and appropriately. But it is ethically wrong when steroids are involved in trainings. First, it is still an abuse of a substance that renders negative implications on the body (Geraghty).
The medical implications of misuse and abuse of steroids are enough to dissuade a person in taking such substance. However, despite the consequences in using steroids in sports competitions; still, many sportsmen opt to use steroids to gain an advantage over their opponents (“Steroid Use in Professional Sports”).
The use of steroids in professional sports also posed as a business opportunity to entrepreneurs who want to market related medical products used as medical enhancement for players. Many athletes rely on steroids to increase their strength and ability to train and perform for sports events and competitions.
The purity of the game, fairness and sportsmanship is lost due to the abuse of substance and intervention of medical enhancement in our players and in our game. It also set a bad example to people, especially to children who look up at athletes as role models of the society.
References
Geraghty, R. (2006, June 27).
Analyzing the Ethics of Steroid Use in Professional Sports. Associated Content. Retrieved May 12, 2009, from http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/39894/analyzing_the_ethics_of_steroid_use. html? cat=14. Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
(2009).
Steroids. Retrieved May 12, 2009, from http://www. drugfree. org/Portal/Drug_guide/Steroids. Steroid Abuse in Today’s Society. (2004, March).
Office of Diversion Control. Retrieved May 12, 2009, from http://www. deadiversion. usdoj. gov/pubs/brochures/steroids/professionals/index. html. Steroid Use in Professional Sports. (n. d. ).
Isteroids. Retrieved May 12, 2009, from http://www. isteroids. com/Steroid_use_in_professional_sports. html. Steroid. com. (2009).
Anabolic Steroids. Retrieved May 12, 2009, from http://www. steroid. com/.