Have you ever wondered what happens to athletes who are caught using steroids? It makes the news, the athlete is criticized by the world, but what punishments do they actually receive? Rafael Palmeiro, a baseball great, was given a ten-day suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. What kind of example are we setting for our young athletes? Pete Rose made a mistake by gambling on baseball and he was given a lifetime suspension and a ban from the baseball Hall of Fame (Jordan, 2006). This gives the impression that steroid use is not necessarily a big deal. Who cares about a ten-day suspension? You still get to continue playing with your team and still have an opportunity to “earn” your way into the Hall of Fame. We need to have stronger punishments for athletes caught using performance-enhancing drugs. These drugs are bad for the body, for the team, and for the family.
Performance-enhancing drug use has extreme negative effects on the body. Many common side effects and psychological symptoms occur from their use. Just a few of the side effects include: liver tumors, kidney tumors, jaundice, fluid retention, hypertension, increases in LDL (bad cholesterol), decreases in HDL (good cholesterol), severe acne, trembling, enlarged facial bones, nausea, vomiting, bone pain, and muscle cramps. Psychological effects include, but are not limited to, depression, irritability, inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, lack of interest or energy for everyday life, aggressiveness, violent behavior, paranoia, and manic episodes (http://www.umes.edu/atod/abuse/drugs/steroids.htm).
After reading all of this, it is safe to say that alcohol and marijuana have less harmful side effects and we give much harsher punishments for this kind of substance abuse. There are even gender-specific side effects from using steroids, as if the above weren’t enough to convince you of the potential harm. Men may encounter shrinking of testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, pattern baldness, development of breast, and increased risk of prostate cancer. Women may experience growth of facial and body hair, changes or cessation of menstrual cycle, pattern baldness, and deepened voice (http://www.umes.edu/atod/abuse/drugs/steroids.htm).
Using these drugs can tear apart team members as well as family members. A steroid user similarly affects families and teams. Both seem to be torn apart by the effects such as rage, violent behavior, and mood swings. The team members will also be affected by the user’s inability to concentrate and lack of energy and interest in activities.
There is a growing need to test high school athletes for performance-enhancing drugs. There is some controversy over when we should conduct this testing. New Jersey has started testing their athletes when they reach the State Finals. Other states are testing when their students reach the State Playoffs (Greifner, 2007). Some may also be concerned about the cost of testing for drugs in high school athletes. The New Jersey drugs tests cost $175 per student and could be up to $100,000 a year (Greifner, 2007).
With that being said, there are concerns about who will pay for these tests. Will the responsibility fall upon the state, the school, or the parent/athlete? Many would agree that these costs are minimal compared to the side effects one would have to endure from using these drugs. We need to nip this problem in the bud before our sixteen-year-old children have shrinking testicles, and are never able to have children of their own.
We need to concentrate on bringing down the Internet pharmacies and manufacturers. “Instead of pursuing and arresting the usual array of street smugglers, hangers-on and entourage-based dealers, the new plan targets internet pharmacies that can guide buyers through the maze of compliant, prescription-writing physicians with a few clicks of a mouse” (Ruibal, n.d.). Why should we be more concerned with Internet pharmacies than street dealers? For most of us, our children are much more technologically inclined than we are, and this means that they will be the ones with access to these Internet pharmacies. Our children already have the ability to instant message and email their friends with ease. Soon those annoying “pop-ups” will include advertisements for steroids if we do not do something soon. These Internet pharmacies are also much larger groups and present a larger threat to those of us trying to stop them from condoning steroid use.
Finally, we need to talk more about the punishments for steroid users. As you already know, the Major League Baseball’s punishment for a positive test is a ten-day suspension. Some sports are better about punishing for steroid use, but not by much. “The NFL (National Football League) is by far the highest-praised of the four major sports with suspensions of four games, six games and one year for the first, second and third positive tests, respectively” (Jordin, 2006). San Diego Charger’s Shawne Merriman was suspended for four games last year after the initial A sample and backup B sample came back positive for steroids (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2635475). What’s even worse with these professional sports leagues is that the National Hockey League does not even test for steroids.
These athletes are role models for our children. They need to realize this and start acting like it. Surely, there are people out there who feel that steroids really do not have that large of an effect on people or sports in general. The children are the reason we need to be concerned. Too many children look up to athletes like Merriman and Palmeiro, and these children need to know all the facts. We need to have stronger punishments for athletes caught using performance-enhancing drugs. Our children need to see that there are life-altering consequences for using these drugs as well as being caught using these drugs. Yes, you may be stronger and you may be able to run faster, but the effects on your body are too extreme to ignore. We need to stop the Internet dealers from providing these young athletes with the opportunity to use these drugs. Our punishments should put those side effects to shame as far as their ability to deter children from using them.