The Major Issues Steroids are illegal Steroids have adverse side effects Steroids have severe health risks Steroid use creates an uneven playing field Steroid use by elite athletes influences the children who look up to them as hero’s. Steroid use has spread down the sports ranks all the way to little league baseball.

What are Steroids? Androgenic Anabolic Steroids Synthetically produced testosterone Medical Names – Durabolin, Equipoise, Winstrol Street Names – Gym Candy, Roids, Pumpers, Stackers and Arnolds

Why do people abuse steroids? To Improve physical performance To gain a competitive edge To become stronger To improve self-esteem To lose weight, burn fat and increase muscle

Dangers in Steroid Use Dangers for Men: Even though anabolic steroids are derived from a male sex hormone, men who take them may actually experience a "feminization" effect along with a decrease in normal male sexual function (Miller, 1988). Some possible effects include: Reduced sperm count Reduced sperm count Impotence Impotence Development of breasts Development of breasts Shrinking of the testicles Shrinking of the testicles Difficulty or pain while urinating Difficulty or pain while urinating Erectile dysfunction Erectile dysfunction

The Mitchell Report Former US Senator George J. Mitchell created a report known as the “Mitchell Report” in It reported the athletes that have used steroids in Major League Baseball 89 players was tested positive with steroid abuse.

The Asterisk is used whenever a record is broken by a player who has used steroids or Performance- enhancing drugs to differentiate that record from the records of non- steroids users

Punishment in st Offense – Counseling 2 nd Offense – 15 days 3 rd Offense – 25 days 4 th Offense – 50 days 5 th Offense – 1 Year

Punishment in st Offense – 50 games 2 nd Offense – 100 games 3 rd Offense – Lifetime Ban

The Other Side of the Fence: Why Choose Steroids? Offensive Production (OPS) Additional annual salary of $2, 085,438 Players on steroids are able to play more games Players on steroids hit more homeruns Banning steroids delivers a blow to the nation’s free market economy

Statistics about Adolescents Today in America over one million teens use steroids Highest adolescent user group consists of high school football players Abuse starts as early as the 7 th grade Up to 12% of high school athletes use steroids at some point Since 1991, steroid abuse has doubled among teenagers

References Baskin, Jon. “Steroids, Baseball, America.” March Eckstein, Robert. “Will Baseball Ever Be The Same.” June Feng, Rogers. “Pros and Cons of Steroid Legalization.” 5 April Jenkins, Chris. “Players Admit Steroids Changed Baseball.” 15 March McCallum, Jack. “Steroids in America: The Real Dope.” 11 March Robinson, David. “The Pros & Cons of Steroids.” Feb Schmidt, Michael. “Inside a Tempting World of Easy Steroids.” 11 April Williams, Kyle. “Steroids are a Bigger Deal than Baseball.” May