Steroids In Sports Brenna Netzky

Thesis Steroids should not be legalized in sports because of the health risks and the message that would send to society.

Intro The steroids that athletes are using are strong prescription drugs that are being misused to help their athletic performance. We spend so much time trying to find an advantage to life that we have become cheaters and are cutting corners in business, politics, and education, but our society isn’t allowing our athletes to do that same thing. Is it worth it if our athletes could be getting sick and putting harmful things into their bodies?

Health Risks New York State Department of Health says, “When improperly used, anabolic steroids can cause serious health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease; liver damage and cancers; and stroke and blood clots.”

Health Risks Many athletes take anabolic steroids, which gives your body more testosterone. One of the most prominent effects testosterone has on your body is the anabolic effect which promotes muscle mass.

More Health Risks Athletes are taking anabolic steroids in much higher does than are prescribed as medication….therefore making it unsafe - Mayo Clinic

Counter Argument These steroids do have the potential to aid an athletes recovery from a hard workout quicker, which in tern lets athletes work out harder and more often without over working themselves.

I Would Say….. With the amount of health risks, the quicker recovery time is not worth it if you’re no longer able to work out because you’re sick.

Another Counter Argument “If we really want to level the playing field, it may be time to head in the other direction: legalize performance enhancers. Not only would the playing field suddenly be even for all players, it would be at a higher level. A huge part of watching sports is witnessing the very peak of human athletic ability, and legalizing performance enhancing drugs would help athletes climb even higher. Steroids and doping will help pitchers to throw harder, home runs to go further, cyclists to charge for longer and sprinters to test the very limits of human speed. (Smith, Forbes Magazine)”

The Other Side Life is not always fair. There are sick kids, people dying from cancer, and other tragedies that come up in the world. Do we want our athletes having to be the center of these tragedies? Not everyone responds to drugs in the same way. Therefore, legalizing drugs would be a competition of who responds better to steroids in order to enhance their overall performance.

Legalizing Steroids Message in Society Finkelman, PhD, talks about how “steroids undermine the integrity [of the game] by placing in doubt skills of the players, as fans assume that homers are hit because of steroids, not skill.” Fost, a pediatrician says, the message that “the legalization of PEDs would send to children is no different than the one sent by two regulated vices: alcohol and tobacco.”

On The Other Hand Raymmar Tirado from the Huffington Post says, “After all, we are talking about the business of entertaining masses? The "purity of sport" argument has long since passed (at least in the professional arena) and now, all we are left with are large corporate machines that only care about selling tickets, driving advertising revenue, and presenting the allure of exclusivity.”

I Would Say… He has a point, but do we want the youth of America to think it’s ok to be taking things such as synthetic testosterone and thinking they are “cool” if they are ruining their bodies?

In Conclusion In Conclusion The different affects that steroids have on the body in a physical view point, could be fatal, therefore, steroids should stay illegal in sports.