Why Do Athletes Use Steroids?

Many times, when drug testing is talked about people automatically think about hard drugs that are addicting and have potential to ruin lives, but in sports, the drugs that are commonly talked about are performance-enhancing drugs. These drugs give an unfair advantage to the player who abuses them and are considered as cheating. There should be stricter regulations on the testing policies that would ensure any athlete that were to test positive after a test would deal with the consequences. The practice of performance enhancing drugs and steroids is a trend that is currently overtaking the athletic world. Athletes who use these drugs and enhancers are not only hurting the fairness of the game but they are also harming their bodies in an …show more content…
“The Daily Mail, the Word Anti-Doping Agency (or WADA for short) administered more than 267,000 drug tests to athletes around the world in 2012. Of the tests administered, approximately 3200 (or 1.2%) of the results came back as positive or had adverse findings that disqualified offending athletes from competition or resulted in forfeitures of wins or medals” (The Athlete). Sports are a business; the players are the ones who make the money for the business. They are the reason fans come to watch, and they are the role models for children and even adults. When an athlete is caught using drugs, more times than not, they are suspended and it is publicly announced the reasoning for their suspension or reason for discipline; they’re in the public eye. “The implication of drug testing programs in the sports world is complicated by the fact that the potential testees are often celebrities,” (Brock, 510). The athletes aren’t given a pass because they are in the spotlight, if they abuse drugs and aren’t caught; it’s due to the lack of strict regulations and lack of enforcement. But these passes shouldn’t be tolerated. If an athlete uses an enhancer to preform at the same level as his competition than that creates an unfair playing field, and selfishly benefits the athlete who cheated. “Detecting cheats is meant to promote …show more content…
Therefore they have turned to performance enhancing drugs, hoping that the drugs will give them that advantage over their opponents. Drugs are supposed to be given to people who are sick that need assistance in getting their health back. Taking them to better one's athletic abilities is risky, potentially deadly, and technically cheating. Drug abuse in athletics is considered cheating and it puts the name of sports at risk. The use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs should be banned at all levels of athletics. Drug testing the athletes would prevent unfair advantages and lessen the pressure of the athletes to use the drugs to gain an edge on their competition. Anabolic steroids can stop growth prematurely in adolescents, because the side effects of the drug close the growth centers in their bones. Once the plates close, they cannot reopen, so the adolescent who choose to use steroids could potentially end up shorter than if they were to not use the drug. Anabolic steroids are known to cause physical side effects, but they also cause behavioral side effects. The user has tendencies to become hyperactive and easily irritable. It is common for athletes take steroids to become more aggressive, thinking that it will improve their performance during a competition or

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