History of Steroid Abuse in Sports - Research Paper Example

History of Steroid Abuse in Sports In the contemporary modern world, it is difficult to believe anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) were initially manufactured to cater for legitimate medical concerns rather than performance enhancement as it is widely believed nowadays. People easily forget the importance meant to be served by these drugs because they are now outlawed and no athlete is allowed to use them, as they are deemed to give a person an advantage over others, while the main aim of almost all sports is to represent raw natural talent that has not been tampered with. The major changes that are observed in boys during puberty were initially unexplained resulting in vigorous research by scientists to find out the major cause behind the changes. Testosterone was discovered to be the cause; consequently it was closely studied, isolated, and developed. The 1930s saw the laboratory manufacturing of AAS. Initially they were used to raise the aggression of Nazi soldiers and to enhance performance of elite athletes (Rogak 24). In major sporting events, the use of steroids was observed in the 1954 world weightlifting championships. Although the soviets had been dominant in the 1952 Olympic debut in weightlifting, their dominance was much more in 1954. They dominated in all categories scooping all the medals, something that got the attention of the American team doctor. He approached his soviet counterpart, who revealed to him that his team had been receiving testosterone injections, which marked the first documented use of anabolic steroids. However, unconfirmed reports indicate that the Germany Olympic team in 1936 had used testosterone to enhance their performance in the Berlin Olympics. Steroid use gained momentum with the German authorities administering steroids to the Olympic team of the 1960s so that the nation’s pride would receive major boost by winning more medals (Taylor 45). In the US sports, steroids were not common and in fact, in the whole world, steroids were not used to enhance performance in many sports. They were used only in the Olympics. However, the use of steroids in the Olympic made the International Olympic Council to ban their use. This ban was out of ethical and moral concerns rather than health or safety concerns. After their ban, the first athlete caught using the banned substance was an American swimmer in 1972. Prior to this, Arnold Schwarzenegger had won Mr. Olympia title reportedly aided by steroids. In the subsequent years, there emerged a kind of Cat and Mouse game between athletes and the International Olympic Council. The use of steroids by athletes increased worldwide with the Germans, Russians and Americans developing means of passing the drug test. They developed mechanisms that enabled them not to test positive yet they were using steroids. By the 1990s, steroid use had become widespread with the society endorsing its use. These banned substances had since penetrated almost in every sport (Yesalis 77). There emerged a misconception about the use of steroids with many young men using them to enable them to mass up and have enlarged muscles. High school games have been very important in the history of American sports. Many of the top athletes are scouted while at high school and thus the high school games are the backbone of American sports. Steroid use in high school skyrocketed with the news of the success of the athletes who used steroids. Substance abuses by minors became a major concern of the 1990s. Peer influence became the major catalyst of steroid use with many high school teams advocating for the use of steroids. Most of the youths who used steroids were active in sports. In Major League Baseball, steroids use had become very rampant with athletes using the undetectable substances to cheat. The major scrutiny on this sport resulted when a bottle of performance enhancing liquid, suspected to be containing steroids was discovered in the locker of Mark McGwire. He was en route of breaking a long-standing record of home run. Ken Caminiti a baseball player revealed to a sports magazine that he himself had been using steroids and he was convinced that about eighty-five percent of MLB players also used steroids. Media scrutiny on the sports increased with some players like Jason Gambi and Barry Bonds facing a grand jury. Most of the players were aware of consuming these substances but many shifted blame to their trainers others claiming they took them for curative measures. It is important to note that the Major League Baseball, is a very popular sport in the US, which entails much physical strength thus vulnerable to steroid use yet it was the last major sports organization in the US to agree to establish a system of comprehensive drug testing policy (Clayton 50). The NFL is another American sports riddled by steroid use of which noticeable use date back to 1987. The use of steroids in the NFL has been accused on the high school level of education that is not sufficient in addressing the dangers of steroid. Most of the players in NFL that have admitted using steroids confess having started using them back in high school. The driving factor towards taking these banned substances has been attributed to the fact that size has been much emphasized in the game. There is the paradigm that, a smaller but skilled player will be easily beaten by an equally skilled player who is bigger in size. Survey has shown that the average weight and size of an NFL player was constant prior to the steroid era. However, with the massive use of steroids, the average size and weight of an NFL player has increased over the years. Steroid use in the game has also altered the behavior of players, for example Bill Romanowski who admitted to using steroids is known for all the bad reasons. His power and aggressive nature landed him in many confrontations and charges of using illegal tactics. He was very aggressive and was very physical. Cycling as a sport has also been surrounded by allegation of doping. In 2006, an American Floyd Landis won the Tour de France. However, he failed a drug test after stage seventeen. He was very furious and decided to contest the result, of which further tests showed he had actually failed a drug test. After being found guilty, the American was suspended from the sport and stripped off his 2006 Tour de France title (Jendrick 34). The American Lance Armstrong, who is the most successive, cyclist in Tour de France history has been on several occasions accused of doping or being associated with trainers who have since been found guilty of administering steroids to their athletes. He has denied the allegations claiming he is the most tested athlete in the world. Many cyclists though some are not Americans have since tested positive including the recent winner of Tour de France Alberto Contador. On the track and field events, the Americans athletes have also tested positive of steroid use. Marion Jones a phenomenon athlete during the late 1990s and early 2000s has since admitted to taking steroids. She had won five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics three of which were gold. In 2004, Victor Conte, a prominent figure in promoting athletes, admitted to having personally given Jones performance enhancing drugs, which were steroids, prior to the 2000 summer Olympics. Jones vehemently denied these allegations claiming she had never in her life used performance-enhancing drugs. Her coach has since been banned from participating in any sporting event after it had been found out he had been involved with athletes already found guilt of using steroid. Her boyfriend, who participated in the 2000 Olympics in the short put event, had also been found guilty. Tim Montgomery a former world record holder in the 100-meter race had also been found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs. Tim was Jones’ boyfriend at the time she was being investigated and the father of her child. In the end, she admitted to taking the banned steroids, which resulted in her being, stripped all her Olympic medals. Due to her plea of bargain, she was not sentenced to long jail term (Freedman 82). Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic and 2005 world champion over the 100-meter distance also tested positive for steroids, which resulted in him being banned from the sport for four years. His ‘B’ sample had tested of high level of testosterone that resulted in the conclusion he had been using steroids. At the time of the positive results, Gatlin was the then co-world record holder with Jamaica’s Asafa Powell in 100 meters race. What was intriguing is that his coach of the time was Trevor Graham whose former coached athletes like Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones were then under investigation for alleged use of drugs. Both later turned out positive and thus had failed the drug test. Many of the athletes coached by Graham had been either banned or suspended as the majority failed a drug test. In wrestling entertainment, many of the athletes have been accused of using banned substances, with steroid being the main suspect. Some wrestlers have died in mysterious circumstances while others have had abrupt cardiac arrest, a side effect associated with steroids. Chris Benoit, who wrestled for World Wrestling Entertainment, murdered his wife and son before hanging himself in 2007. His death was linked to steroid abuse something that prompted WWE to being investigated by US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Steroids were found in the wrestler’s home. Steroid abuse has been a persistent issue in the history of American sports since the manufacturing of steroids. Many of the sports, especially those requiring much physical power and energy have been the hardest hit by steroid abuse. Steroid abuse has been characterized by high degree steroid induced rage that results in the athlete getting into illegal activities. Steroids have been known to have various health issues thus detrimental to the health of an athlete. Steroid abuse continues to be a major issue in the contemporary American sports. In spite of the fact that it is banned, athletes continue to use them to enhance their performance. Works Cited Clayton, Lawrence. Steroids. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 1999 Freedman, Jeri. Steroids: High-Risk Performance Drugs. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2009. Jendrick, Nathan. Dunks, doubles, doping: how steroids are killing American athletics. New York: Lyon Press, 2006. Rogak, Lisa. Steroids: Dangerous Game. New Jersey: Lerner Publications, 1992. Taylor, William. Anabolic Steroids and the Athlete. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2002. Yesalis, Charles. Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise. Windsor: Human Kinetic, 2000 Read More