The use of steroids in major league baseball Essay

The use of steroids in major league baseball - Essay Example In every game, millions of fans attend and cheer for their favorite team and favorite players in Major League Baseball. Fans are awed and fascinated by the sheer talent of the players they so admire. Yet what most don’t know and refuse to acknowledge is that some of these players use steroids, or performance enhancing substances. Because of this the integrity of the game that is held dear by many Americans becomes questionable. Can it still be called sheer talent and skill in the sport when performance enhancing drugs are being used? That is the question that every team owner, officer or administrator, coach, player, and fans must keep in mind. The widespread use of steroids in Major League Baseball indeed is a grave problem that needs to seriously be addressed by baseball officials and the government. Apart from the negative and potentially fatal side effects that the use of steroids poses to the human body, it also encourages young players to use the substance in order to improve their game and qualify in the major leagues (Mitchell, 2007).In an article in USA Today, Rep. Tom Davis, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, stated that "college athletes believe they have to consider steroids if they're going to make it to the pros; high school athletes, in turn, think steroids are the key to getting a scholarship. It's time to break that vicious cycle, and it needs to happen from the top down." (as cited in Jenkins, 2005, para. 8). In addition to this, the use of the substance by players to raise and improve their statistics is unjust and unfair to the other players who are honest, hard-working, and just plain talented (Mitchell, 2007). It is unfair for the younger players who are clean to be competing against other athletes who are pumped up with steroids. Again, this makes the validity of baseball records and stats questionable, as the use of steroids enables the player to attain a level of productivity that they would not have been able to achieve using their own talent, efforts, and abilities (Grossman, Kimsey, Moreen, & Owings, n.d.). Indeed, the substance abuse of Steroids in Major league baseball is a form of cheating - the players who use this substance not only cheats their fans, other players, and the league, but they also cheat themselves in believing that it is good for them. The purity and integrity of the game itself is then lost. Steroids Anabolic androgenic steroids are synthetic substances from testosterone, the primary male hormone responsible for anabolism and catabolism of protein in muscles resulting to increase in muscle mass and reduction of muscle soreness that is normally felt after strenous exercise (Mitchell, 2007). This permits the steroid users, then to exercise more. When steroids are regularly used for a longer period of time, eventually the body develops resistance to the effects of the drug, and larger doses are then needed to achieve the desired effects of the drug. When this occurs, significant adverse effects may arise. As the primary physiologic effect of steroids is to raise testosterone levels, steroid toxicity may result to manic-depression and aggressive behaviors, may contribute to heart attack and stroke, hypogonadism, and infertility (Mitchell, 2007). Steroid abuse may as well result to a severe case of acne as the sebaceous glands are stimulated to hypersecrete oil on the face and body (Mitchell, 2007). In addition to this, it may cause enlargement of the prostate gland, gynecomastia or emlargement of the male breasts, and speeds up the physiologic process of balding in men (Mitchell, 2007). In adolescents, the use of steroids may inhibit the natural growth process as it causes premature fusion of growth plate in the long bones of the legs and arms (Mitchell, 2007). Steroid use has also been claimed to greatly contribute to athletic injuries (Grossman et. al., n.d.)