Steriods Professional Athletes

Steroids and professional athletes
Period 9

In scientific terms “Steroids are a group of naturally occurring or synthetic fat-soluble organic compounds, whose structure is chemically based on steroid nucleus, the nucleus is a hydrogenated cycloplentanoperhydrophenanthrene ring system which is seventeen carbon atoms arranged in four rings” (types of steroids, Androgenic, Cortico, Anabolic-Side effects of steroids). In layman’s terms “Steroids are a class of chemical substances that all share the same chemical skeleton” (steroids). “Many hormones, body constituents and drugs are steroids. Synthetic chemical analogues of many of the naturally occurring steroids are vital in medicine. Both natural and synthetic steroids are used to treat many disorders and play a vital role in the normal functioning of the body (types of steroids, Androgenic, Cortico, Anabolic-Side effects of steroids)”. Synthetic steroids are prescribed by doctors to people whose body does not produce enough testosterone (steroids). Anabolic steroids are more commonly known as the synthetic steroids.

There are three different types of steroids. One type of steroids is anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are “synthetic hormones that promote the retention of protein and the growth of tissue (Steroids, 2009)”. Anabolic steroids are chemically derived from testosterone (types of steroids, Androgenic, Cortico, Anabolic-Side effects of steroids). Anabolic steroids are prescribed to people who do not produce enough testosterone to treat some conditions as delayed puberty or impotence. Another type of steroids is corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are “powerful drugs that can quickly reduce inflammation and pain” (Corticosteriods- Dosage- Side effects- Interactions- Warnings). Corticosteroids are used for arthritis patients rather than body builders and athletes (Corticosteriods- Dosage- Side effects- Interactions- Warnings). Another type of steroid is androgenic steroids. Androgenic steroids are anabolic steroids that affect the sex characteristics of a person. Androgenic steroids are used for gaining weight, strength, power, speed, endurance, and aggressiveness for athletes (ANABOLIC-ANDROGENIC STEROIDS: Mechanism of Action and Effects on Performance).

Steroids can be used in many ways. Most of the popular anabolic steroids are swallowed in pill form. Others use the injections or a combination of the pills and the injections (Stephen C. Wood, 1994). When people take the injection form of steroids they have to try and inject it directly to the muscle and not the veins (how can steroids be taken). Also when you use the injection form of steroids you want to inject where there is the most muscle fibers such as the buttocks, the side of the thigh, and the deltoid region of the arm which is the upper part of the shoulder (how can steroids be taken). Anabolic steroids can also be taken by transdermal patches (how can steroids be taken). The trandermal patches are used to receive continuous dosages through the skin and into the blood stream (how can steroids be taken). People can take legally to “stimulate protein anabolism in debilitating illness and in acute renal failure, promoting growth in children with pituitary dwarfism and other growth disorders, the retention of nitrogen and calcium may benefit patients with osteoporosis and patients receiving corticosteroid therapy, may stimulate bone marrow function in hypoplastic anaemia” (types of steroids, Androgenic, Cortico, Anabolic-Side effects of steroids).

When people take steroids they don’t consider the physical effects on the body the steroids will cause. Some of the physical affects in the hormonal system in men are infertility, breast development and shrinking of the testicles. Some physical affects in the hormonal system in women are enlargement of the clitoris which is the “female sexual organ” and an excessive growth of body hair. The physical affects in the hormonal system in both female and male are male-pattern boldness. In the musculoskeletal system the physical affects are short stature which is a size that is different from what is considered normal, and tendon rupture. In the cardiovascular system the physical affects are heart attacks and the enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle. The physical affects in the liver are cancer and peliosis hepatis. The physical affects in the skin are acne and cysts. The physical affects from an infection are HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis which is the inflammation of the liver caused from a virus or a toxin. The psychiatric effects are homicidal rage, mania and delusions (types of steroids, Androgenic, Cortico, Anabolic-Side effects of steroids).

When people take steroids there are a few signs that other people can notice that will tell them that person may be on steroids. These signs are severe acne which occurs on the back and enlarged muscles. Some people who abuse steroids can even die from the side effects. Some of the long term affects are HIV/AIDS, death and the enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle. Even though steroids can cause harmful even fatal side effects there are some good steroids. One good steroid is anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids can be used to help people with diseases and they can also be used to someone’s advantage which can harm them.

Steroids are used not only for patients with diseases but with athletes. Athletes have been known to use steroids to grow their muscles faster and help them heal faster. The sports that you most commonly hear steroids being used in are baseball, football, wrestling, track and field, swimming and body builders. Most sports have banned the use of anabolic steroids. If athletes are caught using steroids they will be suspended for two years and will be heavily fined (types of steroids, Androgenic, Cortico, Anabolic-Side effects of steroids) (Bahr, 2001).

Athletes typically use steroids because they believe the steroids will make them stronger and gain more muscle. Athletes want to gain muscle and become stronger because it would enable them to hit the ball farther if they play baseball and if they are swimmers they would want more muscle so they could move faster in the water. They want the money from the competitions they would win. If a football player took steroids and they were caught they would be suspended for two years and would be unable to play in any championship games. If someone wanted to be in the Olympics and they were caught using steroids they would be kicked out of the Olympics which only comes around every four years and thus they would have to wait another two years to compete. If a wrestler takes steroids that person will be bigger and will have a better chance at winning the matches and become famous for all their wins. They think that the bigger they are the more fame they will get. If a body builder uses steroids then they are more likely to be well known for their big muscles. If they get injured in a game or at practice they believe that the steroids will help heal the injury faster. If a football player gets hurt during a game, they could take steroids and that could help their injury heal much faster than if they were not on steroids.

One of the most popular sports for steroid use is baseball. Baseball is the most common sport that uses steroids. “ over the last decade, Major League Baseball has been forced to confront revelations about the use of performance-enhancing drugs by many of the game’s top players. “Some of baseball’s most cherished storylines have been tainted by performance-enhancing drugs, including the accomplishments of record-setting home run hitters and dominating pitchers” (New York Times). “In June 1991, the baseball commissioner Fay Vincent sent major league clubs a memo saying all illegal drug use was "strictly prohibited" by law, "cannot be condoned or tolerated" and could result in discipline or expulsion. Mr. Vincent specifically highlighted steroids in the memo. There was no testing for performance-enhancing drugs at the time and the memo was largely unenforceable” (New York Times). There were several cases that went on after the law was enforced. Two of these cases were the Balco case and the Mitchell report. The Balco was about an I.R.S agent “who had received a tip that the company was selling more than just supplements and vitamins to elite athletes. Mr. Novitzky and a team of federal agents raided Balco 's office in Burlingame, Calif., in September 2003. The agents also raided the home of Barry Bonds 's trainer, Greg Anderson, and a storage unit owned by Balco 's president and founder, Victor Conte. Mr. Anderson and Mr. Conte accepted plea agreements from the government in 2005 on charges they distributed steroids and laundered money. James Valente, the vice president of Balco, and Remi Korchemny, a track coach affiliated with Balco, pleaded guilty to distributing banned substances and received probation. Numerous athletes were interviewed by federal investigators and summoned before a federal grand jury to answer questions about their knowledge of Balco and its steroid-distribution activities. Distributors, not users, were the focus of the investigation. However, the authorities investigated those athletes who they believed lied to them or before grand juries about their use of performance-enhancing drugs. Barry Bonds, a star slugger for the San Francisco Giants, was charged in 2007 with making false statements before a grand jury about whether he used banned substances and is currently awaiting trial. The Olympic sprinter Marion Jones pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about her use of such substances and was sentenced to six months in prison” (New York Times).
The Mitchell report was about how in 2005 baseball tightened its penalties and appointed a former senator to investigate and independent investigation on the use of steroids. “On Dec. 13, 2007, Mr. Mitchell released a blistering report that tied eighty nine major league players , including Roger Clemens, a pitcher with 354 career victories and seven Cy Young Awards, to the use of illegal, performance-enhancing drugs. The report used informant testimony and supporting documents to provide a richly detailed portrait of what Mr. Mitchell described as baseball’s "steroids era.” The report of about 400 pages was based on interviews with more than 700 people, including 60 former players, and 115,000 pages of documents, including receipts, canceled checks, telephone records and e-mail messages. The report revealed that baseball secretly suspended drug testing for part of the 2004 season, for fear of criminal prosecution, after federal authorities seized the 2003 drug results as part of the Balco case. The suspension, of unclear length, was kept secret by agreement of the commissioner’s office and the players union. The key evidence was provided by Kirk Radomski, a former Mets clubhouse attendant, and Brian McNamee, a former trainer for Mr. Clemens and Yankees pitcher Andy Pittitte, who was also named in the report. In August 2010, Mr. Clemens was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington on charges that he lied to Congress when he said he never used performance-enhancing drugs” (New York Times). Another sport that got into trouble for the use of steroids is wrestling. Wrestlers would use steroids to build their muscles and bulk up for their fights. They did this so they would have a more fair chance against their opponent and the more they won the more popular they got. Chris Benoit took the steroids called nandrolone which is an anabolic steroid and he also took anastrozole which is a substance which stops the effects of steroid use such as breast growth (WWE suspends 10 wrestlers, others caught in illegal steroid pharmacy bust). Brian Adams or “crush” took nandrolone, Testosterone which is the natural steroid and he took somatropin which is a human growth hormone (WWE suspends 10 wrestlers, others caught in illegal steroid pharmacy bust). Eddie Guerrero took nandrolone, testosterone and anastrozole two weeks before he passed away (WWE suspends 10 wrestlers, others caught in illegal steroid pharmacy bust). The Olympics has had many people that have been caught using steroids and have been disqualified and have had their medals taken away from them. Gold medalist Marion Jones was found guilty for the use of steroids. Jones had three gold medals and two bronze medals. Her reputation was ruined because of the steroids and she
In some ways the outbreak of steroids in sports has changed the rules of sports. Some changes that have taking place are new tests. The new tests test if any player is positive for the use of steroids. Some of the new tests are called

Works Cited
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Cited: MacAuley, D. (1996). Drugs in sport. British Medical Journal , 313 (7051), 211-215. Miller, K. E., Barnes, G. M., Sabo, D. F., Melnick, M. J., & Farrel, M. P. (2002). Anabolic-steroid use and rethinking male athlete assumption. sociological perspectives , 45 (4), 467-489. Sohaib A. Khan, G. M. (1994). Protooncogenes and growth factors in steroid hormone induced growth and differentiation. Salem: CRC Press, Inc,. Stephen C. Wood, R. C. (1994). Sports and Exercise Medicine. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc. Toprani, K. (2005, January 7). Athlete steroid use detracts from professional sports. i bed to differ .