Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports
Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports
July 8, 2007
Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports Have you ever wanted to be the best and you would do anything to get to that point? Even if it meant people not liking you or it could adversely affect your health in later years. Imagine if you will being one of five people considered for the Regional Vice President position at a Fortune 500 company and there is only one opening. Would you do something that is illegal in order to get that job? Before honestly answering that question, picture $7 million dollars as your annual salary. Then picture $3 million dollars as a bonus and it is on the table in front of you. Then no matter what you did to get the job, they could not test for it, but only speculate. That is what our amateur and professional athletes are facing day after day in today’s sports. The illegal activity is “Performance-Enhancing Drugs” or primarily steroids and Human Growth Hormones. By taking performance-enhancing drugs in today’s professional and amateur sports, they are selling their soul to the devil. Let us look at what kind of illegal performance-enhancing drugs are being used in today’s sports. The primary drug that started it all was the anabolic steroid. Steroids, which mimic male sex hormones, build tissue or increase muscle mass, strengthen bone, and repair muscle. Because steroids help build muscle mass, some athletes take the drugs in the belief that they will give them greater power and endurance, improving their play in Update: Performance-Enhancing Substances (2006). The downside to the athlete was that it is easy to detect and is losing popularity with professional athletes. The current illegal drug of choice is Human Growth Hormone (HGH). This drug can increase muscle mass, decrease fat and many believe that it can reduce the aging process, which makes this even more attractive with older athletes. This drug is very hard if not impossible to detect at this point. However,
July 8, 2007
Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports Have you ever wanted to be the best and you would do anything to get to that point? Even if it meant people not liking you or it could adversely affect your health in later years. Imagine if you will being one of five people considered for the Regional Vice President position at a Fortune 500 company and there is only one opening. Would you do something that is illegal in order to get that job? Before honestly answering that question, picture $7 million dollars as your annual salary. Then picture $3 million dollars as a bonus and it is on the table in front of you. Then no matter what you did to get the job, they could not test for it, but only speculate. That is what our amateur and professional athletes are facing day after day in today’s sports. The illegal activity is “Performance-Enhancing Drugs” or primarily steroids and Human Growth Hormones. By taking performance-enhancing drugs in today’s professional and amateur sports, they are selling their soul to the devil. Let us look at what kind of illegal performance-enhancing drugs are being used in today’s sports. The primary drug that started it all was the anabolic steroid. Steroids, which mimic male sex hormones, build tissue or increase muscle mass, strengthen bone, and repair muscle. Because steroids help build muscle mass, some athletes take the drugs in the belief that they will give them greater power and endurance, improving their play in Update: Performance-Enhancing Substances (2006). The downside to the athlete was that it is easy to detect and is losing popularity with professional athletes. The current illegal drug of choice is Human Growth Hormone (HGH). This drug can increase muscle mass, decrease fat and many believe that it can reduce the aging process, which makes this even more attractive with older athletes. This drug is very hard if not impossible to detect at this point. However,
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