Wesley ForrestEnglish 1302April 27,2012

The Major Issues

• Steroids are illegal• Steroids have adverse side effects• Steroids have severe health risks• Steroid use creates an uneven playing field• Steroid use by elite athletes influences the children

who look up to them as hero’s.• Steroid use has spread down the sports ranks all the

way to little league baseball.

What are Steroids?

• Androgenic Anabolic Steroids• Synthetically produced testosterone• Medical Names– Durabolin, Equipoise, Winstrol• Street Names– Gym Candy, Roids, Pumpers, Stackers and

Arnolds

Why do people abuse steroids?

• To Improve physical performance

• To gain a competitive edge

• To become stronger• To improve self-esteem• To lose weight, burn fat

and increase muscle

Dangers in Steroid Use

Dangers for Men: Even though anabolic steroids are derived from a male sex hormone, men

who take them may actually experience a "feminization" effect along with a decrease in normal male sexual function (Miller, 1988). Some possible effects include:

• Reduced sperm count• Impotence• Development of breasts • Shrinking of the testicles• Difficulty or pain while urinating• Erectile dysfunction

The Mitchell Report

• Former US Senator George J. Mitchell created a report known as the “Mitchell Report” in 2007.

• It reported the athletes that have used steroids in Major League Baseball

• 89 players was tested positive with steroid abuse.

The Asterisk• is used whenever a

record is broken by a player who has used steroids or Performance-enhancing drugs to differentiate that record from the records of non-steroids users

Punishment in 2002

1st Offense – Counseling2nd Offense – 15 days3rd Offense – 25 days4th Offense – 50 days5th Offense – 1 Year

Punishment in 2008

• 1st Offense – 50 games

• 2nd Offense – 100 games

• 3rd Offense – Lifetime Ban

The Other Side of the Fence: Why Choose Steroids?

• Offensive Production (OPS)Additional annual salary of $2, 085,438

• Players on steroids are able to play more games

• Players on steroids hit more homeruns

• Banning steroids delivers a blow to the nation’s free market economy

Statistics about Adolescents

• Today in America over one million teens use steroids

• Highest adolescent user group consists of high school football players

• Abuse starts as early as the 7th grade• Up to 12% of high school athletes use steroids at

some point• Since 1991, steroid abuse has doubled among

teenagers

References• Baskin, Jon. “Steroids, Baseball, America.” March 2011.

http://www.thepointmag.com/2011/essays/steroids-baseball-america• Eckstein, Robert. “Will Baseball Ever Be The Same.” June. 2007• http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-03-15-steroids-mlb-cover_x.htm• • Feng, Rogers. “Pros and Cons of Steroid Legalization.” 5 April 2009. http://plateautimes.com/articles/182• Jenkins, Chris. “Players Admit Steroids Changed Baseball.” 15 March 2005. • http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-03-15-steroids-mlb-cover_x.htm• • McCallum, Jack. “Steroids in America: The Real Dope.” 11 March 2008.• http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/03/11/steroids1/• • Robinson, David. “The Pros & Cons of Steroids.” Feb. 2011 • http://www.criticalbench.com/pros-cons-steroids.htm• • Schmidt, Michael. “Inside a Tempting World of Easy Steroids.” 11 April 2009. h

ttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/sports/baseball/12steroids.html?pagewanted=all• Williams, Kyle. “Steroids are a Bigger Deal than Baseball.” May 2008. • http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/03/11/steroids1/