Drug Policies of the Four Major Sport Leagues Essay

In many high schools around the country, student athletes are using drugs. “The percent of students that have drunk alcohol is 72.5% while the number of students who have used marijuana is 36.8%” (Report: Nearly Half of High School Students Using Drugs, Alcohol). The students believe that since they are athletes that they do not need to abide by the rules because they feel more superior and that the narcotic will not hurt or affect them. Implementing random drug tests for athletes will create a positive image and not hurt others or themselves. Schools need to have drug tests for student athletes because drugs effect relationships, using drugs have consequences, and lastly they have a major effect on the body.

Baseball is known as America’s pastime and is one of the most popular, respected sports on earth. Since the beginning of the sport, it seemingly advances with technology every year making faster and stronger players. The use of steroids became rampant and spread among players and has carried them away from the true history of the game they play. Controversy still today runs around the sport today about fines, punishments and record breaking. The past two decades of Major League Baseball have been tainted because of the use of performance enhancing drugs, also known as steroids, causing the loss of many fans and the true meaning of America’s favorite sport.

The use of illegal substances is rapidly increasing in the college sports due to the expansion of supplements used by athletes that are being banned. In a study done, athletes were asked if illicit drugs would negatively impact their performance. Majority of them responded “yes”, their main reasoning being; the effects of illicit drugs were both mental and physically damaging. Illicit drugs come in many forms, but the testing procedures are all the same for any substance. There is almost always a consequence with the use of prohibited substances. Drug testing is appropriate to help ensure the safety of student athletes while they participate in intercollegiate contests. (Krotee, M 555).

Rains, B. (2009). Testing Student Athletes for Drugs is Appropriate. In C. Watkins, Sports and Athletes (pp. 192-196). Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

Secondly, it sets the testing policy for every MLB player. It calls for one random test during each offseason, random testing for selected players, with no maximum number, and during season play (Spring Training through the Regular Season) all players will be tested randomly at unannounced times for steroid use. The number of tests and who gets tested for anabolic steroids is determined by the HPAC. The HPAC is made up four people, one attorney from the union, one attorney from the MLB, and two medical representatives selected by both sides. During the testing, players are asked to wash and dry their hands and urinate into three specimen cups. The player urinates and carries the sample to the processing table under supervision from the collector. When the results comeback anything will be considered positive if any substance identified is on the list of banned substances, a player refuses to take the test, or if a player attempts to substitute or change the specimen.

Performance enhancers are very prominent in professional sports today. A lot of players are facing suspensions and other penalties for using them. The sport that gets scrutinized the most for this is Baseball. Many former users in the MLB (or formally the NABBP) have come out saying that they were using these drugs while playing. Some of these players are Jorge Sosa, Antonio Bastardo, and the famous Alex Rodriguez. Although these drugs have been prohibited, players are still finding ways around the tests which is why in some other countries they are legal so that no one player can have an unfair advantage.

More muscles, more money? The bigger you are, the bigger the lies? Drug testing in sports is a significant issue, even though people don’t take it as serious as they should. This happens because players in sports either don’t have knowledge about steroids, or they feel the need to make themselves look bigger. The problem is when they do take this drug, the players get away with it, and become better than everyone else. That’s why I think drug testing should alter their way of testing to make the games even.

Players are now tested randomly for performance-enhancing drugs. On January 10, 2013 MLB and the players union reached an agreement to add random in-season human growth hormone testing (Weber, 2014). A first failed test results in a 50 game suspension, a second is 100 games, and a third is a lifetime ban. This is real proof that the MLB truly realizes that this is a problem, because just 10 years ago they started to test the players. Ten years ago the penalty for testing positive was far less severe. For instance a player’s first offense of testing positive for performance enhancers was just a 10 day suspension that’s not even games its days, basically a slap on the wrist. The second offense of testing positive was a 30 day suspension. The third offense was a 60 day suspension, and finally the fourth failed drug test is a one year suspension (Weber, 2014). Many people criticize the testing program. They say that it is not accurate enough and very easy to dodge. Especially now with the emergence of (HGH) human growth hormone you can only get caught if you take your injection within two

However the spotlight that steroids find themselves in are in professional sports, mainly Major League Baseball. Steroids have been an on-going issue with Major League Baseball. The MLB has been tainted in one way or another since the game began. However, now the game has been tainted with drugs that are giving some players an advantage over others. These players are also taking risks with drugs because they are constantly trying to attain a drug that does not get detected when they get drug tests. The MLB should outsource their drug testing policies to an independent organization like the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest between players and the MLB. In 1994-95, the MLB suffered a strike that resulted in the cancellation of the post season. Afterwards, fans were deterred from the sport. So in 1998,

In recent years the number of athletes caught using drugs has increased dramatically. The use of a illegal or unprescribed drugs can cause serious problems and unfairness in many ways. Certain drugs can cause harm to the user and the people around the user, most student athletes do not even know what they are putting into their bodies. With all the risks many persons propose student athletes to be drug tested at random.

Baseball: MLB added random drug test in 2001, then on June 8, 2002 a meeting was held before the all-star game about the random drug test they was giving two teams. June 18, same year the MLB committee was involved in a strict drug testing policy and with the drug testing period many players was caught using some type of PED. This testing process consists of a collections of urine was giving to an organization called WADA. After these events even the training camps had drug testing before the real season, MLB has the highest caught player rate than any other sport. MLB has really cracked down on the use of PED but often still catch players in the act of using these drugs to have a great year. In Major League Baseball, 47 players have been

Did you know that there are many pro athletes participating in sports today that are getting away with drug use. In fact it is estimated that 95% of players in the NFL use a performance enhancing drug such as Steroids.

A good thing however could be that by using the sports industry to research medicine, we might

According to Dr. Charles E. Yesalis, a professor health and human development at Penn St. University, "drug use among athletes has gone dramatically up in recent years. Athletes also are becoming more venturesome about mixing different types of drugs. One reason is that new drugs keep coming on the market, and some turn out to be of help in giving athletes a competitive edge. Sports officials feel they have no choice but to try to combat drug use in sports with every legitimate weapon at their command. They are motivated in part by concern for athletes' well being. Most performance-enhancing agents have side effects that can pose an immediate or long-range threat to health. But the officials are driven by self-interest too. If the public perceive major sports to be hopelessly drug-ridden, attendance and television viewership is likely to plummet. And thatcould lead to financial ruin for athletes and promoters alike. The monetary stakes are higher today than ever before. Many of the top athletes damned very high salaries, and a select few demand huge additional sums for product endorsement. Pro team owners, meanwhile, are constantly scrambling for more income from broadcasting and other sources to meet their massive payrolls and still turn a profit. A series of drug scandals might well cause media outlets and corporate sponsors

Marijuana is believed to be the, “gateway drug”, and may be linked to other substance abuse disorders such as alcohol, nicotine, and other drug addiction. Some people believe that medical marijuana may help patients with pain, when prescribed pharmaceutical medications cannot. Medical marijuana may be purchased from a regulated dispensary in states that have legalized the use. The NFL has a strict policy regarding marijuana use, and restricts the use. The NFL is a very dangerous sport, and players incur many injuries throughout a season. Violent collisions can cause players to have permanent injuries, constant migraines and headaches, and brain damage. The NFL Players Association is working with the NFL to reconsider the current regulations and policies pertaining to marijuana. The NFL is participating in the study of potential use of marijuana for pain management of players. There may be positive effects of marijuana use, but there are negative effects also. The drug is illegal in many states, and long term health issues may result from use of the drug. The NFL should not change their policy restricting the use of marijuana, due to the possibility of the drug causing further health issues.