Steroids In Sports Research Paper

The NFL suspends its players without pay for any use of illegal substances based on the number of offenses and the suspensions are four games, eight games, and one full season suspension (Dolich, 2013). Each league has improved its policies in recent years, but the support for increased and better testing continues to grow. The MLB can require players to provide blood samples and the NFL had talks of taking blood samples during training camp in order to test for Human Growth Hormone (HGH), but the NBA and NHL have not applied these procedures in their programs (Calcaterra, 2013).

The MLB released the following statement explaining the extended suspension of Rodriguez. “For use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing drugs substances, including Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years. For attempting to cover-up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioners suspension.” Rodriguez announced that he would continue his appeal.

There are many ways you could get suspended from the sports you play. Most athletes crave to get better by taking drugs. These drugs help the athletes overall performance ability or just

Major corporation's require drug tests for people applying for a job position. This is a good way for companies to make sure they don't hire employees with substance abuse problems. Hiring people with substance abuse problems is common in the NFL. This is concerning because the NFL requires a drug test for all players entering the league. Collegiate players entering the draft are tested before they can become eligible for the NFL. If a person applying for a corporate position gets caught with drugs in his system, they will be dismissed

In November of 2005, the Major League Baseball commissioner at the time, Bud Selig, finally got the tougher drug policy that he had been asking for. The process was expedited when Congress demanded the policy be strengthened. A failed steroid test would result in much more than merely missing a week of baseball.

In 2014 the famous baseball player Alex Rodriguez was suspended for the season due to testing positive for using performance-enhancing drugs. The Yankees star continuously denied any allegations connecting him with the steroids but eventually claimed to be using products from a bio anti aging clinic in order to treat an injury. According to an article written by Allen St. John, “he has tested positive for both Primobolan and excess testosterone” (St. John, 2009). Eventually, Alex confessed to using steroids to avoid any more persecution and in hope that it might save how people viewed his career. Over the course of the situation Alex Rodriguez chose to handle the situation in a manner he deemed would conceal the truth from everyone. This in turn may cause a great deal of baseball fans to question his contribution to the sport as they further learn the details about his extensive use of steroids over the course of recent history.

In Major League Baseball, the new commissioner, Rob Manford, has tackled the problem of PED’s by regulating suspensions. According to MLB.com, All players are required to take these drug test and if they fail to corporate they get a heavily fine. Also mentioned is, there are 3 suspensions that a player is able to get, the first offense being a 80 game suspension, the second one being a 162 or entire season(including postseason), and the final offense resulting in a life time ban from the MLB. All these suspensions result in a no pay during the period of the suspension, as well as no team related contact with the organization the player is in. Even with these strict rules MLB players are still getting caught, as most recently Pitspurg Pirates start centerfielder, Starling Marte was caught this April 2017, and is now serving his 80 game suspension. It is said that out of all the major sports, MLB has the most strict regulations on steroids. Now lets move on to the NFL, who also has a strict regulation but hardly enforces them. NFL is a little more linnet when it comes to the suspensions, as according to NFL.com, players are allowed 3 offenses, the first offense can range up to 6 games, the second one being an automatic 10 games, and the final offense resulting in a minimum of 2 years banned from the NFL. As you see, NFL players don't get as penalized as MLB players do, so you

“All Athletes should report to the locker room for your Drug Testing”! Why should all athletes be drug tested? Well, it’s very simple - it makes the sport fair and not only that the athlete should remind his/her self that they need to have eligibility to play their sport. Because without that the player won’t be able to play or practice with their team sometimes they can’t even talk to there own teammates. For example Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Josh Gordon failed his drug test and wasn’t able to play or practice for the entire 2015 NFL season. This example proves that all athletes should be healthy and follow the team's protocol, so they don’t have to deal with not playing the sport they love. So with that being said, All Athletes, should think twice before they do drugs because if not that player will suffer severe consequences of not playing or practicing with their team.

For decades there has been use of illegal performance enhancing drugs such as steroids and other substances by Major League Baseball players, the use of such substances are in violation of federal law and baseball policies. (Mitchell, 2007) Players who have used such illegal substances range from pitchers and position players who careers were short lived to Baseball Hall of Famers. Club owners regularly discussed the possibility of such substance use when evaluating players; the response was slow and was initially ineffective.

     In my opinion, the initial reason a person starts to play any sport is to either to have fun or mainly to emulate their favorite sports figures. So many kids want to swing a bat like Barry Bonds, or rush the football like Jamal Lewis, or play soccer like Pelle’. When I was younger, I wanted to tackle like Lawrence Taylor. Since these children like to do what they see their role models do, what happens if they find out that their favorite person boosts his skills by using illegal substances? Since there are a lot of impressionable minds out there, some of those little fans may be swayed to do the same when they get the chance to. Steroids are addictive, just like marijuana or other illegal

As outlined in the collective bargaining agreement between the players’ union and the NBA, players are suspended by the league for five games as the mandated punishment for a third positive marijuana test and not an HGH or performance-enhancing-drug violation.

Apathy, impaired judgment, loss of ambition, and an inability to carry out long-term plans characterize the motivational syndrome. Just like steroid abuse has its consequences and disciplinary actions so does marijuana abuse. Marijuana also has the same three testing methods as steroids have: reasonable cause, first-year, and veteran. For a first offense of marijuana possession or use, the player will be required to enter the substance abuse program with no suspension or fine. On a second offense, the player will be fined $15,000 and be required to re-enter the program. A third offense will result in a five game suspension and another entry into the program. Any further abuse of marijuana will not result in any disqualification from the National Basketball Association but a further suspension will be prearranged.

“Roughly 100 players tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003, the first year of testing.” (Tomase par 2) Of those 100 names that tested positive, one very important name that sticks out is Barry Bonds. Barry Bonds is the all-time leading home run hitter with 762 home runs. “Bonds is charged with 10 counts of making false declarations to a grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice.” (“Bonds’ personal trainer” S03) Greg Anderson was his personal trainer who collected urine samples from Bonds. “After spending a year in jail, Anderson is considered a vital witness for the government as it tries to prove Bonds lied to a grand jury investigating steroid use by athletes.” (“Bonds’ personal trainer” S03) Another big name on that list is former league most valuable player Alex Rodriguez who is arguably the best player in baseball the past couple seasons. He tested positive for two different anabolic steroids. “The mentality of needing to hit a 3-run homer with nobody on base. It’s that pressure that drove him to experiment with banned substances.” (Roberts and Epstein par. 3) Alex Rodriguez says “I felt like I had all the weight in the world on top of me and I needed to perform and perform at a high level everyday.” (qtd. in Roberts and Epstein par. 5)

The Olympics, the World Cup, Wimbledon, the World Series, the Final Four, March Madness-all of these events draw in thousands of diverse people, worldwide every year. But what are these crowds there for? The athletes. Pro, semi-pro, and collegiate athletes unite sports enthusiasts that have a common passion for competition. However, watching and participating in these heart-pounding and lively displays of athleticism are not always as unified as they appear. Two sides emerge when one concept is mentioned: should athletes be tested and punished for recreational drug use. Due to the fact that testing and punishment are two different areas of this debate, this paper will only be focusing on the former, punishment, in order to narrow the focus

Since the first major case of Butch Reynolds, it has widely impacted professional baseball players throughout the years. “In 2005, Major League Baseball introduced a new, stricter drug policy that significantly increased the severity of penalties for steroid and amphetamine use, signaling the end of the so-called "steroids”.