UFC And MMA: Steroid Issue

In every sport, there has always been a desire to win. Some athletes will do anything to make winning possible. Every elite athlete wants to be better than their opponent. Some rely on performance enhancing drugs, also known as PED’s, to improve their game. This topic is very important because it can be the difference between winning and losing. Winning can mean money, fame and a place in history. I believe athletes should not use PED’s in sports because it is an unfair advantage, health risk, bad role modeling, bad sportsmanship, and results in tainted records and awards.

The competitive drive to win at all cost is fierce among athletes. Winning at all cost often includes using one of many performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids. Many athletes use performance enhancing drugs, like steroids, to achieve higher goals and set higher records than other drug-free successful athletes. Although athletes are performing at higher levels when using such drugs, what is the cost? Finally anabolic steroids should remain banned from sports because their use results in many harmful side effects; because their use violates sports regulations, and because their use can cause death.

Alistar Overeem is a successful controversial UFC fighter that will be spoken further in this essay. UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship and it's based on mixed martial arts fight that is happening in a small arena called

What exactly are Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs)? PEDs are defined as the use of a blood or drug product designed to improve one’s athletic performance. There is a vast range of controversy when considering this topic. The main conflict includes whether or not the drugs should be legalized. Athletes have been using forms of PEDs since the early medieval era. In forms of potions, herbs, and specific meals designed to “boost” their performance. However it wasn’t until the late 19th century, when the so-called “drugs” began to industrialize into a well-known product. The use of PEDs is an issue that cuts across all sports, regardless of tradition or technology. However, we

People state that steroids shouldn't be used and the act of doping should remain illegal because studies in the past have shown that there are negative effects. Trouble sleeping, decreased appetite, and mood swings are just some of the short term results of using anabolic steroids and long term effects include fertility issues, heart problems, strokes, and high blood pressure. (Cadwallader, 2010) Cadwallader is a British pharmacist who wrote a book about the abuse of diuretics as performance-enhancing drugs and masking agents in sport doping called British Journal Of Pharmacology. He is not biased because he is stating the facts of the effects of taking steroids. There are also people who think the use of performance enhancing drugs should not be legalized because it gives the players unfair advantages. In September of 2007, cyclist Floyd Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title and tested positive for synthetic testosterone. This is a form of testosterone produced in factories to stimulate the strength of an individual. (Koh, 2016) Koh is a writer for the CNN website sports section and he used to play third base in the minor leagues. He is biased about this subject because he has played professional sports and he has interacted and played with a variety of steroid users who did not get caught and had their games boosted very much. Another example is the USA Olympic sprinter Justin Gatlin who took performance-enhancing drugs to enhance his

The use of PED’s has many different effects on the body and mind of a person. They can be used to improve the ability, or strength of an athlete but can also be dangerous. There are many types of drugs that people use to get an edge over there opponents.

Over the past century using steroids or performance enhancing drugs has been a massive issue in today’s athletic society. Using steroids is unfair to athletes and their fans, because it gives certain sportsman an unfair advantage. Some athletes try to win at all costs even if sometimes that cost is there career, achievements, and even there lifes.

“…medical researchers believe that between 1 and 3 million youths and adults have taken anabolic steroids in one form or another specifically to enhance their looks or athletic performances,” stated Nuwer (Nuwer, 61). As astounding as these figures are, the number of performance drug users is steadily increasing. With this progressively increasing numbers, it is projected that millions more will use steroids in the immediate future (Newer, 61). Athletes have always sought an advantage in competition even if ignoring the law and their health if necessary. Using drugs of any sort to facilitate an athlete’s athletic ability should be illegal. The use of performance enhancing drugs is not only detrimental to the user but it also creates an

     Many athletes feel like they have to take steroids to keep up with everyone else and be competitive. ?If you don?t, you weren?t as strong as everyone else, you weren?t as fast as everybody else,? stated Jim Haslett in an interview with Sam Farmer of the LA Times. Haslett, now coach of the New Orleans Saints and former linebacker for the Buffalo Bills, goes on to say, ?That?s the only reason to do it. Everybody?s looking for that competitive edge? (Farmer 1). Aside from professional sports, many high school and college athletes feel the pressure to take steroids to gain an edge. They feel like they won?t be able to perform at the next level without steroids. All many young athlete have to do is look at today?s sports stars to see the size, strength, and speed it takes to be a successful professional athlete. Unfortunately, most of the athletes that the young people are looking at have taken or are currently taking steroids. It is then only rational for kids to think that if they are going to be the best, they need steroids too. Only the best of the best in professional sports get the biggest contract, the top agent, the covers of the magazines, and, seemingly above all, the priciest paycheck. Many athletes feel like they can only lift so much and run so hard until they can?t get any

Although most sports outlaw steroids, the WWE has had many people die from steroid related problems. Over 100 wrestlers in the past 80 years have died from causes that can be linked to steroids, mostly retired wrestlers. ( “Wrestling Book”) People often die from steroid overdoses. Overdoses can cause high blood pressure, and serious liver damage. When you overdose on steroids you are at an enormous risk for a heart attack. If steroids were to become legal, suicides numbers would go through the roof. Steroids don’t just mess with your physical opinion, it messes with the chemicals in your brain. People who use steroids will feel withdrawl, and often be depressed with many mood swings. That is where the steroid stereotype comes from. If you use steroids long enough, it will become hard to function in your everyday

In the days when steroids were only being used by body builders and professional wrestlers, stories about performance enhancing drugs could only be found on the back pages of the newspapers. When former Oakland Raiders All-Pro Lyle Alzado admitted to steroid use in a 1991 Sports Illustrated article the whispers about what professional athletes were using steroids began to get louder. (Puma, 2005) Finally, in 2002, when Caminiti, a former MVP, came clean, two things were clear; athletes in all sports were using these drugs, and that they worked. The fact that steroid use had permeated our national pastime combined with the media explosion of the internet and 24 hour a day sports talk created a perfect storm which created the biggest sports story of the new millennium so far. However, two other facts remained clear, performance enhancing drugs were old news, and athletes in all sports from all over the world had been using them for years.

Thesis : The history of steroids, the affects of steroids on the human body, steroids in sports, and reasons why people use steroids, are all things I 've wanted to know for a long time now I am going to further my knowledge on this topic.

The sports world is filled with endless competition with everyone trying to be the absolute best, so is greatness worth risking their own life? With the constant push from coaches, family members, fans, and even themselves, it is no wonder that athletes sometimes experiment with performance enhancers. There are many different types of Performance Enhancing Drugs, and each kind has different effects on the human body. There are many different categories of Performance Enhancing Drugs, a few include; Anabolic steroids which unnaturally build muscle at a much more rapid rate, Stimulants which can improve athletic performance and endurance while decreasing fatigue, and Painkillers which can allow an athlete to perform

In the article, “Performance Enhancing Drugs, Paternalism, Meritocracy, and Harm to Sports” by Nicholas Dixon, argues that PED 's should remain banned due to the many different medical risks one could develop when taking drugs mostly, anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids might be the most popular performance-enhancing drugs out there today, but most definitely isn 't the only one being used. There are many medical problems associated with these types of steroids, “they include heart disease, cancer, or other damage to the liver, and damage to both males ' and females ' reproductive system” (Dixon, 247). Anabolic steroids affect an athlete both mentally and physically. The psychological damage one may have is an increased aggressiveness and sexual appetite, sometimes resulting in abnormal

Abstract:  With the increase of competition has also come the need to become bigger and stronger than the opponent.  The use of steroids among athletes has caused the focus of the game to change.  No longer does an athlete want to win by doing their best, but they want to become bigger and have an advantage over the opponent.  Ultimately, all athletes feel that they need to use performance-enhancing drugs to compete at the same level. Despite all of the warnings and information on performance-enhancing drugs, athletes continue to use them and overlook the potential health risks associated with steroids.