Competitive sports have been around for thousands of years. For as long as humans have been able to count, we’ve been keeping track of points in competitive sports. They are a means by which humankind tests and measures the boundaries of personal excellence and performance.
True to human nature, whenever humans compete, there is inevitably one or more of them who feel such a strong “need” to win that they will do anything — even cheat — to do so.
I would define cheating in competition as when anything gives one competitor an unfair advantage over another in an activity where all competitors are supposed to be on an equal playing field and subject only to the benefits or constraints of their personal abilities. The use of anabolic steroids in competitive sports circumvents that balance and could therefore be defined as cheating.
Under the Controlled Substances Act, anabolic steroids are defined as any drug or hormonal substance chemically and pharmacologically related to testosterone (excluding estrogens, progestins and corticosteroids) that promotes muscle growth. In the United States, anabolic steroids are currently listed as Schedule III controlled substances under the Act, which makes the possession or use of such substances without a prescription a federal crime with punishments ranging from hefty fines to a maximum 10-year imprisonment in some states.
Anabolic steroids are currently banned by all major sports bodies including the Olympics, the NBA, NHL and NFL. Athletes in these sports who are found to have used steroids in competition can be barred from future competition in their sport, have previously earned honors and awards taken away and be fined or subjected to public disgrace.
The short- and long-term side effects of steroids can be devastating to their users. I have a friend who used steroids in high school sports and will suffer permanent health problems because of just a few years’ use. Some side effects of steroids include water retention, acne, cardiovascular disease, impotence, sterility, organ disease and failure, high cholesterol, hypertension, baldness and “roid rage” or increased anxiety and anger. Steroid use can also result in death, possibly even from just one use.
Worse yet, recent studies indicate that steroids are potentially addictive. In addition, steroid use is not limited to human sports, either. Sports involving animals have incidences of steroid use too — including bull riding, horse racing and others. Not only is our societal need to win negatively affecting humans, we’re pushing our misplaced focus on winning to animal athletes at their detriment too.
“Most people use anabolic steroids to enhance their physical performance, but they deny that steroids may be addictive,” said steroid researcher Ruth Wood, professor of cell and neurobiology at the University of South California who recently conducted a study on the potential addictive properties of anabolic-androgenic steroid use in humans and animals. “Coaches and athletes need to be aware of this potential and add it to the list of dangers associated with using anabolic steroids.”
So, if athletes know the health and career dangers associated with steroid use, why would they use steroids? The same reasons most people do dumb things and break the law: fame, success and money.
The professional sports industry is estimated to earn more than $200 billion per year. Athletes who perform well and win often have the potential to earn millions.
American society rewards winners in competition. We place so much emphasis on winning that the original purpose of sport — enjoyable competition to test human achievement and potential — has largely become immaterial. We have no one to blame for this but our competitive selves.
What we need to ask ourselves is how many more doping scandals, Olympic medal-strippings and disbarments from competition are we willing to tolerate before we, as sports fans, convey to our athletes that we want to see what they can do, not what their juice can do.
I would like to advocate a paradigm shift in regard to how America views competitive sports, from a “winning is everything” to “fair competition is the only thing” mentality. Winning is important-but not at any cost. If America shifted its emphasis from a “winning-no-matter-what” to a “winning-with-integrity-in-fair-competition” mindset, we would likely see steroid use greatly decline in most sports and at most levels of sport. There will always be those who feel the need to cheat because they believe they can’t win of their own accord. With a paradigm shift by sports fans, these athletes could become rare exceptions we only hear about once in a while in the news — instead of being the every-other-day stories that seem to have taken over sports reporting lately. Instead of asking, “Who’s juiced today?” we could be asking, “Who won fairly today?”
Steroids have no place in competitive sports. They are harmful to human and animal athletes alike and they would not be so prevalent if America focused on sports as a competitive activity instead of sports as a winning-obsessed multi-billion dollar industry.
Please, examine the reasons you watch and enjoy sports. Is it truly all about winning and performance, or do you desire as I do to enjoy watching a leisure activity that tests the boundaries of human excellence and achievement? The future of sports, including the example we set for children who watch and play sports, depends upon us.
