Jon Wall
College Writing
Informative Essay
8 July 2013
The Effects of Steroids on Athletes
American’s have thrived and lived for the ecstasy of high-level athletics. Americans want to see the unbelievable, the supernatural athleticism that drives up ticket sales and salaries for athletes. But, Americans and the rest of the world do not want to see cheating and winning at all costs. The two concepts cannot go without each other. With out performance-enhancing drugs, the entertainment value of professional and Olympic athletes would be at a low. But, the sacred spirit of the sport and the purity of competition would be destroyed if performance-enhancing drugs become bigger than the sport itself. The equilibrium of purity of competition and the supernatural of performance-enhancing drugs will never exist.
Performance-enhancing drugs have both good and bad affects on the human body, depending on how they are consumed. While the popularity grew by use of steroids on cattle and racehorses, the effects are more extreme for humans. Anabolic and performance enhancing steroid are not to be confused with Cortico steroids. Anabolic steroids build muscles while Cortico steroids slow overactive immune systems and reduce swelling. Anabolic steroids are a synthetic version of testosterone, which is naturally produced, in the human body. The performance-enhancing drugs abused by athletes do have legal medical uses. One example of this is when AIDS patients are given steroids in order to prevent muscle atrophy ("Why Steroids Are Bad for You"). Steroids can also be used to treat delayed puberty or loss of testicular function. It is illegal for doctors to prescribe them for performance-enhancing uses.
The case for performance-enhancing drugs is interesting and provides the opportunity for everyone, regardless of biological predisposition, to have a chance to play a professional sport. Alex Rodriguez has now signed duplicate $250 million dollar contracts...