BY BLUE KAUFMAN
Since their existence first plagued athletics, steroids and their usage have come under close scrutiny in the world of sports. Their practice has increased dramatically in recent years, bringing shame and humiliation to athletes everywhere. To fans, it has tainted the sports these athletes once dominated and many have demanded that they be stripped of all their previous medals and awards. However, despite these ethical dilemmas, steroid use continues to soar. With each passing year, we are showered with more scandals, more disappointment, and more frustration. The truth is, there is no end. At this point in the game, whether you reject steroids or accept them is irrelevant. Their usage has now surpassed the control of officials, posing a problem that is no longer about morals. If we are ever to level the playing field once again, steroids must be legalized.
In an aim to be bigger, faster, and stronger, athletes everywhere have turned to performance enhancing drugs to staunch the crushing pressure professional sports now demands. Extravagant plays and broken records are not only something fans crave, but expect. Fifty years ago, it was remarkable for linemen to weigh 250 lbs. Now it’s impossible to find one under 300 lbs. We can keep deluding ourselves and attributing it to it to egg whites and rigorous muscle exercises, but deep down the truth is obvious: It’s steroids. A-rod, Lance Armstrong, and Ben Johnson? They are just a mere fraction of the athletes who use them. They just had the misfortune of being caught. According to mensfitness.org, steroid use has increased 16 % in ages 15-35 and as we transcend into the 21st century, the numbers continue to rise.
That being said, steroids shouldn’t be justified just because everyone’s doing it. Just as there are those who will always take steroids, there will forever be those who won’t. Subsequently, banning steroids is inherently unfair, giving the so called “illegitimate” a significant advantage. The sad truth is the truly talented and spotless athletes will be overshadowed by the Melky Cabrera’s of the world. The fact that sports continue to overlook this is a crime arguably worse than steroids themselves. By abolishing the ban on steroids, athletes wouldn’t be forced to use them, in fact they would be applauded if they didn’t, but this way everything would be out in the open and the playing field finally viewed impartially.
Not only would fairness be restored to all players, but sports would also be played at a much higher level. Athletes would be able to thrive, excel and compete at the height of achievement by adding a desirable essence of excitement to the game. It also makes sense from an economic standpoint. Just look at craze that took place when Barry Bonds was on the brink of breaking the home run record. His tear sparked a frenzy of anticipation that had stadiums sold out and fans lined up outside; yearning to see him break the record.
Still, performance-enhancing drugs stir up skepticism because of the health risks they pose. There has always been this mistaken idea that just because steroids are morally wrong they are also dangerous. However, while there is no such thing as “safe steroid use”, most of these so-called hazards are actually just myths. According to the NY Times, not one death has been directly caused by steroid abuse in the medical community. In fact, Anabolic steroids don’t even make the top 100 list of the classified “most harmful drugs”. (Daily multivitamins and Tylenol were in the top 50). Since a vast majority of people inevitably uses steroids, legalizing them would ironically make them safer. Steroids could be regulated by team physicians, which could substantially lower threats from the dosages athletes, are dubiously obtaining right now.
With the legalization of steroids, legendary athletes like Sammy Sosa would finally be admitted into the hall of fame without the misguided guilt that has peopled feeling obligated to vote no. Of course, in an ideal world, steroids would be all but extinct from athletics. But with an unyielding upward trend, there is simply no going back. For the best interest of players, teams, companies, and fans, steroids and the stringent rules imposed on them need to be altered.
