Properly used, steroids are a class of drugs that can be extremely helpful in the treatment of certain types of injuries and medical conditions. The problem is not that steroids are bad. The problem is the misuse of steroids, which is drug abuse, in the same class as crack or meth.

In the cases of motorcycle racing, boxing, and playing football, the chance of injury is in the nature of the specific competition. If you love playing football and decide to play, you are also accepting the risk that you will get all smashed up and concussed. The difference between steroids and the inherent dangers of sports is that the harmful effects of steroids aren’t inherent in sports. If you want to play a sport, you acknowledge the risks, but you shouldn’t have to accept steroids as part of the dangers.

In highly competitive events such as the Olympics or Major League Baseball, there may be people willing to harm their bodies in exchange for the edge given by steroids. By doing this they are putting a competitive pressure on people who still wish to compete, but don’t want to use steroids. This is where the unfairness lies.

If someone wants to set up a new game called ‘steroid abusing’, then the use of steroids can be allowed because the dangers of steroids are inherent in its nature. If someone wanted to play that game, they would accept the risk of steroids, and that would be alright.

So, the issue here is not whether or not steroids themselves are safe or legal or good or bad, it’s whether or not an athlete has a right to compete without them. I think that if steroids are allowed, the option to not use them and remain competitive is taken away.

Yes, steroids are bad in about all aspects of life. The harmful effects of using steriods are well known throghout the health field and they carry a great risk for any person willing to take them. Why not let some athletes choose whether or not to take them some may ask. An obvious answer to this question would be that in order to gain the best possible advantage, one would have to take their own life into danger by taking steriods. This would take the skill factor out of sports and also many would feel the joy of playing would be taken out as well. Also, for an athlete to be the best or gain the best possible chance of winning, they would have to seriously risk long term health benefits. The outcomes of athletic events should be determined on skill level and the amount of practice and hard work a team or individual is born with or worked hard to obtain, not by those who are willing to risk their future health by taking steriods to gain an advantage.

Steroids have thier pros and cons. People use steroids for many health related problems. Only when they are misused are they bad.

Athletes use steroids to enhance their performance. Athletes also drink gatorade and wear cleats to enhance their performance. Steroids just happen to be mind altering and that’s where their downfall is. But taken properly in small doses they don’t mess with your head. So yes, steroids should be allowed in sports. And about letting indiviual athletes take risks…we let people do risky things all the time, contact sports, extreme sports. Drinking alcohol is more dangerous than pot. Why shouldn’t we be allowed to smoke?

Steroids arnt bad if needed medically, but for sports, that’s a story. Morals and ethics, that’s the main arguments about sports and streroids. For one, steroids do mess with the natural balance of sports; the purpose of sports (back in ancient greece) was to compete with their god-given abilities. In the spirit of sports, athletes compete with their given abilities, unaltered by medicine.

Gatorade isn’t cheating because all it has in the liquid is minerals and water which is harnessed in the body natrually. Food isnt cheating because it is nessesary for our survival. Steriods only manipulate the body to focus on development muscle – do you see the problem here:

GATORADE AND PROTIENS ONLY REPLENISH VITAL ORGAN FUNCTIONS!

STEROIDS (to a healthy normal person) ISNT NESSESARY FOR SURVIVAL!!!!!!!!

My point:

Steroids isn’t bad if used in moderation for ailments that medically accepted

Steroids is bad for sports because it defeats the purpose!

Though, it would be interesting to see a streoid competition of power lifting; wouldn’t mind seeing the the pinical of strength of a preformance-enhanced individual!!!!!!

I feel as though steroids are so dangerous especially if they aren’t used and monitored properly. The added althletic benefit from steroids isn’t worth risking the lives of those taking them. It’s nice to see those athletes that stand on their natural talent and intelligence perform well. It gives the credit to the athlete and not to the steroid use.

i would like to pose myself as a guinnea pig for all the arguments prior and to all to come- i am 18. i personally used human growth hormone for about 8 years from age 5 to about age 13. i used them medically to fix a defiency in my natural production of the hormone. it was not vital to my survival. i did not use it for performance enhancement. i used it to grow taller though you wouldn’t know that by my current height(about 5’2” if you were wondering). this steriod does not to my knowledge cause “roid rage” which i think is what brian ment by mind altering. could my use of this steriod for so long have made me more athletic? i’m not sure on that myself. i’m trying to cover all bases but if anyone wants more details just ask.

I have used Steroids to help me regain my strength. This is when I had a health problem and my Doctor prescribed me to use it.
So yeah, Steriod is not bad as long as you have medical reasons to back it up.

The real argument with the use of steroids is not the “possible” health effect of steroids, which there have been numerous studies done that can conclude that the proper use of steroids and not abuse can cause significant muscle growth and recovery, but is using steroids cheating? Here is my argument, if steroids are considered cheating then what would you call a person who hires a personal trainer and spends infinate amount of money on sports supplementation. Is that person not at an advantage over the person that cannot afford to spend that kind of money? That would create just as unfair playing field as a person using steroids as opposed to the person that did not.

you should stop using steriods i heared they killed a wwe chamption he got crazy and killed his family then him self thats why steriods ARE BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!

I think the fans have a desire to see genuine ability and not something artificial. We like to see ordinary people do extraordinary things. If the players’ supercharged ability comes from a substance and not from within themselves, what is so special about that? Why watch it?

Steroids should not be banned in fact they should be incouraged to a certain extent because lets face it when players are jucing up the game is more exciting like in 98’ when McGwire and Sosa were in the home run chase. Both more than likely were using steroids and at the same time the are credited for saving the game. So as long as players dont abuse the drug it is fine with me.

I know pressure is put on athletes for superior performance. I also realize in doses there are cases where steriods are used. My concern is for the people using anabolic steriods. I have heard so many horror stories about the users of steriods. Take Robert Hazelton for exapmle. He’s a former heavyweight champ. Today he can’t walk because of steriods. He has had dozens of surgeries and they had to take his legs. All because of steriods. These bans on steriods are for the athlete’s safety!

Unfortunatly to some people, steroids are still oblivious and are looked over, and we let people use them with-out much question. Society loves sports and is a big part of life today but people dont tend to look the other way when it becomes dangerous.

Personally I feel that Anabolic Steroids carry no more risk of long term side affects than other chemicals and tokins that we are legally allowed to put into our bodies, with no restrictions. If I so choose I can smoke a carton of cigarrets, drink 2 cases of beer and a gallon of wiskey a day for as long as I choose. What are the long term affects of these? Why are they not class 3 substances?

I can argue many of the above posts all day long as many of you are misinformed when it comes to steroids. Even are medical field cant tell you with absolute certainty what the long term affects of steroid use are. Did you watch the videos of Dr. Bailes? How often did he use the phrase “we think” There really hasnt been any intense studies done. It’s all speculation. I hear that Joe Blow wrestler did what he did because of steroids, nevermind all the trauma the he incured to his head all those years, nevermind the pain killers he was most likely using.

But thats it, I gave my 2 pennies now all of you run off and get a couple of big macs and wash it down with a jug of wiskey and smoke your cigarette when your done. Oh by the way keep an eye on your heart and liver it might need some attention after few years of the above regimen.

Obviously excepting the legitimate medically prescribed necessity (to address many true medical crises) of taking steroids, it is extremely harmful for an individual to take steroids to enhance his/her athletic performance. Just like everything else in life—quick rewards are often negated by long-term damage to health and well-being. There are so many examples of shortened life spans (as a result of taking steroids) from Lyle Alzado to many other athletes. And it is extremely hypocritical now for Americans to equivocate on the issue of (nonmedically required) steroid usage. For decades our government condemned the East Germans and Soviets for allowing their athletes to take controlled substances to improve their Olympic level performances. Now, many American leaders and media are increasingly shown giving young people the message of “be careful not to get caught if you take steroids” or “steroids are acceptable in some sports like football.” Americans wonder why we are facing moral bankruptcy in our society—part of the answer is officialdom’s acceptance of or acknowledgement that steroid taking is inevitable. But it goes further than that. Everytime we watch an athletic contest the analysts and commentators dilute right and wrong (and thus have a negative impact on young American viewers) by routinely making comments like, “the official missed that unsportsmanlike penalty—if he doesn’t see it it didn’t happen” or “make sure you get your punch/shot into your opponent’s face while the official is looking the other way” or my favorite “hurry up and run your play before the official realizes his mistake on that last penalty” or “hurry up and run a play before the opposing coach can throw the red challenge flag” (in other words cheating is acceptable and better yet a great strategy as long as you get away with it). Taking steroids is not only BAD but it is an example of the “win at any cost” zero-sum, enjoy the rewards and worry-about-the-consequences later mindset of not just our nation but many others in the world. Unfortunately this antequated world view/mindset not only is rubber stamped in the world of athletic competition but is also part and parcel of how many people (Americans and countless others) see the world (through a warped lense). Steroid use is just another symptom of the apparent decline of our civilization. But, with the glass half full, there is always the possibility that these trends can be halted or even reversed as has happened in the past.

I think that steriods are bad for the athletes that play in sports due to the problems in the long run of their life .

The simple fact is this less people die from steriods than people dying in wrecks jobs and from serial killers etc if we are so concerned with this issue why aren’t we as concerned with the above listed issues people get longer jail time for roid use than molesting children so where are our priorities u tell me

STEROIDS ARE GOOD FOR USING BECAUSE WE SEE THEM WITH BETTER PEFORMANCE =)