Steroids and Sports

¶ … steroids are being used by many athletes, some of who will eventually admit that they used them, and more young boys (teenagers, primarily) are using steroids because there is pressure to be better, stronger, and faster even at a younger age. When the Mitchell Report came out, many big names in sports, such as Mark McGwire, were named as steroid users.

McGwire was one of the athletes who came forward and admitted his mistake, in an effort to be honest with his fans and the people who had supported him as an athlete. He felt conflicted about what he had done, and wanted to come clean. This can happen with athletes, although many of them do not feel any remorse for the problems that they have caused through the use of steroids. They do not realize the ways that the steroids have affected them and those around them.

The changes that they undergo may not be obvious to them, but steroids can cause many biological problems that can be irreversible. These problems can be both mental and physical issues and can result in rage, anxiety, sleeplessness, hallucinations, and damage to the heart and other internal organs, not all of which will resolve when steroid use is discontinued. Strain theory can be used to describe the behavior of many of these users of steroids.

They did not start out interested in drugs or criminality, but they ended up there because of the societal pressures. The pressure to do drugs specifically might not have even been the pressure to which they succumbed. Instead, the pressure to which many of these people succumb is the pressure to fit in and be accepted by their peers, along with the pressure to perform to a certain level.

Their fans want to see them succeed, and they can get so caught up in that support that they will do whatever it takes to see success. It is wonderful to want to impress one's fans, but the reasons behind the desire to impress those fans should be examined. It is also important to consider whether breaking the rules and damaging one's body is worth having people cheer and clap and wear clothing that represents one's team name and/or number.

Strain theory says that social structures and societal pressure people to commit crime. While possession of most steroids is not illegal per se, the use of it in athletic events is against the rules of that event. Even using in the off-season is not permitted, and the players on teams and in individual sports are expected to be drug-free.

The only "drugs" they are allowed to take are those that are legally prescribed for them through legitimate doctors for actual medical problems, and over-the-counter medications for colds, flu, aches, pains, and other concerns. When they consume other drugs, such as steroids, they put themselves at risk for health problems that will be ongoing throughout their lives in many cases. They can also disappoint family, fans, and friends when their drug use comes to light.

They feel like criminals and are often branded as such by the media and by people who formerly supported them. In some cases, the offenses they have committed are actually illegal, criminal, and punishable. In other cases, they are tried and convicted in the court of public opinion, found guilty, and banished from the sport they loved - and that is punishment enough.

Part of the problem with the glorification of athletes such as Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and others is that, if and when those individuals get into trouble for things like steroid use, there are still many fans who feel as though they have done nothing wrong. Often, those fans are young boys who want to be "just like" their idols on the playing field. These young boys many play the same sport, and they may feel very inadequate because they are not able to do what their idols can do.

They may also feel inadequate if they are not progressing toward being better at what they do very quickly. Steroids can become the answer for these boys as they move into their teenage years and find that many of their competitive and athletic classmates already take performance enhancing substances such as testosterone and HGH (human growth hormone). Unfortunately, steroids are quite easy to get. Like most things in life, they can be purchased online without many questions and with very little fanfare.

Because they are acquired so easily, and because "all" of their "idols" use them, it can be very hard for young men to understand the risks and the dangers of using steroids until it is too late for them to save or protect their health and their relationships with others. There is another theory at work in the steroid abuse problems, as well - control theory.

This theory, developed by Reckless in 1973, states that people do what they want to do most at any given time, as opposed to being controlled by stimuli that come from external factors. Social systems that are weak result in behavior that is deviant, however, because people who have strong social controls and systems are better able to deny their urges for what they want most in favor of what they know they "should" be doing as it relates to society and its expectations.

Many young men and teenage boys do not have strong social systems, other than the people who think and act just like them. Those people may encourage them to take steroids, and the boys may want to do it. Therefore, there would be no real "reason" not to take them, because teenage boys generally do not think about things like health consequences or what will happen to their aging bodies in 40 or 50 years if they have spent their young lives ingesting steroids that can harm them mentally and physically.

Most people do not commit deviant acts (such as taking steroids) because their social bonds are strong enough to avoid doing something they actually know to be wrong. For young boys - and even older men - without these kinds of bonds, the idea of doing something deviant may not seem like a real issue.

They do not have the control from others that they would attain if they had stronger social bonds, and they may not have developed the control within themselves to deny what they really want in the face of what society deems acceptable. This is a serious issue today, because drug use of any kind is a real problem in the teen population. With the increased use of steroids in the last few decades, the drug problem is becoming even more serious.

"Roid rage," or the rage that is typically caused (in.