Essay - Arguing Position Paper Steroids Should not be Used by College...

ARGUING POSITION PAPER

Steroids should not be used by college athletes. Arguably, steroids should not be allowed for any athlete given the health risks involved as well ***** ***** basic unfairness in hav*****g some *****s with an advantage *****cause of steroid use while others are competing entirely on their own strength, power, and ability. At the college level in particular, though, ***** use of steroids is a crutch that ***** not needed, a health hazard that could lead to health problems later in life or even endanger life immediately, and a particular threat to young people who should be competing only as a part of their educational experience ***** not as if they were professionals with no future except in sports.

***** International Olympic Committee banned the use of anabolic steroids ***** 1976, and the American College of Sports Medicine also produced a study in 1984 that examined the ***** ***** anabolic steroids. This study reported that anabolic steroids contributed ***** increased body weight ***** could increase muscular strength in ***** athletes under proper conditions. At the same time, though, the ***** college of Sports Medic*****e condemned the use of *****se drugs, given that anabolic steroid use is associated ***** a variety of toxic effects, from adverse effects on the liver to ***** on ***** male reproductive system (Dyment and Goldberg 127).

Anabolic *****s are still in use by professional ***** and young athletes in high school ***** college as well. The scope of the problem is great. It h***** been estimated ***** over one million Americans, ********** ***** them adolescents, ***** black‑market steroids, while countless others are selecting ***** more than 100 other substances, legal and illegal, offered as physique boosters and per*****mance enhancers. Over half the teens using ***** started before age 16, often with the encour*****ment of ***** p*****nts. Most ***** the 6 to 12 percent of boys who use steroids want to be sports champions, though more than one-third are ***** even on a high‑school te*****m. ***** typical user is middle‑cl*****s and white. F*****ty‑s***** percent of teen users state that they were influenced by the numerous muscle magazines which today have a readership ***** seven million, while 42 percent state that they were influenced by famous athletes whom they were convinced took steroids. The black‑market network for performance enhancers now tops $400 ***** per year in the sale of steroids alone, accord*****g to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Admin*****tration. Government officials estimate that *****re ***** some 10,000 outlets for the ***** in the United States (Schrof 54-55).

Some ***** involve a higher use of steroids than o*****rs. ***** is usually because bulk is an important element in the sport, along with strength. Weight lift*****g is one such *****, ***** it has been estimated that only about one percent of ***** lifters have never used anabolic *****, while another source believes the number is closer to 50 percent. The sport of weight lifting was developed at a time when ***** steroids were an accepted ***** of training. The