Riley Sheahan
Steroids are being used all over the world for personal benefits no matter what the consequences are. Professional athletes are continuously buying their muscles so they can play better on game day. It’s hard to believe how good of a player these athletes are when most of them are all taking growth hormones or steroids to perform better. Today’s day and age this is the new “popular” thing to do. And sadly these are athletes who are making millions a year to play a sport and yet they have to cheat and set a bad example to people who look up to them. In 2012 1.3% of seniors in high school reported they used steroids. While .8% of sophomores admitted and .6% of 8th graders said they used steroids. These percentages are only showing the amount of people who reported and admitted they used steroids. Think about how many people in the world use steroids and keep it to themselves just like the professional athletes try and do.
It’s hard to believe that sports are coming down to cheating and taking the easy way out instead of putting in hard work and getting your strength yourself. For an example, Barry Bonds who was a professional baseball who played his first seven years with the Pittsburgh Pirates and then his last 15 years with San Francisco had a tremendous batting average. According to ESPN, “Barry Bonds has earned 172 million dollars in salary over his career.” Giving someone this much money a year in the first place is ridiculous and second of all, the opportunity cost of taking steroids is getting getting caught and or potentially getting killed. MLB watchers knew something was happening because his performance was incredible, but clearly he got so much attention and brought thousands of dollars money into San Francisco because everyone wanted to see him play and catch his home run balls. Barry Bonds 715th home run ball which got him 2nd on the home run home list was sold for 500,000 dollars on Ebay. According to Profit and Loss, “Revenues have increased from around $65 million in 1992 to about $171 million last season.” As you can see, Barry Bonds got millions of dollars to come into San Francisco because of his performance. This goes along with all the athletes who were on steroids, their performance brings money to the city because everyone wants to see this person perform on game day. And of course, their performance is fascinating which attracts people around the world. Not only is Barry Bonds the “bad guy” who used steroids along with bringing a lot of attraction into the city he plays for, but it’s the fact that citizens look up to these athletes and the opportunity cost is only resulting in something bad for the user of steroids.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljOC0L1Bq8E
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"The 10 Most Notorious Steroid Users in Sports History." Bleacher Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/155381-top-ten-notorious-steroid-users>.
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I don't know why anyone would use steroids. Don't the users read the side affects first? Men's side effects include: Developing breasts, shrinkage of testicles, painful erections, decreased sperm count, heart attacks and becoming infertile.You are putting your life in danger just to get strong. Is the marginal benefit really greater than the marginal cost?
ReplyDeleteI have been very curious about situations such as these that occur in professional athletics. The opportunity cost is suspension, possibility of losing a medal, and loss of sponsors/endorsements. These penalties are not strict enough to prevent athletes from taking performance enhancers. If they already have the money, most athletes could care less about being able to play, because the one’s taking steroids are good enough to come right back after a suspension and start playing. Perhaps a salary penalty could be put into place as a bigger scare factor to prevent the use of steroids.
ReplyDeleteThe usage of steroids is a very debatable topic because some see it as very unethical, but others look at it as a benefit to the team. All sports fans wants their team to do well and some believe that if that means steroids so be it. I agree with Jake, a salary cut should be applied to athletes using steroids, I think this could be an effective way of putting this problem to an end.
ReplyDeleteI personally was actually looking into the use of steroids in high school sports and found that nearly 5% of high school athletes have used steroids to bulk up and to seemingly become the best they can be. I was also curious about all of the side effects of steroids and found that they affect the male sex organs greatly and that steroids are worse than drinking for your liver. As for the penalties to help regulate usage in the majors I agree with Jake, that a suspension isn't enough to stop them from using but a salary cut should be done to help influence players to gain the muscle themselves and not to take the enhancement drugs.
ReplyDeleteSteroids users or cheaters as many call them should be banned from sports forever. They are role models until the truth is exposed. Another instance of cheating the system would be Lance Armstrong being found guilty of blood doping and have all 7 of his tour de France’s (the biggest bike race in the world) taken away. Lance was a role model to so many and his success was unexplainable. I think we can all agree that Steroids are for those athletes that are lazy and want success to come easier. Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds will no longer be remembered for their articles but for cheating. It is truly sad that they can live with themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe cost of using steroids seems like it would push away many great athletes from using it but all they see and can think of is the glory they could receive. That is, as long as they do not get caught using the drugs and the penalties seem to be not worth the use. Not only are steroids bad for you, against the rules, and illegal in many states, they are also taken as performance enhancers that seem to do nothing but get you in trouble. Drug use is taken too lightly nowadays and there needs to be stricter punishment on what happens when someone is using or gets caught with steroids. There is no economic benefit, the cost completely outweighs the utility so I see no good outcome economically of steroids.
ReplyDeleteCertainly steroid use has become a big problem in professional spots and unfortunate is creeping its way down the food chain. Individuals see the benefit of using steroid to be so great, but they fail to see the hidden costs that will come later in life. Like and other black market there is a loss in GDP because of the illegal steroid purchases that could be used to boost the economy. From an individual and economic way of thinking steroid use lacks positive compared to the negative effects.
ReplyDeleteI realize that it's unfair to have steroid users play against non-steroid users, but what do you think about a separate league solely devoted to steroid users? As you mentioned, consumers are willing to pay extreme amounts to watch these super athletes in action. If they players are willing, and the audience is willing, I think it makes sense to put all of those who want to use steroids on their separate team. This would not only weed out the steroid users from the main league, but it would also provide extra revenue for cities with steroid teams.
ReplyDeleteRyan, I believe that devoting a separate league for steroid users would promote use a little too much, plus it's illegal. I doubt it would gain as much support as "legitimate" sports, and children who idolize athletes would be more pressured to drugs because the marginal benefit of being in the same league as their idol would possibly outweigh the marginal cost of negative side affects in their eyes. It could also lead to steroid use in high school, and I highly doubt that they would condone a distinct league for that. Still, besides the point, is it too much of a hassle to do regular drug tests to eliminate this problem? Really.
DeleteAs a kid, I as many other kids do, would often look up to sports heroes and hope to some day be like them. It saddens me that these players believe that they have the right to lie on television to so many people. There are many economic issues related to this problem. The biggest one for example, is in regards to sponsors of players who use steroids. Companies sponsor athletes so that they can set a good example for the company and show what the company is all about. Some of the players at the top of their leagues may receive more money in sponsorships than in salary. When the secret gets out that a certain player has been cheating, they receive a bad reputation, and so does the companies who sponsor those players. With this being the case, companies may waste millions of dollars having sponsored a player that no one likes anymore. This makes sponsoring players a risky business and some companies may try to avoid it, which in turn hurts the economy.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting article! Steroids have become a huge problem in professional athletics and have gotten very popular. I find it very hard to believe that athletes are willing to risk losing all respect and cheating there way to glory instead of earning it the hard way. As fans, we idiolize these players because of the handwork needed to play in the major league, but how can we when steroids are making the game simple?
ReplyDeleteSteroids is just another drug that players want to get addicted to like other illegal drugs. I don't think that people understand or even want to understand that ejecting or inhaling things into ones system can cause more harm then good. There are the exceptions from the things that the DOCs prescribe to us because we went to them with a problem seeking an answer. but to misuse their judgment and advice, is what is causing this corruption in nearly every sport in the world, and it starts with these big time players because kids look up to them as role models, and so as the phrase goes "monkey see, monkey do". kids will do what ever their role model does to get accepted,cheating ones way in is also cheating yourself as well as the people you play with.
ReplyDeleteIn professional sports, the people who make the most money are those who perform the best or those who have a very high amount of natural talent. If you are neither of those things, you have to try and find away to put yourself up there, and more many players that answer is steroids. While they might not seem like a bad idea, these drugs can ruin someones career in an instant. Also its pretty disheartening to see that any students in high school or younger are using steroids.
ReplyDeleteThis article immediately grabbed my attention. It is crazy to think that people use steroids in the first place, let alone high schoolers! I can’t believe that even eighth graders admitted to using this drug. As you pointed out in your article, these players are earning a lot of money just to play the game and bring money into the city. It makes me wonder what would happen if they stopped using steroids. How would that affect our economy? If the players bring in so much money, would it go away if they stopped using? This was a really cool topic because it relates back to everyday life. Great job!
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to morals and values. If having the top athletes in the world setting a bad example by using steroids is what the cities and ultimately the country wants, then we've placed our values in more money and our morals aside. Would it maybe hurt the economy a little if there weren't crazy amazing super stars on these teams regardless of the sport? Possibly, yet possibly not. If these athletes didn't use, those who put in the long hours, the hard work, and do things the way they used to be done when it was all based on skill and hard work, then we'd still have super stars and fans all over would still pay ticket price to see their favorite players. Would there be as many records set and broken? Probably not. Would it set a better example for up and coming athletes headed to the pros? Absolutely. Each generation impacts the next in many more ways than it thinks. I know this is economics we're talking about here and yes these super stars bring in a lot of money, but are our morals and standards that low that money is more important than health and in this case skill and hard work?
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad I read your blog post because I had never thought of steroid use in this way. It's crazy to think how much athletes are paid even before considering factors such as steroid use. I always think of all the hard working people there are in the work force who absolutely hate their jobs. And while they suck it up and receive an average paycheck, professional athletes get to do what they love and are paid significantly more. However, when you take into account the amount of money professional athletes can bring to a city, especially their home town, it can almost balance out. But when they are being paid ridiculous amounts of money it really makes me angry when athletes are caught cheating like that it just isn't fair to those working so hard just to get by.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how much people are willing to cheat while playing a job for a living. It is even more crazy how much these people are getting paid to do all of this with little things to discourage them. Even though MLB might suspend A-Rods pay for a year that is very small compared to the other millions of dollars he has already made. Most of all it is amazing how much medical eventions can be changed so a person can get more millions to play a game.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post it brought new insight on sports has a whole. It's amazing how far people will go just to get most money. Your statistics were the most shocking, I was unaware that "In 2012 1.3% of seniors in high school reported they used steroids. While .8% of sophomores admitted and .6% of 8th graders said they used steroids." It's insane that there are students that are doing steroids, potentially just trying to get into a better college for a sport. Overall this was a really good read, and it's amazing to think that tons of professional athletes are cheating on the day to day basis.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty ridiculous how many people believe that doing steroids is the smart thing to do in order to get ahead of the game these days. I am blown away that teenagers in high school have admitted to using steroids, which is most likely due to the example these professional players are setting. They don't realize that when you get caught, it tarnishes your legacy forever and I don't know how people have recognized that from it happening to other people and why they haven't stopped yet.
ReplyDeleteSome athletes seem to think that taking steroids is their only way of possibly being the best. Some aren't born with the natural raw talent that others are naturally given so they believe steroids are their only way of competing and being great at that level. It obviously isn't fair or right of athletes to be taking steroids, but people also do need to realize the pain and all the work that athletes are putting into their profession. Day in and day out they are living in the weight room or practicing their sport. A lot of athletes once they retire will live their lives forever in pain and suffering so some will take steroids to help deal with their current situations of pain and growth. In the end it is not correct or acceptable, but it would be interesting to hear a professional athlete argue why they did take steroids to see if they had an actual legitimate reason that isn't just wanting to be the best.
ReplyDeleteSteroid use is something that in my opinion ruins sports, when people in sports "cheat" their way to the top or even do it to stay on top it makes a mockery of the game. Sports are so idolized because to be good in a sport it takes dedication, commitment, and a willingness to put your body through a lot of hard work to achieve greatness, what's the point when you can just boost your way there? High school students will obviously try to copy what their sport heroes do because they want to be just like them. When athletes use steroids they don't just hurt themselvs they hurt the game and the fans.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly astounding how much revenue that gets brought into the cities that these athletes that use cheating methods such as steroids, bring in yearly. I mean although cheating is never good either way but, in the view of the economy, it is a plus when so many fans come out to fill the seats and watch the games, why because the tickets they pay for, not only goes towards the stadium, the team, and the city the stadium resides in, but also this the economy itself. What i'm trying to say is, although the usage of steroids isn't good, in a few ways this can be a plus because the entertainment people go to see brings in lots of money.
ReplyDeletePeople who look up to athletes and celebrities instead of people in their lives can not be shocked with the outcome of their lives. Athletes and celebrities can do whatever they want, because of all the money they make. That doesn’t mean people should try to follow in their foot steps. It’s shocking to hear that there are high schoolers and even middle schoolers who use steroids to try to enhance their athletic performance. They are just children who probably just messed up their future growth and development. There’s another opportunity cost that’s in effect. The more steroids they take too so better at sports, the more time it’s going to take for their body to return to “normal.”
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