(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
A hot topic in sports news today is that of performance enhancing drugs. This issue has been a concern of many who either watch or participate in sports.
With growing concern, we as sports fans have seen an influx of investigations, senate probes, and speculative reports of these performance enhancing drugs effect on the sports.
Why is it that many professional athletes have to use drugs to improve there game? Is it the pressure they feel to keep playing the sport? Is it due to expectations of owners and fans alike?
One of the biggest examples of how a player will end up using these types of drugs is the late Lyle Alzado. Alzado played for the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders of the NFL, as a defensive lineman.
In 1992, Alzado died from a brain tumor, which he attributed to his use of anabolic steroids. Alzado weighed only 98 pounds when he died at the age of 43.
Shortly before his death he stated in a Sports Illustrated article, “I started taking anabolic steroids in 1969 and never stopped. It was addicting, mentally addicting. Now I’m sick, and I’m scared. Ninety percent of the athletes I know are on the stuff. We’re not born to be 300 lbs or jump 30 ft. But all the time I was taking steroids, I knew they were making me play better. I became very violent on the field and off it. I did things only crazy people do. Once a guy sideswiped my car and I beat the hell out of him. Now look at me. My hair’s gone, I wobble when I walk and have to hold onto someone for support, and I have trouble remembering things. My last wish? That no one else dies this way.”
In most recent studies the use of performance enhancing drugs has caused concern that this issue will not go away. The NCAA has figures on the records that one percent of all college football players have failed drug tests taken at bowl games, and three percent have admitted using steroids overall.
Steve Courson, another defensive lineman with the Pittsburgh Steelers, admitted to having used steroids prior to his death in 2005. He blamed a heart condition on his use of steroids.
Former Oakland Raider Bill Romanowski admitted on 60 Minutes he took steroids for two years. Romanowski stated, “I took HGH (human growth hormone) for a brief period and…I definitely didn’t receive what I got out of THG.”
In 2006, Shawne Merriman, a linebacker with the San Diego Chargers, failed a drug test and was suspended for four games when his primary “A” sample and backup “B” sample both tested positive for human growth (HGH).
Merriman was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2005 and was a starter in the 2005 Pro Bowl. The incident led to a new rule that forbids a player who tests positive for steroid use from being selected to the Pro Bowl. The rule is commonly known as the "Merriman Rule."
Many players ignored the NFL drug policy, so NFL Players Association Director Gene Upshaw sent out a letter to all NFL players stating, "Over the past few years, we have made a special effort to educate and warn players about the risks involved in the use of "nutritional supplements."
Despite these efforts, several players have been suspended even though their positive test result may have been due to the use of nutritional supplements.
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