Blog #5

I have seen this video before, I have written a short paper on steroid use in the U.S. before, and I think that it is a personal choice to use steroids and to know the risks if you have to use them. This video is interesting because it shows actual people who have been using them for years and who do not have any negative side effects. The news always talks about steroids in general but we almost never hardly see actual people who used them irresponsibly. However, every once in awhile there are those faces that make the news for essentially overusing steroids. I think this program failed to address those people, or maybe if they had talked to those families and shown their opinions, they would have a stronger argument for showing both sides of this conflict.

Even though I think steroid use is a personal choice I think different rules apply to athletes. If someone is participating in a sport, they are expected to adhere to the rules of that sport. In my personal experience playing lacrosse, I can boil one goal down to a certain thing that happened. For example, if someone's stick is illegal, however many times they might be checked or pushed or knocked off their feet, the ball will not leave their "control" and they can make it to the goal score. I call these small infractions unfair advantages, because referees may or may not notice an illegal stick. With sports that require a lot of strength to excel, steroid use is going to be more common, but then, it becomes one of these unfair advantages. One player can shape a game, even a team game. What if that one player is using steroids? I believe all sports should have steroid testing for those reasons. The advantages are obvious in many sports and the level of play should be based of skill of athlete and teamwork, performance enhancing drugs shouldn't be allowed to be used by athletes, from little league to professional.

This is not a double standard. Being the best, to me, is doing your best. Giving all you have to reach a level you want to reach. The problem is when you can't reach it, as one might put it, by yourself. I don't think society demands that we use steroids by any means, but to be the best is always great. However, I think it's interesting when those that are considered to be the best are caught using steroids, for some reason our society turns on that. For me, the ethics of steroids have always been only this: in order for me to reach my goals, I have to work hard for them, hard work and perseverance are the only things that I will use to reach them. To be the best I could be at something and for a sense of accomplishment, which I would not have if I chose to use steroids. I am usually a very impatient person, but when it comes to my own sense of well-being, I don't think I could ever use steroids to get results I want.