The use of performance-enhancing drugs is banned from sports, for that they have a negative effect on the sport and players that use them, and they should stay banned. On one hand, people believe that there is a problem with using performance-enhancing drugs in sports. The fans will start to think negatively about the athletes that use them and the sports that they play in.
A big issue whether the use of PEDs is if they should be allowed to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for their respective sport. Baseball is always in discussion for this topic, with names of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa. Some say that they should be inducted, and others say that they should not be allowed in the Hall.
With the 2017 Hall of Famers, Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez being suspected of using steroids during their careers, it was never being confirmed.
In 2016, Mike Piazza was named into the Hall of Fame. Piazza has come out multiple times and admitted to using Androstenedione, a hormone produced by the adrenal gland, ovaries and testes. It is a hormone that’s normally converted to testosterone and estradiol in both men and women.
The side of effects are for men, they can develop prominent breasts, baldness, shrunken testicles, infertility, impotence, and prostate gland enlargement.
For women, they may develop a deeper voice, an enlarged clitoris, increased body hair, baldness, and infrequent or absent periods.
Other features for both include severe acne, high blood pressure, liver abnormalities and tumors, and heart and circulatory problems just name a few.
This rounds back to the bigger conversation, should PED users make it into the Hall of Fame?
To me, if there is any proof that they used they should not be inducted. If there is any speculation that they did use, do your research and prove, to the best of your ability that the player did or did not use before deciding.
Many people go to see their favorite player play and they want to see them perform at their normal human God-given talent and being a great athlete. If a player is using PEDs, it doesn’t just impact them in the game, but everyone else on the field. This is not what the fans want.
Take Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs. Both McGwire and Sosa are two former professional baseball players who in 1998 were in a race to see who could break Roger Maris’ single-season home run record of 61 that was set back in 1961.
On September 8, 1998, McGwire hit his 62nd home run of the season breaking Maris’ record. Ironically, the game was against Sosa’s Chicago Cubs.
With just a little left of the season, the battle for the record was still going strong. After McGwire broke the record, he went on a six-game streak without a home run. Sosa took advantage to tie him at 62. The two went back and forth until the final series for both teams. On September 25th, both teams entered their final series with Sosa and McGwire tied at 65 home runs. At the end of the season, McGwire would finish with 70 home runs and Sosa with 66.
With just looking at the race and record-setting year, one would think that this is great and remarkable. Unfortunately, this is not the great history as it should be. Both Sosa and McGwire used steroids in during their incredible making history run. Using steroids are not it is still a remarkable feat.
In an interview with Bob Costas on MLB Network, McGwire came clean saying that he did use steroids during the home run record-setting year back in 1998. McGwire says that he took steroids for health purposes and believes that he could have still could have hit the home runs without taking the steroids.
There is also a controversy following Sosa. In 2003 he was tested positive for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. With the fact that Sosa was tested positive in 2003, there is no evidence that he was using performance-enhancing drugs in 1998 such as McGwire did. There is a strong supportive argument that he did for that in 1997, Sosa only hit 36 home runs, 30 less than in 1998.
The record would of most home runs hit in a single season would not stand long. Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants would go to hit 73 home runs in a single season in 2001. In 2000, only one year prior, Bonds hit 49 home runs. The jump to 73 is an indicator to some towards steroid use.
It turned out that Bonds did in fact use steroids. In 2003, Bonds was tested positive for three different types of steroids. So again, the argument of should those home runs count and should he hold the record. This wouldn’t be the only time that these statements would circle around the sports world about Bonds.
Now, fans who were so taken by the achievement now wonder if it happened for real, or if it was because of steroids. A cloud of mystery surrounds this period of history in baseball, and that is no fun for anyone.
Some people want to see the steroid era back and see players hit 60 plus home runs in a season, or see Clemens dominate on the pitching mound like he did.
But at the end of the day, it ruins the story for the clean athlete, and the fans that watch the game.
Steroids should be banned from sports and the users should be not allowed in the Hall. It brings a negative effect on the sport and the players that use them. People will start to think less of them. Performance enhancing drugs also have negative effects on the body. For these reasons that they should stay banned.