Athletes taking performance enhancing drugs

For many people, sports serves as an escape from the everyday rigors of life.  It also serves as a way to live vicariously through others in an attempt to rectify one’s own failed dreams. Perhaps it is these reasons that people choose to put so much emphasis on sports. Knowing this, athletes will probably do anything to earn the fame and riches that accompany being  a star athlete. However, with this comes an inherent responsibility: the responsibility to be a role model. Recently, there have been some prominent athletes (Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez) who have tested positive for banned substances in baseball. Being a former athlete and college baseball player myself, I can attest to the fact that I have personally seen athletes trying ceratin “elements” that the pros try. I have also seen some of the negative effects: more injuries, psychologial problems and in some cases death….

Not only are these athletes cheating to get an upper hand, they are also setting an example that is followed by many and even though it serves as a “quick fix”, the long-term side effects are much more harmful than one could imagine….it’s why we’re seeing so many athletes dying early….they have been pushing themselves so hard for so long and putting so much crap into their bodies that shouldn’t be there and finally their bodies say “no more”. If we handle these problems properly and cast them in a negative light by making examples of athletes that use steroids or other perfomance enhancing drugs (personally, I think they should be suspended for an entire year), we will prevent further harm to the youngsters that have everything to lose and very little to gain…..