Steroids in the Hall of Fame?

Mark McGwire / Wikimedia Commons

Many players put up statistically remarkable careers during the "steroid era." Now that many of the implicated players career's are over or coming to an end, Major League Baseball faces two major questions; how to deal with their records and if they should be eligible to be elected to the Hall of Fame. There are differing opinions as to how this situation should be handled; however, the most important thing is to have a consistent ruling across the board. This prevents writers and fans alike from having to pass judgment on the severity of individual players drug abuse.

The rule that should be imposed in Major League Baseball, which could be used in other sports as well, is only if the athlete has failed an official drug test administrated by the league would have their records erased and be ineligible for the Hll of Fame. This would mean that players who have just been rumored or implicated in drug use would be given the benefit of the doubt. For example Mark McGwire has never failed an official drug test but it is widely believed that he has used performance enhancing drugs. Therefore under this policy Mcwire would keep his records and not be penalized in Hall of Fame voting.

This solution is not perfect because during much of the steroid era players were not suspended for a first positive drug test so it was not made public when a player failed their first tests. Of the players suspended for steroid use, only Manny Ramirez and Rafael Palmeiro would have received serious consideration for the Hall of Fame. Under this policy Barry Bonds would not be eligible for the Hall of Fame, because although he was not suspended, he had a positive test for amphetamines which did not warrant a suspension for the first time offense. However, players such as Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, and Alex Rodriguez would still retain their records and be treated as any other player would be in Hall of Fame Voting.

Even though the past is cloudy and this policy may allow some drug abusers into the Hall of Fame, it would accomplish the most important goal which is to judge every player equally and prevent Hall of Fame voters from having to decide whether the athlete was guilty.



Contributed to by Haoli Mei.

Steroids and its harmfulness

Steroids have been used to increase one’s muscle mass in order to gain brute strength. Anabolic steroids are designed to copy the traits of testosterone which means an athlete can achieve results in a shorter amount of time in order to build muscles. The debate over whether anabolic steroids should be allowed is an unnecessary argument. Steroids have been used in sports such as baseball and football; however, it is now banned for most sports.

It is obvious that these drugs are harmful to our body in many ways such as impotence for males and deepened voice for females. Anabolic steroids can cause men to experience shrinking testicles, painful urination, and to develop breasts. They can also cause serious mood swings such as roid rage where the user goes from depression to feelings of invincibility and aggression. There is also a chance of getting HIV and Hepatitis B while injecting the needle. The harmfulness of steroids is endless and therefore it is not worth risking your body’s health for simply gaining a couple of pounds.

Steroids should not be used in professional sports because it is not fair that players are put in the Hall of Fame or given the title MVP because they use drugs to enhance their performance. What about those who worked diligently to be able to play in the pros, yet they could not be named MVP because they didn’t use steroids to enhance their game? Steroids are a cheating weapon that causes great danger to one’s health, so why should it be legal? This clearly shows that steroids is nothing, but a negative influence.

Contributed by Hafizul Sarker

The long term effects of anabolic steroid use

Chris Benoit / Bbsrock

Steroids have frightening long term effects that almost always cause death. Liver cancer, liver tumors, an increase in the clotting of blood, impotency and kidney problems are all side effects of steroid use. Children who use steroids and haven’t fully matured ultimately stunt their growth.

Steroids affect the heart heavily and people who use often get strokes very early in life. Steroids enlarge the heart because of all the blood that needs to be pumped to the body. They also cause coronary artery disease which leads to heart attacks and strokes.

Anabolic steroids are not only detrimental to the physical well-being of users, but they also impact the brain in ways that cannot be reversed. It is an accepted scientific fact that steroids act in the limbic system of the brain, the part that influences one's moods and is directly involved in learning and memory. They also increase testosterone levels in the body, using a synthetic version to "help" normal testosterone growth. Alan Booth, PhD, a professor of sociology and human development, has reassured in a Medicinenet.com article that testosterone has been associated with risky behavior in many studies. "Men with high testosterone levels are more likely to be involved in criminal activity and antisocial behavior, get in trouble in school, remain single, and be unemployed." Tests on animals have shown an impairment with regards to learning and memory. Scientists also agree that steroids can cause feelings of deep depression and irritability, as well as create symptoms connected to schizophrenia, mania, and Alzheimer's Disease.

A counseling office based in Seattle Washington that deals with drug addiction and prevention has mentioned that anabolic steroid users may act mean to people they're normally nice to, like friends and family, and commonly cause outbursts of aggressive behavior, commonly known as "roid rage." Once they stop using, they can become depressed and even suicidal.

Former professional wrestler Del Wilkes said athletes use steroids to gain strength and size, which are key to success in the sports and sports-entertainment (wrestling) world. He also informed that the drugs sometimes come with moments of uncontrollable rage, normally when there is a break in the use of the steroids. "You can feel it coming on but there's nothing you can do about it, and the next thing you know, a minor argument has gone into a full-fledged rage, when you've got your hands around somebody's neck. You're in a fight and doing things you wouldn't normally do."

Many prominent and distinguished athletes have been linked brutal murders and attacks caused by "roid rage." In one case, professional wrestler Chris Benoit was taking steroids and had a large pile of anabolic steroids in his home. The 40-year-old champion then strangled his wife, Nancy Benoit, and suffocated his 7-year-old son Daniel before hanging himself on a portable weight machine. CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said, "The drugs said to be found in the home are a synthetic form of testosterone. A lot of people use it to build muscle mass, but there are longstanding known relationships between the steroids and roid rage. It could lead to psychosis and anti-social behavior and depression."

Steroids have dangerous side effects on both the body and the mind, which almost always lead to an earlier death. Athletes use them a lot of the time without knowing the dangerous long term effects they will feel. Players should be educated about steroids and there should be zero tolerance for them in any sport.

Contributions by: Kofi Asiedu and Julian Molina-Goni

Accountability for steroid users

In today's modern sports era, the usage of steroids by athletes has been addressed more than ever as new allegations arise. Major League Baseball players have been subject to many investigations and court trials, most recently with the case of Barry Bonds. When new breakthroughs are made in exposing the cheaters, the large issue of accountability comes to mind. One can question whether the athletes knew what they were doing or simply the victim of a coach or trainer hoping for them to exceed their potential. When indication of performance enhancing drugs are found in an athlete, news headlines have shown that they often deny the claims behind an alibi.

In 2007, Marion Jones admitted to using steroids in preparation for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney despite contradicting herself with another excuse. She reportedly said that her coach gave her a substance to take orally that she believed to be a nutritional flaxseed oil. This was a similar excuse used by Barry Bonds when testifying to a grand jury in 2004. These statements and later investigations make these athletes seem very much aware of what they were doing but tried to take the drugs in a manner that wouldn't make it evident. These sports stars readily take on the ignorant role in their trials when in reality they chose to blind themselves to all of it. It shouldn't be acceptable for them to have others inject the drugs into them but play dumb all along, even when testifying to federal agents and government officials. In light of steroid use exposure, there is a massive amount of accountability on the athletes who should not play "none the wiser."