Persuasive Essay On Steroids

Steroids is one of the newest known performance enhancers and they are used to increase the growth rate of muscle and strengthen bone structure. The first time steroids were used was in 1954 World Weightlifting Championships in Vienna, Austria. The Soviet Union’s weightlifting team dominated after several testosterone injections which led them to win gold medals in most divisions and break world records (ProQuest Staff). An athlete Ben Johnson who was a record breaking sprinter was banned for two years for his abuse of anabolic steroids. There was also NFL player Lyle Alzado who attributed his terminal brain cancer to steroid abuse. He became one of the first major U.S. sports figures to publicly admit to doping (ProQuest Staff). Although doping may seem like a good way to win a championship or some other kind of big event it could actually lead to death. Causes of death could be heart attack, lack of oxygen to the brain, or even overdose. The first known fatality from doping was cyclist Arthur Linton who died of typhoid

Making them legal could be beneficial but there would be problems with people being allergic to different enhancers so it will still leave them at a disadvantage. I believe that allowing enhancers in sports will defeat the purpose of competition because it would just become a contest to see who can become the biggest or fastest from a drug. Also allowing this would cause problems outside the athletic world because news would get around that athletes can use them so everyday people would want the same perks which would lead to more overdose deaths than there already is today which is up to about 20,000 people per year (“Overdose Death Rates”). These rates could multiply easily if doping was legalized so keeping it illegal is in the best interest for