Drug testing is not standardized enough and is too widespread to identify drugs reliably, therefore failing to serve as a valid deterrent. (Doping in sports, p. 211).
But Canseco also may not be the best of messenger-ex-athletic stars, since he remains, going on three years after Juiced was first published, a pariah among current players, and, therefore, (however unfairly) a less-than-ideal proponent of good clean (without help from steroids, that is) athletic competition, in baseball and (therefore) generally. To be fair, also, despite Canseco's sworn Congressional testimony (and published testimonials) to the contrary, baseball greats like McGwire, Sosa, and others obviously spend countless hours, year-round, keeping fit, strong, and ready to play their very best.
Perhaps, then, with help from today's supplements, e.g., Creatine; protein shakes, etc.; combined with proper nutrition and exercise, it is entirely possible for today's athletes to stay in top shape without ever using steroids. This latter possibility, then, however remote it may actually seem, to some (and perhaps even many these days) still needs to be seriously considered, in the absence of hard evidence to the contrary.
And major league baseball players must also compete every year for their jobs; therefore, just because someone is getting more muscular, hitting better and running faster does not mean that this person uses steroids. It could simply mean that the player is working out a lot, eating right, and training hard. Yes, steroid use is a possibility in such a case, but only that.
Conceivably then, Jose Canseco could just have embarrassed (for whatever reason(s) other professional baseball players before America and the world: first within Juiced (2005; 2006); then by perhaps seeking to make examples of them before Congress instead of (as many argued then and would still argue) having the steroid issue stay where it belongs: within the MLB Committee. Moreover, one need only recall America's (and the world's, for that matter various long-lost "wars on drugs" (and various otherwise-named, similar endeavors) in order to recall, too, that national governments everywhere have dismal records of resolving (or even substantively improving long-term, for that matter) substance abuse problems of any kind.
One worthwhile issue that did perhaps emerge from the Canseco-inspired Congressional hearings on steroid abuse that took place in America in 2005, though, was that today's athletes had it strongly and publicly pointed out to them, even if they were only watching the hearings on TV and not at all involved with them, that they need to realize, accept, and take seriously their status as heroes and role models for numerous children, adolescents, and adults everywhere. If young people watching competitive professional or amateur sports know their heroes take steroids, they may well, unfortunately, decide to do the same, especially if they are already, or aspire to be in the future, athletes themselves.
Professional athletes are, of course autonomous individuals who can and should make their own decisions in life and feel free, like any of us, to be completely authentic. Still, their status as public role models is (for better or worse) real, even if they did not seek such a status. While athletes,...
Every team has a full-time strength and conditioning coach. There are weight rooms, training assistants, blenders, packs of powder drinks for players. Teams thought that if they have to spend, they needed to do the best to get the most out of their players. But some guys do not want to take the hard way of going to the weight room and learning from a strength tutor. They prefer
Officers of the USADA attended the athletes' training or visited them at home to conduct drug tests. Officials and Association experts found that many athletes would risk harmful side effects or disqualification just to take these substances. Professional athletes, like Adam Nelson, however, won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics. He was open and vocal against the use of steroids in sports. He was particularly opposed to the
As long as children and adults are being conditioned that winning at all costs is acceptable steroid use is going to be an issue in sports. In an interview with the Kansas City Star, Jeremy Giambi became the first active baseball player with significant major-league experience to publicly admit that he knowingly used steroids (Passan, 2005). " Statements from professional athletes can be a first effective step in stopping the use of
E., their use of anabolic steroids (and whether they had ever been offered steroids), their involvement in power sports, appearance and eating problems, and problem behavior. Background information about the participants included their degree of urbanization, parental socioeconomic status and the region to which they belonged. Analyses of the study's results show that the prevalence of steroid use among Norwegian youth was lower (lifetime use was 0.8% and 12 months prevalence
since they are all based on hard work while using steroids is not; it is a short cut to gaining an unfair advantage. Is it Ethical to Use Animals in Sports? Another interesting ethical issue in sports is the morality of using animals in sports and whether it is right to use them in bloodsports such as cockfighting. In order to understand the issue we have to go back in time
They have serious psychological effects as players begin to be dependant on steroids and begin to feel that the player needs steroids to maintain their performance. This becomes very apparent when players stop using steroids as then the positive effects is slowly lost and the players feel that they are no longer competitive. This leads to serious depression. (Effects of Steroids on the Human Body) the health risks that
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