Steroids use in Sports
In today’s times when sporting events are highly commercialized, the sporting ethics have reached to an all-time low. While many compromise on their ethics by not divulging the intake of steroids, many others find new ways to “overpower and stay ahead of the competition” by finding other wrong ways. Whatever the choice of action may be in this regard, it will not be wrong to say that whether people including sportsmen, audience, and gaming confederations like it or not, steroids are there to stay in the world of professional sports.
The facts that no one is keen to witness a dead rubber match and all are ready to spend a big amount on sporting tickets with proactive professionals, under the influence of steroids, are more than what it need to tell the entire story behind steroids.
In modern-day sporting events, expectations of the audience are very high and if a sportsman does not live up to these never-ending and always-growing expectations, his future is considered to be bleak even before the sportsman has spend a few hours at the playing field.
Add to that, the constant fear of losing all - lucrative contracts, bonuses, sponsorship deals, career, money, fame, and opportunities - is bigger than ever and good enough to “almost force” professional athletes and sportsmen into the huge grave of steroids.
Keeping all these factors in the mind while some suggest that steroids must be curbed on an immediate basis from the world of sports, many others are of the view that it would be better for the sporting authorities to allow steroids to maintain a sense of equilibrium. The latter view is supported by the underlying fact that sport governing bodies often fail to identify the sportsmen on steroids and there is no point in stretching this long-run and highly debatable battle of words and thoughts any more.
All of us who like to play or watch sports would surely remember the recent accusations leveled against many existing and former sporting players including those from the sporting worlds of football, baseball, and cricket. These types of news are not good for any one, neither the gaming fraternity, nor the prospective or existing players, or even the audience. But the fact that some of the players are not playing as per the spirit of the game is more than surprising and shocking at the same time for those with an avid interest in sporting events.
Since existing sportsmen become easy idols of prospective sportsmen, it is better to teach them a lesson or relax the rigidity involved with the usage of steroids in sports.
In today’s gaming world even if a genuine sportsman is found performing well above the expectations, he is seen with glaring eyebrows and made a scapegoat by accusations from all quarters of the sporting world, which are completely unjustified, unwarranted, and unprofessional. This is the reason why even some of the “non-steroid sportsmen” want steroids to be allowed or completely disallowed. In their view, there just cannot be a middle path. They even say that no sportsman wants to risk his life by taking steroids; it is the expectations of the sponsors, team, and members of the audience that bring them closer to steroids.
There are many reasons that have led sportsmen to take on steroids and risk their life to enjoy a career. The easy availability of steroids even without a medical prescription and qualified medical advice is attributed as one of the biggest reasons behind the unprecedented usage of steroids in sporting events.
With steroids such as Deca-Durabolin, Equipoise, Clomid, TargeX, Anadrol, Anavar, Dianabol, Nibil, Nilevar, Winstrol, and Maxibolin available easily, sportsmen just do not seem to stay away from them.
The growing demand of steroids among sportsmen has brought many steroid manufacturers and sellers in the steroid market. While some of them are genuine, a big majority of them are not genuine but fake. This is where sportsmen need to exercise a high sense of caution and diligence before going to take steroids as ways to enhance body performance, build muscle mass, and lose those extra kilos under the belt.
It is important here to note that steroids do not bring side-effects with them unless they are abused, misused, illegal, or used without any qualified medical advice.
The decision to impose strict penalties on steroid-using sportsmen will not be an easy decision as that will in some way take the thrill out of the game. But these steps are absolutely necessary if the sporting confederations are really serious about quality and ethics of the game.
In short, there is no point in accusing sportsmen when they are caught doping until every one starts realizing that no sportsman can deliver results on each day of his performance. There may be good as well as bad times and all must be good losers just like they are good winners.
We (members of the audience and gaming fraternity) need to realize that a sport is just not all about winning and losing. A team or individual player may lose one day and win on another day but the expectations should not be too strong that sportsmen resort to unhealthy winning ways to satisfy the urge of their audience. The “call” needs to come up from the mind and unless it comes up or ignored by the sportsmen and audience, there will be more accusations of steroid usage in the sporting world. This does not mean that the steroid-using sportsmen can be completely relieved from the irresponsibility shown by them by jeopardizing the spirit of the game. They also need to balance their acts before things get out of their hands so that they do not go for steroids when the times are not in their favor.
To conclude, the association of sportsmen with steroids may not end in the coming sporting years but the number of sportsmen on steroids will surely rise unless there is a definite action from the sport regulation and doping authorities. Till then, the never-ending debate for allowing steroids in sports will go on and on.
