Myles Gibson

Drugs and Sports English 1102 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Myles Gibson

Myles Gibson

Introduction When deciding what would be a great topic to expand on, there were many topics to choose from that dealt with sports and athletics. These topics ranging from the history of individual sports, to the best athletes that have ever walked this Earth; but what Ive found most interesting about my subject are the actual athletes who are involved in professional sports. It became very interesting to me how these people who are just like you and I, are so much more athletic and capable. This idea sparked many questions in my head. Questions like are these athletes just that good? or is it a God given talent or are these elite athletes using some kind of enhancing drugs to maximize their performance?. All of these ideas and thoughts could be true but, there has been great controversy over the years with top athletes being involved with steroids and enhancers. Sports Enhancing Drugs have been used for decades with its first known origin being in the Olympics. From here, it began what can otherwise be referred to as an epidemic; but what can you say with athletes becoming stronger, faster, and bigger than ever before? Also we cannot even begin to forget the big role of technology and how it has played in the sports medicine. Athletes nowadays are able to recover and build their bodies faster than ever before. So my focus in this paper is not to talk about the evolution of sports but, more over the evolution of athletes in the use of illegal drugs that violate every professional sports policies. Not only do I want to focus my paper on illegal drugs that violate professional sports policies such as steroids but, I also want to take a glimpse at how athletes may ruin their bodies and also their career with street drugs. There have been countless scandals dealing with top

Myles Gibson

athletes and street drugs, which ruin a lifetime of hard work and dedication. I think that these two types of drugs are steadily becoming more common in this time and area. In this paper I want to research and dissect the purpose for the use of these drugs and, what these drugs consist of that makes them harmful to the human body. All in all, I feel that this is a very popular topic that young athletes should pay more attention to, so join me as we research the world of sports and drugs. Literacy Review: The Rise of Doping in Sports Before jumping right into the topic I think that we should get a little more familiar with some terms and what I mean by drugs. Drugs are chemical substances that interact with systems of the body (Mottram 2011). Drugs are recognized by their generic name, proprietary name, and their mechanism of action (Mottram 2011). Not all drugs are considered bad or toxic to the human body. Another term that may be beneficial to know is Doping, doping refers to the use of illegal performance enhancers in sports.

Doping began very early in the history of sports. After a cyclist dying after apparent amphetamine use, the first drug testing began in the late 50s (Wilson & Derse 2001). But who came up with the process for testing for drugs? There were a couple of guys by the name of Beckett, Tucker, and Moffat who came up with a procedure in the late 1960s, this procedure was capable of detecting a number of different stimulants (Wilson & Derse 2001). This was a great start for the detection of basic stimulants in the early years of the Olympics, but as time progressed the possibilities for the detection of drugs only grew. By the late 1970s, the first

Myles Gibson

formal drug test for illegal drugs was established by Beckett after joining the International Olympic Committee (Wilson & Derse 2001). But when was the first time athletes were actually tested for the use of anabolic steroids? It wasnt until almost 1980 before athletes were tested for the use of steroids. This type of drug test was acquired through the development of complex radioimmunoassay screening procedures along with gas chromatography- mass spectrometry techniques (Wilson & Derse 2001). This allowed the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to become aware of who was using steroids and who wasnt. Now that we know who came up with early the procedures and, how these procedures became really effective, lets talk about how they tested the athletes. Urine testing was and still is the main procedure for testing for drugs. Urine contains metabolites that proved if an athlete is using drugs or not (Wilson & Derse 2001); not that drugs couldnt be detected through blood samples but, a blood sample was considered unnecessary trauma to the athlete (Wilson & Derse 2001). But heres the catch, urine test didnt take place until after events. That why we see in sports news athletes, especially in the Olympics, later getting stripped of medals and other accolades. Sports Enhancing Drug Effects on the Body When we think of steroids we always think of the dangerous drugs that most athletes and body builders use to gain muscle or speed. But who says that steroids are dangerous? So the question now stands, how do steroids become dangerous? The most typical way that steroids become dangerous is by a term called steroid abuse. Anabolic steroids allow the body to recover in an unmannerly time. So athletes and bodybuilders are given the chance to push

Myles Gibson

their bodies to the limited and be able to recover within no time; this is what we call steroid abuse! This is what causes harm to our bodies. Do you know what the effects could be? Effects of Steroid Abuse (All info from Drug Enforcement Administration 2004) Physical side effects include High blood cholesterol levels Severe Acne Thinning of Hair/ Baldness Fluid Retention High Blood Pressure Liver Disorders Risk of Contracting HIV from infected needles

Sexual & Reproductive Disorders include Males Atrophy( wasting away of tissue or organs)of the testicles Loss of Sex Drive Diminished or Decreased Sperm Production Breast and Prostate Enlargement Decreased Hormone Levels Females Menstrual Irregularities Infertility Musicalizing Effects Such as Facial Hair, Diminished Breast Size, Permanently Deepened Voice, and Enlargement of Clitoris

Psychological Disturbances include the following Mood Swings Impaired Judgment (Sense of Invincibility) Depression Nervousness Extreme irritability Delusions Hostility and Aggression

Myles Gibson

Penalties of Street Drugs or Steroids So I know you many wonder what type of consequences do athletes face because of the use of steroids or street drugs; and thats a good question. What type of consequences do they face? There have been a number of professional athletes involved in drug scandals ranging from Barry Bonds to Michael Phelps. Lets take a look at a number of different athletes cases. In Michael Phelps case, in 2009 a photographed emerged with him taking a hit of marijuana from a bong (Laniado 2012). So what happens to Phelps? He is stripped of his Olympic Gold Medal and suspended for three months. He also lost his end orsement with Kelloggs (Laniado 2012).Or what about Lance Armstrong winning a total of seven tours while having cancer; turns out that he had been doping through blood transfusions. We may think how can blood transfusions be considered doping but, blood transfusions artificially boost the bodys red blood cells, making oxygen very efficient in the body(Types of Drugs and methods Used in Cycling). This is considered cheating and illegal. Another great athlete to not only loose endorsements or metals but his life is Lin Bias. Bias was one of the greatest basketball players ever, that never made it the NBA due to drugs. He died from a cocaine overdose just two days after he was drafted in the 1986 NBA draft by the Celtics (Laniado 2012). What about Andre Agassi, one of the best tennis players ever and his addiction to crystal meth. After failing a drug test in 1997, he admits in his autobiography in 2009 of using crystal meth during his career in tennis (Laniado 2012). So do you think its worth it? I would say no! These professional athletes wake up every day to do what they love, and they make one slip up and can end their careers that easy. Not to

Myles Gibson

mention they get paid millions of dollars on top of that. All they have to do is train and abide by sports policies. Would you consider using steroids or other drugs if you got paid millions of dollars to do what you love? Even though it is quite understandable to want to win but, why take chances? Entering the Conversation: Alternative Methods Instead of Doping So now that we have insight and background on the consequences and effects of steroids; the question is, is there any way around steroids?, Are there any substances that athletes can take to substitute for illegal enhancers that may give the same results? No, I think that we have to think about this logically. How could there be a legal, safer alternative to steroids? I believe that anything that you can buy legally is no alternative to something thats illegal. Same aspects apply with steroids, if there was a safe, legal route to quickly building muscle, speed, or whatever an athlete may be using them for; then I dont think that steroids would be the topic of conversation in todays sports and media. Even if an athlete was to use a legal substance like 100% protein or a mass builder from your local fitness store, these supplements still would not be of the same caliber as steroids. Again, anabolic steroids are synthetically produced variants of the naturally occurring male hormone testosterone (Drug Enforcement Administration 2004). So I think it would be a very difficult to imitate the very complex hormone into a legal substance. So the closest positive alternative to the illegal supplements would be the use of dietary supplements. Dietary supplements consist of substances that you eat or drink, specifically minerals, herbs or other plants in forms of a pill, capsule or liquid. In other words vitamins!

Myles Gibson

What are vitamins? And what do vitamins do for the body? Well it turns out that vitamins are organic compounds that assist in the proper growth of the body. Vitamins are also essential because they provide nutrients that the body just cant synthesize. I think if a person was to get on a daily routine of taking daily vitamins and also eating correctly, I dont see why these organic substances could produce results. Not to even mention how much safer these drugs are than steroids. Another alternative would be supplements from the local fitness stores like mass gainers and protein supplements would all contribute to great results with a workout plan. From a personal experience, these supplements are very safe supplements that help increase the bodys intake of protein. And we all know the key to building muscle involves protein, for it aids in the rebuilding and building of muscle. But these legal supplements will never be able to achieve what steroids do! Workout Factors to Achieve Similar Results of Steroids Is there workout plans out there that will give you natural results that will compare to if you were using steroids? From my view point, I say this question could go both ways depending on the person, for there are two types of persons. There are people out there who can take on a workout plan and see results very quickly and easily, in maybe 30 days. Then there is the crowd who could work just as hard and see no results at all ,in the same period of time. This is due to the levels of natural testosterone that is present in an individual. A person with high testosterone will see results faster in contrast to an individual with a lower level of testosterone. As we have learned over the course of the paper, steroids are a synthesized

Myles Gibson

testosterone (Drug Enforcement Administration 2004), so I think that the key to having great results from workouts are directly related to ones level of testosterone. But what if I am testosterone deficient? What could be a way of n aturally increasing my testosterone level? Ways of increasing your testosterone levels may include increasing the amount of zinc you may consume, for that zinc prevents testosterone from becoming estrogen (14 ways to naturally Increase your testosterone). By the way, estrogen is primarily a female hormone; but also eating more healthy fats and loosing body fat will increase testosterone levels. The best explanation for this is, the more overweight you are, the higher your estrogen level will be. Eating raw veggies like, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower all get rid of excess estrogen due to DMI (diindolymethane) chemical(14 ways to naturally Increase your testosterone). So yeah, I think if you can maintain a high testosterone level, then you can get great results out of any workout, whether youre doing body building or just general sports training, I greatly feel that testosterone is the key. Better Ways of Improving Testing For Steroids in Professional Sports What could be a better way to go about testing athletes in the Olympics and also in professional sports for illegal enhancers? What I could never understand about the Olympics is why they always waited to test athletes after competitions for the use of illegal enhancers. By the time an athlete is caught in the use of illegal enhancers, he/she has already held the winning title for almost a year. That makes no sense in my opinion. Who wants to be awarded a medal after your opponent has held it for that long and you last being remembered as a looser?

Myles Gibson

I think that the Olympics must come up with a better way to screen for steroids and enhancers, because too many athletes are being cheated. I think that one obvious way to becoming better at testing for illegal enhancers is, placing the drug test before competitions and in other sports before the seasons. Not just days before but, months in advanced .I think that if this were the case they would know beforehand who is and who isnt doping. This pre-drug test should be called a pre-screen. Weve learned that these drug test are acquired through a urine test (Wilson & Derse 2001), but whats taking the urine results so long to come back before officials are aware of the use of steroids? This calls for another plan of action. How can officials become aware of illegal doping faster? I think that a testosterone screening should be formed. This test would test for excessive levels of testosterone and formal conclusions can be made if an athlete is doping or not from the results. This screening should be acquired through blood work in contrast to a urine test though. I do believe that blood work would definitely be a faster way of screening athletes due to the direct deposits of chemicals that are present in the blood. Lastly I think we could just look for athletes that are just too good. If an athlete runs a time that is an outlier compared to the other athletes that competed, I think this is definitely probable cause.

Conclusion In conclusion, the rise of doping has a long legacy; starting in the early 1950s with athletes being caught in the use of antihistamines to the late 70s, early 80s, with the first procedures of detecting anabolic steroids. In todays society, steroids and other drug enhancers

Myles Gibson

are growing trends that needs to be managed. These drugs are considered cheating and unfair amongst other athletes. Not only are these drugs considered a way of cheating but, they are very dangerous. They have a number of side effects that can lead to death or other serious injuries. As we can tell from a number of different professional athletes, drugs are not the route to take, some of these elite athletes being stripped of medals to some of them not being able to make an appearance at the next level. All in all, I dont think that steroids can be directly imitated but, I do believe that you can get similar results through natural and organic sources just with a little more work than the instant enhancers. The overall question in mind is it worth it? Is it worth loosing accolades, a career or chance of a career, money, or even your life to use the drugs called steroids?

Myles Gibson

Bibliography

Cooper, C. E. (2012). Run, swim, throw, cheat: The science behind drugs in sport. Oxford: Oxford University Press. United States. Drug Enforcement Administration. Office of Division Control. (2004). Steroid abuse in today's society: a guide for understanding steroids and related substances . Washington, DC: Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Diversion Control. Thevis, M. (2010). Mass spectrometry in sports drug testing: Characterization of prohibited substances and doping control analytical assays. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Wilson, W., & Derse, E. (2001). Doping in elite sport: The politics of drugs in the Olympic movement. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Fainaru-Wada, M., & Williams, L. (2006). Game of shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the steroids scandal that rocked professional sports. New York: Gotham Books. Yesalis, C. (2000). Anabolic steroids in sport and exercise. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Mottram, D. R. (2011). Drugs in sport. London: Routledge Michael Phelps and 9 Other Famous Pro Athletes Who've Used Illicit Drugs | Bleacher Report. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1159704-michael-phelps-and-9other-famous-pro-athletes-whove-used-illicit-drugs

Myles Gibson

Beamish, R. (2011). Steroids: A new look at performance-enhancing drugs. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger. 14 ways to naturally Increase your testosterone . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nowloss.com/ways-to-increase-testosterone-levels-naturally-without-usingsteroids.htm Types of Drugs and Methods Used in Cycling Bike Pure Promoting Fair, Honest Cycling. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://bikepure.org/resources/list-of-banned-substances/types-ofdrugs-and-methods-used-in-cycling/