Pressure to Perform
Two months ago as I was watched the 5A baseball state playoffs with two of teammates we ran into an old friend who just finished his senior season of college ball. Bryce Baugh was his name, a 6’3” 225 pound redneck of pure muscle. As we started talking baseball Bryce asked a surprising question “why haven’t you guys taken steroids or HGH (human growth hormone) yet?” we all replied with the same answer “that would be cheating”. Bryce laughed and said “good luck making it to the show then”. Bryce went on telling us the quickest way to the Big’s is by juicing. As I listened to Bryce talk about the amount of baseball players he saw use performance enhancing drugs during his long career in baseball, I started thinking to myself, if tons of other players are using PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) and getting away with it why haven’t I.
The abuse of performance enhancing drugs is changing how the game of baseball is being played. “Although it has enhanced the entertainment value of sports, it also has diminished the value of sportsmanship” (Scott, 2008). During my two years playing baseball at Salt Lake Community College I ran into the sensitive subject of juicing more than a few times. The NJCAA does not test for any kind of performance enhancing drugs unless there is suspicion of drug abuse in that sports program. This opens a vast opportunity for community college student athletes to take any enhancer or drug of their choice without getting tested for two years. I knew of three kids on my team that were juicing during the season, and two other kids that were taking human growth hormones. My senior year of high there was a huge investigation at CSI (College of Sothern Idaho), who is in SLCC conference, about the abuse of performance enhancing drugs. After the investigating at CSI half their team was suspended for the use of steroids while two kids were kicked of the team for distribution of illegal drugs. PEDs are all around the sports world and doesn’t seem like it’s going away.
I had a roommate my sophomore year
of college that loves the game of baseball more than anyone I’ve met before,
his name is Robert Grilli. Robert is a very strait forward 
and
respectful guy. Robert is very against the use of PEDs in sports, because he
considered that to be cheating. Then I asked Rob if he could redo his first two
college years would he change anything. Rob said he would have taken some kind
of steroid or human growth hormone as long as no one found out. Rob said “if
there is any way to get me to the bigs faster without getting caught, I would
take it in a heartbeat!” Competition in college sports has reached a new level
and calls for higher performance as an athlete. I am put under constant
pressure that if I don’t perform at a high level on a consistent day to day
basis I will lose my scholarship and chance to play baseball competitively for
the rest of my life. Now I understand why so many players us PEDs.
I went to an AAA baseball game to watch the Salt Lake Bees and to my surprise the only difference for college baseball and minor leagues was the size of the players. Every player no matter how tall they were was jacked out of their mind. These minor league ball players were making hitting homeruns and throwing 90 plus mph look effortless. After playing two years of college baseball I have seen my fair share of huge guys that put on a show for people, but watching these professional athletes every single one of them can put on a show just by the strength they had. Almost every single guy I watched play that night had or is still using PEDs.
Who was going to stop players from using PED’s? definitely not the MLB, they were breaking records for selling out seats. “Congress insisted that steroids were ruining the sport and needed to be banned when, in reality, reported revenues were vastly increased during the steroid era” (Grant 2013). I enjoyed every minute of that game and plan on going to watch many more, watching these juiced up athletes compete at such a high level was very entertaining to watch. I now understand why so many athletes are getting away with taking PEDs. Sports are ten times more enjoyable to watch when every athlete can perform at such a high level every single day. Maybe the question I should be asking is, why PEDs aren’t legal to use for athletes.
Being an athlete comes with more than just playing the game to your best
ablitly and defeating your opponent, you have to entertain the crowd. There is
no greater feeling than having thousands watching and cheerin you on while
playing the game you love. As an entertainer I have to perform at a high level
to enjoy having more and more people watch me play. Performance enhacnig drugs
could be my ticket to the show.
The downside of taking PEDs is the effects is has on your body and being looked at as a cheater. Using performance enhacing drugs will cause impotence in men, worsening of acne, balding and steriod rage. “But there are also far worse consequences of PED use – including heart damage, liver damage and an increased risk for blood clots” (Woerner 2013). Besides all those horrible things PEDs will do to your body, you have to live your life knowing you took illegal drugs to compete at a higher level. I don’t know if I could live the rest of my life knowing that I didn’t make it as far as I did by taking a performance enhancing drug. When I found out Sammy Sosa, one of my favorite players of all time had taken steroids I lost respect for him, he become less important in the world of baseball. Beforer Sammy got caught taking PEDs he was breaking home run records and leading every year in RBI’s, it was something else to watch. He brought in so much revinue that people didn’t care if he was taking enhancers, because it was fun to watch a superhuman compete at such a high level.
Why
are PEDs illegal? Athletes who use PEDs increase reviniue for the sprots world.
All proffesional legues only test for certain PEDs giving athletes plenty of
oppurtuintes to get away with taking PEDs. If it was that easy to get away with
who wouldnt. fans baught their tickets to watch athletes perfrom, that all they
want. As soon as the public finds out an athlete has been caught using PEDs
fans will reject you and see you as a faker. With the amount of money francises
were making making they would do anything to get away with their players
juicing. The fans were happy and enjoying the performacne of the players. Since
francies know their players arer juicing why wouldn’t you just make usind PED’s
leagal.
As an athlete I want to entertain people, making fans want to buy a ticket to come watch me perform. Fans will never know im juicing if I’m showing clean on all my drug tests.Why stop?
Performance enhancing drugs do not make athletes better at the sport they play, they only have a shorter recovery time from injury and makes the body stonger. Perfromacne enhancing drugs do not make athletes more consistant at hitting a baseball or catching a pass. As a fan I want to see the long ball, Guys getting knocked on their ass in football. This generation is intersted in more action and competiton in sports. It seems like PEDs is giving the public what they want. So why not keep letting these athlets use ellegal drugs, if I was getting piad the amounts of money Franchise owners were I would let it slide to. Wouldn’t you?
Works Cited
Grant, Scott. “The effect of Performance Enhancing Drug us in sports on American soceity” Elitefts Results. January 23, 2013
Scott, Micheal. “The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports” Delta winds: a magazine of student essays. A publication of San Joaquin delta college 2008
Woerner, Amanda. “MLB players’ use perfromance enhancing drugs comes with serious health risks”. Fox News, August 6, 2013
