What makes a legend in sports? Your accomplishments? Your athleticism? What if there was a way to cheat your way into the Hall Of Fame?
Sports have evolved into a new generation where they are also spot lighted in the entertainment business. The media is always up to date on any news prior to them. Athletes are put on a very high pedestal, simple to say some of them are just freaks of nature. Statistics in sports sky rocketed in the 1990’s through the early 2000 era, some people might wonder how it was even possible.
Many athletes have tested positive for PED’s (Performance Enhancing Drugs) throughout the years. The top four types of PED’s are: HGH (Human Growth Hormones), Creatine, Anabolic steroids, and steroid precursors. But an interesting fact is that the most common PED consumed by an adult athlete is an anabolic steroid, and for teen athletes is Creatine. Who knew Creatine was a PED? It’s sold in local stores and over the counter. This is used to strengthen your muscles at a more rapid rate, gain weight and add more water weight to your recovering muscles. Since it is easily accessible, are high school athletes consuming PED’s? Of course high school athletes don’t get tested as frequent as higher level sports do but since it’s a big issue in sports, PED testing can’t do any harm by making sports safe and more entertaining.
As you may have heard from your local radio station, breaking news, or a sport program on Television, there has been a big issue in baseball on a type of PED, Biogenesis. with a large list of big league ball players that have tested positive, including big names like : Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees), Nelson Cruz (Texas Rangers), Melky Cabrera (Toronto Blue Jays), and former National League MVP (Milwaukee Brewers) Ryan Braun. Rodriguez will be suspended for the remaining of the 2013 season through the entire 2014 season without pay. Consequences this big should really settle in the heads of these athletes especially that the youth look up to star athletes. It’s a possibility that young athletes could take PED’s just because their role model did. This topic is thrown around in sports like a hot potato.
Steroids first appeared in baseball during the 1980’s but the popularity of it increased in the 1990’s, also known as the Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds era. Steroids have bounced around all over baseball in the hands of many athletes but as heads were turning, so were the incredible stats. Mark McGwire launched 70 home runs on Tuesday, September 8, 1998 which broke the single season home run record set by Roger Maris. Three short years after that, Barry Bonds blasted 73 home runs and passed up Mark McGwire. Barry Bonds became the home run king on August, 7th, 2007. These stats were incredible. Sad to say, both of these athletes tested positive for steroids and their shot in the Hall Of Fame was gone faster than a blink of an eye.
This generation isn’t fooled one bit, athletes are constantly getting tested for PED supplements, the consequences are heavily being enforced with each positive count. Would PED’s still be around in the next generation? If you say “No.”…is that your positive answer?