The Risks of Steroids

The use of steroids in any level of sports is much more harmful than it is helpful. When an athlete takes steroids, the benefits are helpful; however the negatives of taking steroids are far more hurtful and dangerous. The mental and physical risks of steroids are why athletes should not be taking steroids but rather be using only their natural ability.

To begin, the mental risks of steroids are dangerous and affect abusers of steroids. When someone abuses steroids, mental dangers come with along with some of the physical benefits. When an athlete takes steroids, they can become very aggressive and irritable, also known as roid rage (Fitzhugh 42-47). This aggressive and irritable is very noticeable to people around the steroid abuser. Some may see this as not a very big side effect of steroids; the aggressive and irritable behavior is known to cause more problems. Such as, it can cause an abuser to react violently to most situations and to things that wouldn’t bother a normal person (Fitzhugh 42-47). If the user is reacting in a violent way it can lead to trouble with law enforcement and possibly other personal problems. An example of someone who took steroids and the mental risk had very negative effects is 16 year old baseball player, Taylor Hooton (Walker 13) Taylor Hooton was recommended to take steroids by his high school baseball coach. When Taylor took the steroids, he became very dangerous and aggressive. He was stealing items, beating people up and had intense instances of anger. (Walker 13) The consequences of his actions are what eventually led to him taking his own life. In the end, Taylor Hooton killed himself due to the mental effects of taking steroids. Some of the other mental risks of steroids are depression and sleep problems (Fitzhugh 42-47). All of the mental risks of steroids are very hurtful and can even in some cases lead to death. With all these risks the positives of taking steroids are not worth the risk.

To continue, even though steroids are used for their physical benefits, there are also physical dangers to taking steroids. Some more minor negatives to taking steroids are hair loss, increase in acne or scarring from needle injection (Fitzhugh 26-33). These things are obviously bad, but are only the beginning to the other physical dangers of taking steroids. For instance, taking steroids can lead to the user to lose bone cartilage in their joints. This loss of cartilage can lead to joint trouble for the user (Fitzhugh 26-33). Furthermore, the user can also experience liver and kidney damage (Fitzhugh 26-33). Both of these things are obviously not healthy and present very dangerous physical risks. Also, some other physical risks can affect certain people. Specifically, Lyle Alzado, an NFL player who had played for the Oakland Raiders (Sommers 14-15). Lyle was the first major US pro athlete to admit to abusing steroids. He was known to be an abuser and to take steroids often. Sadly, in 1992, Lyle died of a brain tumor. He was only 43 years old. Even though this was not proven by doctor, Lyle attributed his brain tumor to his heavy steroid abusage (Sommers 14-15). Even though steroids are taken to improve someone’s physical well-being, the physical dangers of taking steroids is far more dangerous than it is beneficial.
In conclusion, most athletes take steroids to improve their bodies. However, the physical benefits also come with the mental risks that in some cases can be lethal. The same can be said for the physical dangers of abusing steroids. Even though some may see steroid use as not a negative, seeing as it improves a person’s physical state, it is far a positive thing to be using. If taking a drug that can cost someone their life and other significant problems, it should not be considered a positive or helpful drug in anyway.