Did he Really Earn it? An Examination of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use in Sports
Keywords:
anabolic steroids, baseball, performance-enhancing drugs, doping, sport psychologyAbstract
Performance-enhancing drug scandals have tarnished the reputation of many professional athletes in a wide variety of sports, from baseball to swimming to cycling. This paper will examine the literature in order to determine the effects of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) on both performance and physical and psychological health; the prevalence in both professional and amateur sports; how steroids are used; how they produce their intended effects; and a brief history of doping in sport and relevant associations created to deal with doping in sport. The literature will be reviewed with the ultimate goal of adding support to the opinion that anabolic-androgenic steroid use should not be allowed a place in the professional sporting environment. Analysis of this question proves to be increasingly relevant as more players are indicted for illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs, and as the ethics of “cheating” by using PEDs are cited as a reason to keep great baseball players from the Hall of Fame. Additionally, it holds important implications in other competitive areas such as academic performance and scaling.
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