Baseball has long been the pastime in American sports and the steroid use has caused an upset due to the tradition of the game (Carise). Players see using steroids as an artificial advantage compared to the earliest days of the sport (Carise). Players have made statements, such as “…in 2003, David “Boomer” Wells claimed that up to 40 percent of major leaguers use steroids” (Carise). In 2005, Jose Canseco who was a known steroid user for his entire career said, “…that up to 80 percent of major leaguers had taken steroids” (Carise). Testing in baseball did not begin until 2003 and steroids did not make Major League Baseball’s banned substance list until 1991 (Carise).
Which means more money can be spent on players. Sure ticket prices and memorabilia will skyrocket, but people come to see their favorite players. A non-caring position is sometimes taken, such as, “it’s the owners money;let them shovel it out if they want.” Dominant teams sell tickets. How often did a Boston Celtics game get sold out last year? By mid-season the fans were booing their own home team.
(The Sports Industry’s war on Athletes By: Peter S. Finley and Laura L. Finley) There are also younger faster kids moving up the ranks that want to unseat them and take over. It is the circle of life for any athlete. In society today, doping is starting at a very young age. High school students are taking steroids to gain an upper hand on their competition to get the scouts to come look at them and not their rivals. College tuition is very high and for most student athletes the money is hard to come by in these economic times of struggle.
This increased advertising exposes young consumers to several potentially harmful products and social stereotypes; such as, alcohol, tobacco, and sexually motivated content. The Effects of Advertising on American Youth Advertisers make billions of dollars every year by advertising their products by utilizing many different media outlets and networks. According to Committee on Communications (2006), “[c]hildren and adolescents view 40,000 ads per year on TV alone” (p.2564). These ads sometimes involve a professional athlete or celebrity advertising products that are of an adult or sexual nature. Children and adolescents see these icons and want to emulate what they see and hear, because the ideology effect they have on youth.
Usually setting up a game in order for someone to earn money a cheating way. In baseball there have been a lot of major controversies of the use of steroids and other performance enhancing, muscle building drugs. It’s been all over the news for years now. It seems like every year there is a new baseball player that everybody thought was the greatest but then later
In recent years, the number of athletes caught using drugs has increased dramatically. Not only are they using anabolic steroids to become stronger, they are also using narcotics and other illegal drugs. Several big stars have failed drug tests, including baseball greats Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and cyclist Floyd Landis, the now-stripped winner of the 2006 Tour de France. Even though some athletes are not using performance-enhancing drugs, the fact that they are using drugs at all is a bigger problem. Whether in high school or the major league, an athlete represents his or her sport and consequently is responsible for upholding its prestige.
When you think of baseball, you think of America’s past time and all of the great ones who have played the game. Not anymore you don’t. Baseball is now being put under the microscope and scrutinized by sports fans all around. People just don’t look at the game the same as they did before. One of the biggest scandals involving steroids was the Mitchell Report.
And, the younger we are the more easily we are affected by the actions of others, so when are we most affected by athlete’s actions? It’s when we’re young, when we all dream of being a famous professional athlete at any sport. This means unfortunately for athletes, their actions are even more influence. Of course we have to be fair in how we judge, and what responsibility levels we demand. Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk recently attracted controversy with photos on Facebook of them posing in a gun store.
Being a Role Model to Today’s Youth In today's world, athletes are looked up to by all ages. Everyone loves them. They look great in the eyes of the everyday public. They appear on television, they perform like rock stars, and do this with the entire world watching. No wonder we make heroes out of our favorites.
Physicians have seen a huge increase in “overuse injuries” among young people over the past decade, due in part to more specialization, as well as large workout loads among talented young athletes. These injuries include knee, shoulder, and stress fracture injuries. The majority of overuse injuries are relatively minor and generally heal with rest and physical therapy, however, athletes that push themselves for perfection and extreme performances are at risk for life long injuries. As well as practicing a variety of sports to develop numerous skills, young athletes need to make sure they understand the importance of cardiac health, nutrition, growth, and psychosocial development. Children that start playing sports should be exposed to a variety of sports, rather than just focus on one throughout their whole lives.