Drug Testing Athletes

Drugs and Athletes:

Why Athletes Should be Drug Tested Randomly

By

Lauren Alexander

Professor Winston

English Composition II

10 November 2014

From high school athletes, to college athletes, and then even to the professional athletes, drugs are being used. Some athletes are using dietary supplements; some are using recovery products; but then there are those who are using illegal drugs. There are many different types of illegal drugs that athletes are tested for, such as, performance-enhancing drugs, recreational drugs, and even abused prescription drugs. Of these three categories of illegal drugs, they each have several varieties of illegal drugs that fall within each category. Josh Seidman states that, "testing happens just once a year….after that test, the player is not tested again until the next year" (Seidman 1). So these athletes are only required to pass one drug test a year to be eligible to play. Athletes should be tested randomly throughout the year due to the effects that these illegal drugs have on the athlete's body; such as these illegal drugs have minor to severe health risks and some of these illegal drugs can give the athletes that use the drugs an unfair advantage over the athletes that do not use drugs.

The types of drugs that athletes are using include performance-enhancing drugs, recreational drugs and abused or self-administered prescription drugs. The performance-enhancing drugs that athletes use range from steroids to human growth hormones. The most common performance-enhancing drug is anabolic steroids or simply known as steroids. CNN Library states that, "anabolic steroids are synthetic substances that stimulate proteins that help build non-fat muscle mass, helping an athlete become stronger and able to train and play for longer periods of time" (CNN Library 1). Another type of anabolic steroids that is considered a "designer" steroid is called...