Bigger, Stronger, Faster

Common arguments used to support the ban on steroid use in sport is that it gives certain athletes unfair advantages (creating an playing field that isn't level for everyone) and that they have negative side effects that are detrimental the health of athletes who use them (Mazzeo, 2009).  The men interviewed in Bell's documentary, including his two brothers, use steroids to get bigger and perform better. For Mad Dog, taking steroids while playing D1 football "wasn't even a decision at all," because he "couldn't compete here" and "everyone who succeeded was using them." Bell's younger brother, Smelly, took them because he "just needed to get bigger," saying that as an athlete there is "no excuse for not being as strong as you possibly can be." 

This documentary was eye-opening in many ways, and it showed me that steroid use, like many other issues involved in sports, is not as black and white as it may seem. While Bell personally decided not to take steroids because he felt like he was cheating when he was taking them, the film presents the arguments for and against steroids in a way that does not seem to support or attack athlete steroid use. Bell analyzes how when people of power (eg. Olympic Americans, Arnold) use steroids and are caught, it doesn't seem as bad. I found it really interesting that steroids were the reason why the USA's olympic lifting team finally beat Russia, but in that case, their success was applauded because "ass kicking" is what we do here in America. I also found it very interesting that a lot of the negative talk surrounding steroids and its "detrimental health effects" might not even be true or research-based. One part that stuck out to me was the father whose son committed suicide, and the father blamed the death on his son's use of anabolic steroids. The statistics that Bell presented were surprising: The number of deaths caused by alcohol each year is much greater than the deaths caused by steroids (3 per year). 

Something else that stood out to me was that the man's reasoning for combating steroid use so adamantly was that "steroid use is illegal!" However, Bell showed that Congress did not listen to experts from the FDA or AMA when analyzing steroids as a drug, and Bell's interview with the Congressman who advocated the ban on steroids showed that the man was not very knowledgeable when it came to this area. 

Personally, I believe that before detrimental side effects on health can be used as a core argument against the use of steroids, more research has to be done. My position on performance enhancing drug use in sport is that it does give athletes an advantage over others. If steroids didn't have a performance enhancing effect, athletes wouldn't be taking them. Many athletes justify their use of steroids because they know that many other athletes are using them as well. In theory I believe that athletes should not cheat in any way, but I know that when it comes to regulating steroid use not cheating, it is difficult to find a practical system in doing so. 

Bell's discussion regarding sleeping in an altitude chamber as a possible unfair advantage reminded me of the research I came across when writing my paper about sex testing. Bell asks why the use of drugs in fields like music and war is acceptable, but in sports it is seen as cheating. I think it is because sports is a realm that is so public and deeply rooted in American culture, and we feel such a strong connection to it that when people cheat during competitions, we seem to take it personally, like something wrong has been done against us.

References:
Mazzeo, F., & Ascione, A. (2013). Anabolic androgenic steroids and doping in sport. Sports Medicine Journal / Medicina Sportivâ,9(1), 2009-2020