Anabolic Steroid Dangers vs. Extremely Dangerous Sports

Over the years, steroids have gotten a bad rap for being so dangerous that they could cause a person to die.  However, steroids are nothing compared to these extremely dangerous sports which are still legal despite being far less safe than roids.

If there’s one class of drugs that are prone to stereotypes and misconceptions by the public then it has to be steroids.  Many people are scared to death of steroids since they are deemed illegal in many countries and there’s a host of exaggerated lies people are fed to keep them believing these misconceptions.  Some of my favorite stereotypes and exaggerations about steroids include:

- Juicing will cause you to experience frequent episodes of roid rage where you’ll destroy everything within reach.
- Steroids are some of the most dangerous drugs you can take and they could lead to immediate death.
- Those who juice are abusing drugs and are just as bad as any recreational drug user.
- Roids are only something that people use to cheat in sports with; therefore anyone caught using steroids is a cheater.
- Juicers have acne everywhere on their back, raisin-sized testicles, and even smaller penises. 
- Using steroids is immoral and natural bodybuilding is the only righteous way to build muscle.

Of course the lawmakers who make steroids illegal feed off of these stereotypes so their laws seem legitimate.  Imagine if the majority of people weren’t so misinformed about steroids.  Then making laws so strict that a single pill could land you in jail would seem ridiculous and the public would start to question why roids can’t be used for muscle-enhancing purposes.

Even worse than all of this is that people might start to question why steroids are so taboo in athletics.  Then all of the garbage about steroids being equated to cheating would go out the window and sports records would start to fall one by one.  However, we all know that it will be a long time before any of this happens since nearly every professional sports league has made steroids illegal.

But one thing I can’t understand is how some of the sports themselves are still allowed to operate since they are by far more dangerous than steroids will ever be.  And I’m not just talking about some phantom connection to death like with steroids since these sports have directly caused participants to die.  The first sport I’m going to bring up is a bit of a shocker too... long distance running!  You may be asking yourself what in the world I’m talking about here since long distance running is often considered the healthiest thing a person can do.  However, you’d be surprised at just how dangerous running mile after mile can be to a person’s health.

Consider the New York City Marathon held back in November, 2008 where two different people died from heart attacks.  Joseph Marotta and Jose Gomes were both able to finish the race, but unfortunately went into cardiac arrest afterwards and were unable to be revived.  What’s even more dangerous is that two other runners had heart attacks during the race and had to be revived by paramedics at the scene.  Sure everyone who participates in the NYC Marathon isn’t a highly trained athlete, but why did the organizers waste money on random steroid testing of the contestants when they could have used that money to hire more paramedics instead.   

Another sport that is often considered to be a beacon of health and endurance is cycling which is also far more dangerous than simply juicing.  And you’d think that the majority of people dying in this sport would be because of accidents, but the truth is that pro cycling fatalities normally happen because of heart attacks.  A good example of this epidemic was in the mid-2000’s when 8 different professional cyclists under the age of 36 died in a 13 month span due to heart failure.  And if you’re looking for reasons why this happened then consider that the paramount of cycling in the Tour de France sees a rider’s heart fluctuate from 60% - 100% of its capacity for five hours a day.  The crazy thing is that, over the 23 days of the competition, the riders only rest for 2 days.

Of course you can always point at the easier targets such as football when it comes to finding sports far more dangerous than steroid usage.  My friend and famed steroid attorney Rick Collins once interviewed one of the top doctors in the country, Norm Fost, and asked his views on the difference in the media’s view on using steroids and the risks athletes voluntarily assume. 

Fost replied, “Playing in the NFL for three years or more risks an extremely high rate - 80 to 90% in one study - of permanent disability.  That’s unfortunate, but it goes with the territory and nobody says this is a reason to ban professional football.  It’s something that competent adults decide to do in exchange for the money, glory and pleasure that they get out of it.  We don’t think, in America, that people’s liberty to take risks like that should be interfered with, just so long as they are not harming anyone else.  Whatever the risks of steroids, even the most extravagant view of the risks isn’t remotely in that category in terms of potential for permanent disability or even death.  There have been dozens of deaths attributed to playing football.  I’m not aware of any football players who have died because of steroid use.” 

Fost is indeed right since football players are not only susceptible to permanent disability, but they’re also in danger of death just like runners and pro cyclists.  In 2006, San Francisco 49ers lineman Thomas Herrion collapsed and died in his team’s locker room from heart failure after practice.  Just last spring a University of Central Florida receiver named Ereck Plancher also collapsed and died after a workout.  Last fall a prep player from Holliston, Massachusetts by the name of Joseph Larracey died in a hospital after being rushed there following a helmet blow to the chest.

And if you want to get into another extremely dangerous sport then boxing is another one which has certainly seen its share of death.  Last year former Korean world champion Yo-Sam Choi won a fight by unanimous decision only to be rushed to the hospital for brain surgery.  It was later determined that he was brain dead and he was taken off of a ventilator shortly after.  Another champion by the name of Levander Johnson died after a 2005 bout in which he was knocked out by Jesus Chavez.  The list of tragic deaths in boxing just goes on and on.

And you could honestly go on and on when listing sports which are more dangerous than using anabolic steroids.  But the point is that the numbers are out there to suggest that sports are indeed very dangerous on all levels and yet roids are what’s demonized by the media above all.  When an athlete is caught using steroids they are said to be cheaters while the strong safety that injures a wide receiver going over the middle is commended by announcers for being a hard hitter.  The bodybuilder who gets busted for roids is labeled a criminal while NYC Marathon organizers are applauded for random steroid testing at an event where two people died.

Now I’m certainly not saying that the aforementioned sports should be banned because from a danger perspective, if they were, then ones like bull fighting should go long before football, boxing, or cycling.  However, I think it’s ridiculous that steroids are synonymous with cheating, rage, and endangering one’s health while something such as football is upheld by the media and public as a national pastime.  And the sad thing is that things don’t look to be changing any time soon. 

Author: George Spellwin