connor's argument

Connor SmithCO3005/4/10

Argument Essay:

America is an extremely competitive place. It is only fitting that sports adheres to

the same mold. In sports specifically football, we perceive that to be a great football player

one must be bigger, stronger and faster than the competition. When you’re young the most

athletic kids and big kids are picked first for pick up football games. The smaller kids are

considered inferior and are selected last. I myself was one of those bigger kids, and I’ll be

the first to tell you I was always one of the first kids picked to play, but I wasn’t even a

respectable football player till I was in high school. But no one seemed to notice, they just

believed that having the “big guy” on the team increased their chances of winning. We find

ourselves focused on the idea that big muscles are the secret to being good at sports. This is

because our society is fixated on being bigger, stronger and faster. There is so much

pressure to be the best, either by your parents, coaches, college recruits, friends,

teammates and most importantly yourself. All of these sources put the upmost emphasis on

winning, and the notion of winning at all costs. People believe that winning, grants them

the right compromise the rules.

I have sat in your seats and I have walked in your shoes. I know exactly what you’re

thinking and how you feel. When I was 10 years old, I remember praying to be able to play

In the NBA. Steeping foot on campus as a freshman in high school at 6”3 and 245 pounds, I

was very aware that my dream of playing professional basketball was nothing more than a

fantasy. My school offensive line coach noticed me quickly. He told me that if I worked hard,

when it was all said in done I would be one of the best football players to come out of my

high school. That conversation didn’t really mean anything to me until I had my first


meeting with a college football coach whom was there to recruit me. His name was Scott

Brown and he was the defensive line coach for Texas. After my meeting with him, I was in a

state of jubilation. Than the wheels in my brain started turning, began to think of how much

bigger and stronger I would have to become just to even be a competitive football player at

the next level. The next day I woke up at 6am and went straight to the weight room. For

months I worked really hard, and it paid off. After my junior season, I was named one of the

top linemen in the state of Texas. But I also developed an injury in my left shoulder, which

would require a complex arthroscopic surgery to repair the injury. I couldn’t lift weights for

four months following the surgery. It was very stressful explaining to everyone that I was

going to be fine, and that I would regain my strength. At that time if someone would have

offered me steroids, no doubt in my mind I would have took them in a heartbeat. But no

one did, so I worked as hard as I could and I regained my strength. My senior year, I made

all state and all of the hours put in the weight room were worth it. I accepted a football

scholarship and looked forward to playing at the next level.

I had my first personal encounter with steroids the summer before my freshman

year of college. A good friend of mine named Joe Ward; he told me that he had been taking

steroids throughout high school. I probably should have noticed, he was a monster in the

weight room. But although he was much stronger than me, he gained very little interest

from college football recruits, because he just wasn’t a very good football player. He wanted

me to buy some from him. It took me a couple of days before I finally just flat out said no,

and told him not to ask me again. There were a few reasons why I couldn’t take steroids.

The first one was that I knew I shouldn’t take them because I was so ashamed of them. I


don’t tell my parents everything; I’m not one of those guys. But I do tell my dad everything

when it comes to football; I always have done this since I was a little kid. And I already

knew if I was going to take steroids I was never going to tell him. Also I had already came

back from an injury which should have ended my playing career. I did that without the use

of any drugs so I knew that I didn’t need steroids to be a competitive football player.

The fact is athlete knows that steroids are amoral. You would have to hide your

steroid usage from your peers, because of fear they would tell somebody. Finally if your

goal is to earn a scholarship to play football in college, you would not tell the recruiters

from the colleges that you are on steroids. They would stop recruiting you in a heartbeat,

because they know the testing procedures of the NCAA and you will get caught if you’re on

any kind of banned substance. And if you tell the recruiter that you’re on steroids but are

going to stop using them before arriving on campus, they will stop recruiting you because

they don’t know if it was you or the steroids that made them think you could play college

football at their university.

Anabolic steroids are an illegal drug. Could you guess why they are illegal? This is

because they are a dangerous drug, when they are used by people who don’t know how to

use them. The people who “think” they know about how great steroids are only the positive

side effects. They just see that steroids can increase your muscle mass and boost your

strength. And they can’t see past these positive effects of steroids, to actually view the

negative side effects for what they really are.


Two British dermatologists came across a body builder who was complaining of

back and chest acne

(pictured right), which

began after he started

injecting himself with

steroids. The doctors

collaborated to write "Acne induced by ‘Sus’ and ‘Deca’", the case study was designed to

monitor the acne on the back of a steroid user as the steroids were removed from his

system. Upon removal of the steroids the man’s acne subsided. According to the article,

“The side-effects of anabolic steroids that may cause an individual to seek the advice of a

dermatologist include acne, male pattern hair loss, hirsutism and drug eruptions. O’Sullivan

et al. found in one study that 43% of participants admitted to problems with acne while

taking AAS” (Walker & Parry, pg.298) One would speculate that these side effects would be

enough deterrence to keep a young athlete from steroid usage, but unfortunately kids still

use steroids. This is very unfortunate, but still it is fact.

If you still think that steroids are worth it, all I

say is look what happened to Lyle Alzado. Lyle Alzado

was one of the most feared men in the NFL for over 16

years. He dominated games from the defensive line

position. During his pro career, Lyle was the biggest

and baddest man. But what nobody knew was, that

Lyle was injecting himself with dangerous levels of


anabolic steroids and human growth hormones. Lyle told Sports Illustrated in a 1991, “I

started taking anabolic steroids in 1969 and never stopped.

It was addicting, mentally addicting. Now I'm sick, and I'm

scared. Ninety percent of the athletes I know are on the

stuff. We're not born to be 300 lbs or jump 30 ft. But all the

time I was taking steroids, I knew they were making me play

better. I became very violent on the field and off it. I did

things only crazy people do. Once a guy sideswiped my car

and I beat the hell out of him. Now look at me. My hair's

gone, I wobble when I walk and have to hold on to someone

for support, and I have trouble remembering things. My last wish? That no one else ever

dies this way." Lyle died a year later at the age of 42; he publicly blamed the prolonged

steroid usage for his inoperable brain cancer, which lead to his death. During his prime,

Lyle felt invincible with the use of steroids. But that invincibility was removed once he

realized that he had been killing himself with steroids, all because he believed that he could

not compete in the NFL without the aid of anabolic steroids.

I hope that by sharing my story; will encourage you to seek education on steroids

before you blindly take the advice of people who do not truly know the effects of steroids

on the bodies of young athletes. I encourage if are considering steroids to remember Lyle

Alzado.

connor's argument

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