Steroids in sports has been prevalent over the past 25 years and it has become a part of sports culture. Steroid use has affected the MLB, NFL, WWE, Boxing, Bike racing, Track & Field, and other sports. I believe this period will be seen as a “steroid era”. I do not think these sports will be hurt long term as a result of steroids because with proper testing, all the sports in question will be able to recover its reputation and image.
Baseball seems to make the biggest deal out of steroids. Baseball fans have turned on some of MLB’s biggest stars because of alleged steroid use. I will admit that steroid use has tainted the entire generation of players who played in the last 25 years, but I believe that MLB will shed this negative image as this generation retires and a new crop of stars becomes the new face of baseball. Kids will still want to play baseball and I expect the MLB to continue to draw millions of fans without much fallout from the steroid era.
Track and Field has been hit the hardest because the doping committee accused almost every track star of being a steroid user, and the committee had tests to back up their accusations. Stars like Marion Jones have been demonized for trying to cheat the sport and cheat the fans. Now track stars like Usain Bolt are looked at skeptically because steroid in track and field has been so prevalent. With the Olympics taking place once every four years, track and field has plenty of time to clean up its reputation and image.
In pro wrestling, tragic stories such as Chris Benoit’s murder/suicide and Eddie Guerrero’s heart attack have been linked to steroid usage. Pro wrestling has taken positive steps towards protecting the health of the athletes by enacting a wellness policy, which includes drug testing.
The Tour de France and professional biking still has a negative cloud surrounding it because of steroids. The sport’s biggest star, Lance Armstrong, was strongly suspected of using steroids, but has never been caught using steroids that were not prescribed for health reasons. As lance fades into retirement, the sport appears to be ridding of it’s negative image from steroid use. The back to back Tour de France champion, Alberto Contador, has not been targeted for steroid allegations.
The effects of steroids will take some time to wear off, and there is always the threat of athletes finding chemicals that are difficult to test, but each sport seems to have implemented or improved its steroid testing. Hopefully players and athletes will find other ways to cheat, which does not include chemically enhancing their own bodies…