The Anabolic Time Bomb
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The Anabolic Time Bomb
Following the enormous outcry for drug tests during the Olympics and within the last year of professional sports, the integrity of many leagues and the ability of many athletes have been challenged. Some believe these accusations are being made out of spite, or the need for a bad guy to be shut down. Others, however, vow that this whirlwind of negative attention was inevitable, due to obvious corruption.
Major League Baseball (MLB), although not the only sport under a microscope, has been the most heavily scrutinized within the last year. It seems Americas past time has turned into an anabolic time bomb. Former league MVP Ken Caminiti recently died at age 41, of a drug overdose. Initially, his cause of death was thought to be a heart attack, but an autopsy confirmed drugs were involved.
In 2002, Caminiti confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his 15-year professional career, also estimating that about 50 percent of other league players were experimenting or using performance-enhancing drugs as well. Caminitis death has raised further concerns about the use of steroids and the effect that it has on the body over an athletes career.
Barry Bonds, another league MVP, is now being watched closely after accusations were made that he was also doping. Bonds, a six-time league MVP and league record holder for the most home runs in a season denies ever using steroids although it is suspected that he may have received drugs from his long time friend and trainer Greg Anderson. “If it is determined that Bonds did indeed use steroids, I will be really disappointed. Steroids corrupt the pureness of competition and prevent fans from accurately measuring an athletes ability,” said junior Christina Weaver.
Anderson, currently a central figure in the on-going Balco investigation, is charged with distributing illegal drugs to a number of professional athletes and has previously admitted to using performance enhancing drugs himself throughout his bodybuilding career. Conversely, he denies ever providing drugs to other athletes, particularly Bonds. Many skeptics cite the fact that Bonds homerun average increased 32 percent upon training with Anderson as evidence