Letter to Congressman Tom Davis

Dear Congressman Tom Davis:

I am here to bring your attention to the steroid policies in sports. I believe that steroids should be banned from all sports. They are creating dark clouds of doubt over professional sports and should be stopped immediately. Cheating is just not fair. Steroids are illegal in the US without a prescription. Those athletes that use steroids in sports are just despicable. Cheating goes against the values of people and even the values of America. It is downright wrong and should be eliminated at all costs.

Sports should be fair competition between two fierce competitors; but it should never be unfair competition with the help of performance-enhancing steroids. My position is, and will always be, that steroids are wrong. A way that we can decrease the use of steroids in our professional sports is with tough drug tests. If more rigorous drug tests are instituted, then athletes will understand that the leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, etc) are not kidding around. There are over 100 forms of known steroids in the US, and intense drug testing should be started as soon as possible to decrease the number of cheaters (Drug Enforcement Association). It is a fact that most steroid use begins at the age of 15 and grave consequences follow (Gober, McCabe, and Klien). If steroids are started early, some effects that could follow are the risks of heart attack and stroke, failure in the kidney and liver and even clogging of the arteries. Everyone wants sports to be a clean affair, even in high school sports. If someone is caught, their punishment should be handled very strictly.

Cheating is one thing, but getting away with cheating is a whole different story. I believe that cheating should be handled with the strictest hand possible. Athletes can’t just go around cheating and getting away with it. That’s just not right. That’s why if there are stricter and more frequent drug tests, athletes will think twice before using steroids. When one person is caught, they should be given a hefty suspension, not just a little, dinky one. And when that suspension is announced to the public, that athlete will be embarrassed of himself. But that’s not all; it will also show other athletes that the cheating won’t be tolerated.

An example of steroids and athletes is the controversy over Barry Bonds. Some people think that he used steroids while others didn’t. I personally believe that Barry Bonds used steroids, but let’s talk about drug tests. In 2003, Bonds said that he had “unknowingly” taken steroids. He said that if he was taking performance enhancing drugs, it was his trainer that gave it to him. Bonds’ was given “clear cream” that he believed was legal, when in fact it wasn’t. But why wasn’t he caught by the drug test? It’s because the drug tests aren’t harsh enough. If drug tests were more accurate, then we could be sure that athletes are not using steroids.
In conclusion, I believe that drug testing should be tougher and more frequent in professional sports. Cheaters are a disgrace to their teammates and even the league. Since you are the chairman for the House Government Reform Committee it would be great if you could have more discussions concerning steroids and talk about strengthening drug testing. If sports strengthen their drug testing standards and impose strict punishments on athletes that use them, the whole world of sports will be a better and more secure place.