HGH and steroids

After reading the latest on ESPN that A-Rod admitted to "performance enhancement drugs" (to us laymen's Steroids and or Human Growth Hormones) (plus Bonds, Clemens, Pettite and a variety of other star names) I am deeply troubled. I look at the youth of today who look up to these athletes and see them interpreting the information the wrong way.

Kids see celebrity Athletes making a TON of money playing a game and then the coorelation of HGH and Steroid use making them who they are.

The kids see The HGH and Steroids as the SOLUTION rather than being a problem. This causes a large problem because now we have youths who are more likely to try these dangerous drugs to enhance their opportunities in sports.

Charles Barkley once had a phenominal quote. When asked what he thought about being the role model for so many kids, he replied "I'm not a role model. Parents are role models." I wish kids could see this. We as parents can only lead by example and try to teach our kids the right paths to take. I feel it should be up to some of these athletes who abused steroids and HGH (which in this country is ILLEGAL) to not only sponsor a program of education for children but to help FUND it as well. Their obligation should be to the children whose lives they infleunce and not just to "their performance."

I know this isn't fire related but these issues annoy me. My son (although a DIEHARD Red Sox fan) is 7 years old and he likes A-Rod for his ability to hit the ball and play good defense. (he gets that from me) It's sad when he asks me as a parent to describe what steroids are and what is so bad about them. I'm looking for opinion on the matter and not to get into a "team rivalry" discussion. All teams in baseball had contributors to the Steroid/HGH issues and in a matter of time we will know about them all.

I don't want this topic to get malicious so please keep it to serious commentary only.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on February 10, 2009 at 12:18pm

I think these players like A-Rod and Barry Bonds are truly setting a very poor example for the young people of America and I hope someday they will wakeup and realize what they are doing to their bodies. Be a great rolemodel for all of the youngsters that will be the fans of the game tommorrow.... Hughie The 57 House

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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on February 10, 2009 at 2:06pm

Well, since this thread took a left turn, for argument's sake, I can honestly say that:
># 5% of all deaths from diseases of the circulatory system are attributed to alcohol.
# 15% of all deaths from diseases of the respiratory system are attributed to alcohol.
# 30% of all deaths from accidents caused by fire and flames are attributed to alcohol.
# 30% of all accidental drownings are attributed to alcohol.
# 30% of all suicides are attributed to alcohol.
# 40% of all deaths due to accidental falls are attributed to alcohol.
# 45% of all deaths in automobile accidents are attributed to alcohol.
# 60% of all homicides are attributed to alcohol.
I occasionally drink alcohol and none of this has happened to me.
At least; not that I'm aware of.
TCSS.
Art

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Permalink Reply by Eric on February 13, 2009 at 5:01pm

Steroids have varying lengths of time in which they stay in the system and it all depends on what kind a person gets. There are many, many different types of steroids in many forms. On top of that, the test for steroids is expensive compared to other drugs. I wish I had the numbers to back this up, but I don't currently have any exact numbers. As far as HGH goes, there is currently no way to test for it. I know this doesn't exactly pertain to this exact topic, but the military doesn't test for steroids during regular drug tests. If someone is believed to be doing steroids by the chain of command, then the tests are ordered. I hope this answers some questions.

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Permalink Reply by Eric on February 13, 2009 at 5:12pm

I am not arguing with anything here, just asking a question to make sure I'm thinking of the right thing here. Is that the 17 year old who was buying steroids, was outstanding in high school athletics, but the steroids that killed him were actually some sort of oil or other toxin? Again, not arguing, but another thing that could be brought up here is that I'm sure these multi-million dollar athletes know who they are getting this stuff from and what they are getting (I'm not saying it's right), whereas any average joe or jane for that matter might be buying from some shady dealer trying to rip them off in the same way that they did to this kid (I might be thinking of another story I heard on ESPN).