Texas Senate looks to cut steroid abuse

Once again, college = lack of blogging. But not of writing at least something about sports. This is another piece I wrote for the South Plains College Plainsman Press.

Texas Senate looks to cut steroid abuse

by Caroline Basile, sports editor

Many Texas high school students participate in some type of athletic program while attending school.

To some of these students, these sports are everything, and they would do anything to compete well in these activities. Some students even consider and use steroids to bulk up and try to become better athletes.

But the side effects on the body are astounding. Using steroids can increase the risk of cancer and heart disease, and they also cause severe mood swings. I honestly don’t think it is worth it to damage your mind and body to become a better athlete than your teammate.

The Texas Senate has introduced a bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Kyle Janek, R-Houston, that would create a mandatory steroid testing program in 30 percent of Texas public schools that have athletic programs. In addition, athletes must participate in the program in order to play.

Is this a great idea? I think so. It shows high schoolers that it is not acceptable to use substances to create a fake physique. The University Interscholastic League, which is the governing body for Texas public school sports, will create and decide the rules for the testing program.

A similar program was explored at by Texas lawmakers in 2005, but it lost ground when school districts were shocked at the costs. There were estimates that the tests could cost as much as $200 per test.

This should show students that taking steroids is no laughing matter. This would make it just like some professional sports that have random drug testing. It does so many different things to the body and should not be taken with hopes of becoming a big football or basketball star.

The program has many supporters, including former Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus, and Don Hooton, who became an anti-steroid activist after his son Taylor committed suicide at age 17. His doctors believe that it was brought on by depression, which occurred after he quit using steroids.

I know many athletes who are still in high school, trying for scholarships and signing letters of intent. Whether they or their teammates take advantage of the easy access of steroids is still unknown to me, but I hope that they would know better than to mess up their bodies.

Student athletes should be punished for their use of steroids, whether it’s sitting out one game or the whole season. They need to get the idea out of their heads that taking steroids would make them better players. If that means suspending them, then that should be the appropriate action. It just isn’t right for anyone to be using.

This is not the first kind of testing program implemented into public schools. New Jersey implemented a limited testing program in fall 2006. But in comparison, Texas’ agenda against the use of steroids will be the largest effort. More states need to add testing programs, as this would help cut back on steroid use.

I hope that kids in high school realize that they don’t need to use drugs to be better athletes and players. I understand that it can be very competitive, especially if you are in the big game or hoping for an athletic scholarship to a college.

There is just as much pressure to perform well as there is in professional sports. I can see how one can contemplate using steroids. It’s almost as tempting as blowing a stop sign when you see no one else there or cheating on a test. But it’s not worth your neck, or the rest of your body.

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Since this was published, several bills about steroid testing in Texas are floating around in the house.