Chapter[ II. MLB & Other Sports Must Combat Illegal Use of Performance Enhancing
Substances ]
Section[ C. The Effects on Young Athletes ]
C. The Effects on Young Athletes
The youth of this country and other countries model their behavior after
prominent athletes. “Athletes are second only to parents in the extent to which they are admired
by children,” yet a Kaiser Family Foundation study found that over half of the youth surveyed
believed that “it is common for famous athletes to use steroids or other banned substances in
order to get an edge on the competition.”48
If Major League Baseball players send a message that the illegal use of
performance enhancing drugs is acceptable, more young athletes will use these substances as
they emulate these prominent figures. This common sense conclusion is well supported by the
46 Mel Antonen, Steroids: Are they worth it?, USA Today, July 8, 2002, at A1.
47 Id.
48 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Winning
at Any Cost, at 2 (Sept. 2000).
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facts. After the Associated Press reported in August 1998 that Mark McGwire was using
androstenedione, a steroid precursor that was legal at the time, sales of that supplement increased
by over 1,000%.49 McGwire may not have wanted to be a role model, but he was. According to
the National Institute on Drug Abuse, by 2001, 8% of male high school seniors had used andro
within the prior year.50
Some estimates appear to show a recent decline in steroid use by high school
students; they range from 3 to 6 percent.51 But even the lower figure means that hundreds of
thousands of high school-aged young people are still illegally using steroids. It’s important to
devote attention to the Major League Baseball players who illegally used performance enhancing
substances. It’s at least as important, perhaps even more so, to be concerned about the reality
that hundreds of thousands of our children are using them. Every American, not just baseball
fans, ought to be shocked into action by that disturbing truth. The recent decline is welcome, but
we cannot be complacent.
Don Hooton, whose son committed suicide after abusing anabolic steroids,
created the Taylor Hooton Foundation for Fighting Steroid Abuse. In 2005 congressional
testimony, Mr. Hooton said:
I believe the poor example being set by professional athletes is a major
catalyst fueling the high usage of steroids amongst our kids. Our kids look
up to these guys. They want to do the things the pros do to be successful.
***
49 Anita Manning, Kids: Steroids Don’t Mix, USA Today, July 9, 2002, at C1.
50 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Monitoring the Future: Nat’l Survey Results on
Drug Use, 1975-2006, Vol. 1, at 23 (2006).
51 Id., at 44 (2006); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Youth Risk
Behavior Survey: 1991-2003: Trends in the Prevalence of Marijuana, Cocaine and Other Illegal
Drug Use (2004).
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. . . our kids know that the use of anabolic steroids is high amongst
professional athletes. They don’t need to read Mr. Canseco’s new book to
know that something other than natural physical ability is providing many
of you with the ability to break so many performance records that provides
you with the opportunity to make those millions of dollars.
Our youngsters hear the message loud and clear, and it’s wrong. “If you
would want to achieve your goal, it’s OK to use steroids to get you there,
because the pros are doing it.” It’s a real challenge for parents to
overpower the strong message that’s being sent to our children by your
behavior.52
52 Restoring Faith in America’s Pastime: Evaluating Major League Baseball’s Efforts to
Eradicate Steroid Use: Hearing Before the H. Comm. on Gov’t Reform, 109th Cong. 307 (2005)
(statement of Donald M. Hooton, president & director, Taylor Hooton Foundation). Major
League Baseball has made a contribution to the Taylor Hooton Foundation, and the Foundation
runs programs at major league ballparks.
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