Teenage Steroid Abuse
A friend of mine, a personal trainer, recalls resigning a job at a local gym because of his protest over the flagrant disregard that the gym owners and trainers had for obvious steroid use by teen members. This was after the gym had already lost a trainer - only thirty years old - to a heart attack that was later attributed to his steroid use.
Rather than endure the indifference of trainers and local law enforcement, he began his own private coaching business, hoping to influence as many teens as he could to keep their sports pursuits untainted and drug free.
Teen age drug abuse use to be what playing sports helped a teen avoid. Now, unfortunately, like a nefarious stealth agent, steroids are undermining the health of thousands of teen athletes.
Relevant Tags:mental development, performance enhancing drugs, steroids, steroid use, teen age drug abuse, teen athletes, teen members“It was riveting, every moment of it. It began with a photo of this clean-cut kid and a brief account of what he had achieved in sports and in school, a kid well-liked and easygoing. It ended with descriptions of a son given to fits of rage, a muscled-up bully with self-esteem issues, all hidden from those who loved him most by a sunny veneer.
A roomful of reporters listened to Don Hooton describe the steroid use that eventually led to his son Taylor’s suicide by hanging.
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Sports play an important role in the physical and mental development of young people, and provide young people with valuable lessons about teamwork, goal-setting, discipline, and the value of hard work. The use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs directly undermines these benefits.”
