been shown to produceincreases in body weight and muscle mass (Nardo, 1990, p. 20). A primeexample is Bam Morris, a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Morris, alargely built man who broke a lot of records, was beginning to act like amonster, by having uncontrollable mood swings and being overly aggressive(Mohun, 1988, p.132). Finally, Morris was tested for drugs and failed by testingpositive for steroids and other illegal drugs. Those athletes, such as BamMorris, who use steroids do not give clean athletes a fair chance. Testingallows officials to eliminate from competition those who have taken drugs, givingdrug-free players a reasonable chance of winning (Nardo, 1990, p.80). Drug testing does not only reduce the unfair advantage in competition,but it can also send a message to other athletes about the harm and danger ofdrug use. Many people believe that if some athletes took drugs to give themthat competitive advantage, the practice would encourage other athletes to takedrugs. Many hope that testing will stop drug abuse (Levine, 1998, p. 108). Inthe long run, athletes will benefit from drug testing. Athletes who might betempted to use drugs will be discouraged to, due to the fear of getting caughtand punished. By having mandatory testing the fear of getting caught is greatlyincreased causing the temptation to use drugs to greatly decrease. Drug testing can make athletes live more safely by reducing the harmfuleffects drugs produce. Athletes who use drugs have an enormous risk ofoverdosing or becoming dependent on them. In the past couple of years,athletes have been known to overdose and even die from drug addiction. Addiction to most illegal drugs is easier to acquire. Addiction is a physical andemotional need for something (Monroe, 1990, p.10). Athletes know that drugscan harm ones health as a result of dehydration, overheating, heart and liverfailure. The taking of drugs may also cause premature death and seriou...
