emilypaulson

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Performance Enhancing Drugs

Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) have contributed to the fall and rise of sports in the media. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which outlawed the sale of steroids for non-medical purposes. Steroids were widely used in professional sports but started to pop up in collegiate and high school athletics. In 1990 Congress passed the Anabolic Steroids Control Act placing steroids in the same legal class as morphine, amphetamines, and more. Anabolic steroids are used to improve and stimulate muscle growth while helping athletes recover from injuries quicker. PEDs became the biggest scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) as the MLB didn’t have required drug testing like the National Football League (NFL) or National Basketball Association (NBA). 

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Early Media Coverage of Steroid Use

Steroids didn’t start popping up in the media until surprise drug testing occurred at the Pan Am games in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1983. The testing caught a lot of athletes, specifically Americans, by surprise. Because of this, athletes withdrew from various events, and in total, 19 athletes failed drug testing at the games.

Media reports, including those dealing with high school and collegiate athletes, started coming out more frequently. Examples of these include “Two Bills on Steroid Use” (New York Times, March 1, 1989) and “Concern Rises Over Steroids” (New York Times, August 19, 1987)

The increasing coverage of steroid use continued for the next two decades ramping up in the mid-1990s through the late 2000s.

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"The Steroids Era"

“The steroids era” is the time period when numerous players were suspected of using PEDs. The timeline for the era occurs between the 1980s through the 2000s. Players used PEDs to help them gain muscle and recover faster, resulting in more power and staying healthier throughout the long season. The MLB banned the use of steroids in 1991, but that didn’t stop players, trainers, and personnel from stopping their usage since there was no required drug testing by the league. It was not until 2003 that the league implemented PED testing.

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Media Coverage of "The Steroids Era"

In the early stages of “the steroids era,” the MLB didn’t have any testing policies surrounding drugs or ban on PEDs. It wasn’t until June 7, 1991, that the MLB banned the use and sale of PEDs and sent a seven-page memo to each team, but no testing was put into place, so the use of steroids continued among baseball professionals. 

Steroids continued to dominate the media for the next decade criticizing sports, specifically the MLB, yet baseball Commissioner Bud Selig only response was to reissue the memo to each team. Still, the MLB put no testing into place until the league felt the pressure of the media in 2001 when they implemented their first testing policy in the minor leagues. The media and congress were upset with this decision as they thought it didn’t do much since it didn’t affect the major leaguers. 

More and more reports stated that over 40% of major leaguers used PEDs. In response to the news, the MLB finally implemented anonymous “survey tests” to see if steroids were actually being used heavily in the league. The tests came back stating that out of the 1438 tests, 104 positive tests occurred, which is 5-7%. The media leaked the names of players who tested positive in the anonymous survey, including Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and many more, in February 2009. 

The high number of positive tests made the MLB implement mandatory testing in 2003. The policy had few penalties for positive tests, making the media still condemn the MLB and the use of steroids. 

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This video highlights players suspected of using steroids and those who admitted to using them.

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MLB Testing Policy

After 2003, media and Congress continued to put pressure on the MLB to make stricter penalties for positive drug tests. The MLB upped its penalties for positive tests in 2005, but this didn’t satisfy the public. Congress created the Clean Sports Act in 2005, which threatened to affect and regulate the MLB through the government directly. After the government implemented this act, the MLB developed its toughest policy to date. The policy consists of a 50-game suspension for the first positive test, a 100-game suspension for a second positive test, and a lifetime ban for a third positive test. 

The media contributed to the change in the use of PEDs and the testing policy in the MLB.

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Sources

Kakutani, Michiko. “Barry Bonds and Baseball’s Steroids Scandal,” New York Times, March 23, 2006. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/books/barry-bonds-and-baseballs-steroids-scandal.html

“Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use and Body Image in Men: A Growing Concern for Clinicians,” Karger, 2020. https://www.karger.com/Article/Fulltext/505978

“The Steroids Era,” ESPN, December 5, 2012. https://www.espn.com/mlb/topics/_/page/the-steroids-era

“Exploring Topics in Sports: Why Do Risk Using Performance Enhancing Drugs?” Northwestern, July 14, 2005. https://sps.northwestern.edu/stories/news-stories/why-do-athletes-risk-using-PEDs.php

“Historical Timeline: History of Performace Enhancing Drugs in Sports,” ProCon.org, Last updated September 26, 2022. https://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/historical-timeline/#1990-1999

DeIuliis, Dan and David. “Under Mounting Pressure: A History of Media Influence on Major League Baseball Steroid Policies,” Journal of Sport Administration and Supervision, March 2012. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jsas/6776111.0004.102/--under-mounting-pressure-a-history-of-media-influence?rgn=main;view=fulltext

Bob Nightengale. “Steroids Become an Issue : Baseball: Many fear performance-enhancing drug is becoming prevalent and believe something must be done,” Los Angeles Times, July 15, 1995. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-15-sp-24265-story.html

AP. “Two Bills on Steroid Use,” New York Times, March 1, 1989. https://nyti.ms/3xY6xSe Jr. Schmeck, Harold. “Concern Rises over Steroids,” New York Times, August 19, 1987. https://nyti.ms/3L3hQk3