All of the male athletes that used steroids only had one reason to take them, which was to get an advantage over their opponents, whether they were playing on the football team, track team, or baseball team, the students that abused steroids were simple to pick out of a crowd. Very often they would have needle marks on their bodies from injections, as well as gaining a huge amount of muscle mass in a short period of time. Along with the increased body size whey would get severe cases of acne and their personality would change extensively. The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimates that 500,000 young Americans are taking steroids every year. The number of sophomore boys taking steroids increased from 2% to 2.7% last year and since 1991 the number of sophomores that use steroids has increased 50%. (Healtheon/WebMD). .
The side effects that are associated with steroids clearly outweigh the benefits. For example, In the late 1970's and mid 80's, Lyle Alzado was one of the top players in the National Football League. He had a huge, muscular body that struck fear into every opponent, and upon his retirement in 1986 he was noted as one of the best linebackers ever. In 1991, he reappeared in the news, not for his great accomplishments in the NFL, but rather to admit to using anabolic steroids throughout his entire career. Not only did he ignore his doctor's warnings urging him to stop using steroids early in his career, but he continued using them after his retirement. Alzado exposed that he had beaten his wife due to steroid-induced rages, and he also spoke about how his lifetime use of steroids brought upon fatal brain cancer. He spent the final months of his life speaking out about the dangers of anabolic steroids (Lovitch). There are many other adverse effects of anabolic steroids besides the brain cancer that Alzado suffered from. Alan Leshner,director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, claims, .
