It is a serious problem that is plaguing Major League Baseball but in the realm of college football the NCAA tests for steroids so there is no problem there, right? Well once the player gets to the NCAA sanctioned university there is no issue with the student-athlete using steroids but who polices the athlete in high school.
In an article entitled
"What Happened To Brian Cushing,” the blogger shows some before pictures in high school and some after pictures of him now in college. Let me be upfront by saying I have no idea if USC’s Cushing is on steroids or not but this could potentially be a problem in High School Football. Recruiting is becoming bigger and bigger each year, just ask the owners of Rivals.com and Scout.com and that means the athletes want to get whatever edge possible.
Since there are no High School Football associations that test for steroids or other human growth hormone, this could be a serious health issue for these young athletes. Building up their muscles without having fully developed bones can wreck havok on their tendons and ligaments. Not only that but a lot of athletes and bodybuilders have come down with with a side effect of steroid use called
Gynecomastia or as some call it, “Bitch tits”. It is where the breast of a male become enlarged and sore due to the hormonal imbalance from steroids or other human growth hormones.
High School seniors and now juniors are pressured to perform at their best at camps throughout the summer. They know that a lot of college recruiters will be there to look at their abilities, and other intangibles that cannot be seen just by looking at game tape. So what do they do? They juice up so they can be at their best, so they can run their fastest and lift the most possible weight. Then after they get their scholarship offers they go off the juice so that they are clean in time for enrollment into college where they can be drug tested randomly.
There is really only one solution to this point, test everyone at the camps. Also, high school organizations and school districts have to step in and look at the health of these young students. This problem needs to be addressed NOW, and not after 10 years where these kids are adults and having all kinds of health issues.
