"Destroyed," an article by Peter Martin written for the Yale Daily begs the question, when athletes use steroids, who really loses the most? The sport they represent, the fans or themselves? No doubt, any form of cheating can damage the reputation of a sport, a team, and an individual player all simultaneously. Fans suffer as they watch their favorite pass times discredited by those who are looking for an unfair advantage, whether it be to play longer and harder, heal more quickly from an injury or simply to put themselves at a level that they feel to be "on par" with other players who may be younger or stronger.

Some would even ask, "Is it really cheating? What's so wrong with pushing past the natural boundaries of man and performing to ones fullest?" In the interest of merely the purity of the sport, going back to the ancient times of the original Olympics, any enhancement is abhorrent in the face of its basic form. When the Olympics were still an offering to the Greek gods, any changes from the first form of the game were considered blasphemy.

While most consider any modifications to the game to be questionable at best, steroid usage is one of the most talked about, and also heavily debated. An entire sub culture has emerged from steroid usage that revolves in gambling. Bets are taken based on what player is taking what illegal substance, how often, and when they may get caught.

So is it truly the fault of the players looking for an advantage, willing to destroy themselves in the long run just to earn some false superiority that may or may not lead them to fame? Or is it the desperation of those same few that leads to their own demise? Who really pays the price? The fans want a show, the team wants a win, and the player longs to make such happen. In desperate times, haven't we all done something dangerous or idiotic in an attempt to sway the odds in our favor? These players destroy themselves for their team and their fans, and while it hurts them as well as the game, in the age of bigger is better and flash and flair outweigh true substance, can we really blame them for their desperate acts in a world driven to succeed.

To summarize paragraph 10: Any chemical enhancements are a threat to sports. The ideals of the Olympic games are challenged, and the sports as defined by even the last generations star players become tarnished. Worst of all is the fact that the players threaten their physical health. Fans and announcers may complain about the ways that artificial enhancements have hurt their favorite sport, but far worse is the damage it does to the players.

Personally, the article hits home the most where it talks of Ken Caminiti, the baseball player and most valuable player whose record season was a direct result of steroid usage. 3 years later, a veteran player, and a man who stood up and made his voice heard about the use of performance enhancing drugs in professional sports, died at the age of 41 of a heart attack, the direct result of many years of steroid usage. The drugs that made him stronger and faster, left him weak and vulnerable, and in the end, he paid the ultimate price for victory. His demise was at his own hand. The drugs are already banned, but the star athletes still seek them out. How can we really protect the players and the heritage of their games? There isn't an answer yet. Until we have one, we can expect more young athletes to fall into the same trap as Ken Caminiti, enhancing themselves unnaturally at the cost of their lives, the ultimate sacrificing of themselves for the game.