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NEWS RELEASE

December 3, 2004
For immediate release

Contact:
Christa Dickey
cdickey@acsm.org

ACSM PRESIDENT CALLS STEROID USE IN BASEBALL A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE ACTION

INDIANAPOLIS – William O. Roberts, M.D., FACSM, is a team physician from St. Paul, Minnesota, and president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Dr. Roberts commented today about the unresolved issue of steroid use by professional athletes and the critical need for reform.

There is no proper place for illegal steroid use and abuse in our society. The testimony revealed this week in a federal drug case that some of our most visible and successful professional athletes may have used steroids to enhance their performance further underscores the inexplicable lack of true reform. On behalf of the 20,000 members of the American College of Sports Medicine, the world leader in advocating for the health and safety of athletes, I urge leaders in the sports world and in policy making roles to focus more on the public health implications of steroid abuse and to take action.

Therefore, ACSM restates its long-standing call for Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to ensure persistent, random and out-of-competition testing for steroids. This pair of related organizations must act in a meaningful way to address the integrity of the sport, as well as the health and well being of its athletes.

Without a proper response on the part of professional and amateur sports organizations, policy makers, coaches and parents, the dangerous use of steroids and other performance enhancing substances becomes an even larger public health problem. Yet too much of the focus this week has been on competition and performance issues such as records and cheating. Not enough attention is being paid to the messages being sent to impressionable young athletes.

There are numerous health risks associated with steroid use. These include heart disease, sudden death, a negative influence on cholesterol profiles (increased LDL, lower HDL), increased tendon injuries, liver tumors, testicular atrophy, gynecomastia (abnormal enlargement of breasts in males), male pattern baldness, severe acne, premature closure of growth plates in adolescents, emotional disturbances and more.

Without an appropriate level of focus on the negative health implications of steroid use, young athletes may be led to believe that steroids can help them achieve greatness on the playing field, and that the only danger is getting caught. Already, we have seen an increase in the prevalence of steroid use among young athletes. According to statistics from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), steroid use among athletes increased by 27 percent from 1996 to 2000. Also, a University of Michigan, survey shows that 54 percent more high school seniors took steroids in 2003 than did in 1996.

This is a national problem in need of a coordinated response. No other entity in American culture is in a better position to address this than Major League Baseball. Baseball and its players union simply cannot shun their ethical responsibility to society by failing to eradicate steroid use by its players.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 20,000 International, National, and Regional members are dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine.

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