Heroes to Zeroes
Abuse of all sorts has been around for many years. For instance child abuse used to be more common because parents would “spank” their kids for disciplinary reasons. Drugs have been around for a long time but have given their positives and negatives to our society. Drug abuse has always been prevalent especially here in the United States before we discovered the bad aspects of them. The National Football League, otherwise known as the NFL, has had an excessive amount of problems with all kinds of abuse in the past 10 years whether it is domestic violence, child abuse, or drug-related.
One major issue that is occurring in the NFL is drug abuse, which could also tie in domestic abuse and child abuse. The NFL players are only tested for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, morphine, codeine, and PCP. They are tested in April and August of every season. Also the coach has the power to drug test these players when he feels it is necessary says Mike Florio of NBC sports. I feel like whenever we put more restrictions on drugs it makes it more and more prevalent because people are going against the law, which makes them feel like they fit in somewhere. The need and want for drugs will always be around.
Some players who have recently been suspended or arrested for any type of drugs include Josh Gordon, Wes Welker, Alan Branch, Le’Veon Bell, Legarrette Blount and Justin Blackmon. These are only a few of 38 other players who combined are suspended for a total of 172 games. Recently Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns was arrested for a DWI in July who was proven guilty. Wes Welker of the Denver Broncos who was drug tested by his team tested positive for amphetamines and was suspended by the NFL. Alan Branch of the Buffalo Bills was arrested for a DWI. Le’Veon Bell and Legarrette Blount of the Pittsburgh Steelers were charged with possession of marijuana while Bell was charged with a DUI. Justin Blackmon of the Jacksonville Jaguars was arrested for marijuana possession. All of these cases of players getting arrested for these drug related issues occurred this past summer. These players should be focusing on more important things such as working out, practicing and preparing for next season rather than using drugs and jeopardizing their season.
Do steroids or other drugs have anything to do with domestic abuse cases? Or is it just football itself that makes them abusive? Steroids are often referred to as anabolic or androgenic substances. Not all players use steroids, some actually work hard for their success and show it by not using performance-enhancing drugs. Steroids may be part of the problem with these domestic abuse cases because the side effects are “rage, violence, and aggression” which has been proven by many doctors. These football players who are hitting their wives, girlfriends, spouses, or anyone else must learn the difference between getting your aggression out on the football field rather than taking it out on others elsewhere. In some cases steroids or other drugs that lead to addiction may be the problem but in other cases it may just be that the players are bringing their aggression from the field into everyday life.
Jill M. Grimes, a behavioral psychologist from Northeastern University says that steroids have been increasingly used worldwide. The amount of users has almost doubled in the past couple of years. Sports stars are banned from using them even though they may have previously used them or using them at the moment. Most of these sports icons do get caught using them which ends up with suspensions. Not only do these drug abusers affect their career and the rest of their lives but their families’ lives are brought into it also. Sometimes it is the families that take it the hardest because their kids’ lives will never be the same.
The NFL players who have been involved in domestic abuse cases are getting even more frequent now. Some reasons that these players may be involved in these acts are