Vince Vasquez
Beth Eyres
English 101
10/11/13
Rhetorical Analysis

As evolution has taken place over the course of time we as a species have continued to grow and advance exponentially in our abilities. It seems as time goes on that we continue to become bigger, faster and stronger. Our human potential and limits have been yet to be fully reached. Biologically we will continue to improve. Professional athletes display the best athletic and physical abilities that we as mankind have to offer. Through the combination of strong genetics and the sacrifices that these athletes make they have been able to become the best that we have to offer when it comes to physical performance. Now when it comes to progress and becoming better it seems that there is only so much we can do until evolution catches up with us. So what do we do when we reach our limits? Some say that to push the envelope we need to see where anabolic steroids can take us. There is the conception that we should simply reach new plateaus by speeding up evolution by taking things into our own hands. Is the risk worth the reward though? Most say no and that it is morally wrong and unfair to do. If we are given freedoms then why is it when it comes to our bodies we aren't free to do whatever we want with them; or is there a reason why there are regulations and rules in place too keep us from unknowingly harming others or ourselves?

So there is no doubt there is a divide when it comes to the issue of the use of anabolic steroids in professional sports or even the use of anabolic steroids period for that matter. Most people feel it gives athletes or user an unfair advantage over the people who do not use anabolic steroids. Which is a fair opinion to have; there is no doubt that steroids work. You have never heard someone talk about anabolic steroids being ineffective. It has never disproven. Every study of anabolic steroids has proven to increase the amount of testosterone that is produced in the human body and increase the size, strength, stamina and density of muscle in the human body. Consequently this makes the user’s physical performance increase past their normal boundaries and far superior than what they could do without supplementation. There undoubtedly is no discrepancy in the efficacy of the product and it works exactly the way it is intended to. There are many more important moral dilemmas in our society than the use of steroids. Why don’t people get off their moral high horse and just make it legal to do so everyone can do it? If it’s a question of fairness then why don’t we simplify it and take away the factor of fairness out of the equation by making it available for everyone to access? These are questions that many people ask including the Author of the essay that I am doing my rhetorical analysis on Jamal Hammond.

His Essay “Athletes and Performance Enhancing Drugs” is very informative about the use of anabolic steroids and the effects that it has the body. Now the Author opens his essay on the offensive with this attention getter “Many athletes of all ages are turning towards performance enhancing drugs as a way of improving their performance by giving them that extra edge. This is not only wrong but it’s cheating and harmful to the athlete.”
Reasonably it’s fair to assume we know his position on steroid use. Although he feels adamant about his position on the issue he isn’t one sided on his views and he does bring up more or less suggestions and solutions to the problem at hand. He is analytical about the effects of using anabolic steroids when they are not regulated and illegal. The essay does a decent job illustrating the point that anabolic steroids have both positive and negative effects on the body when you take them. His stance is that these drugs when misused can be very harmful to the human body. The author provides many details about the effects of this supplement on the human body. When uneducated and misused you