Steroids' hidden costs are too high

By Michael Vandergriff

February 15th, 2008

Dallas News

I'd packed on 19 pounds, tipping the scales at a whopping 254 – and was still too small.

An 18-year-old community college shot-putter in the early 1970s, I'd spent my summer and fall working out four hours per day, eating anything that didn't move. My sophomore year, I posted early top-10 national marks, but soon the field pulled away from me.

"Jerry the Jerk," a competitor with the disposition of a deranged rhino, had returned as 280 pounds of "cut" muscle. How was it possible an already-huge athlete could gain 30-plus pounds in a matter of months? Sports "insiders" knew the answer at the time: steroids.

Rumors flew of their use and negative health effects. It was not an option for me, due to my concern for my health and my values. I stopped participating. I often surmised the larger, stronger, faster victor simply had a better chemist, but kept quiet. Why ruin the fantasy that we were watching a fair match?

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