The Athletes Drug of Choice

Over the past decade there has been a black eye placed on athletes in there respective sports. A conscious choice to go against all what is good in there game in order to rise above the competition. A conscious choice to choose evil over good. A conscious choice to ruin the one thing that we were given as sons, brothers, fathers, and men. The name on the back of our jerseys. With the extreme increase in players salaries, lucrative endorsement deals, and the amount of young talent that comes into our respective sports each year. Players have resorted in ways to beat the system. Ways to cut corners. Ways to fool even themselves and rationalize that there choices are somehow okay. Steroids, PEDs, and HGH have been around a longtime. but in the early 2000's these chemicals began to be altered. They became science projects in someones lab. And when these labs rats showed signs of success, they were offered up to the very people who they could help the most, Athletes. Promised that these chemicals could beat any test out there, players began risking everything they had worked for and earned since they were in little league to give them the winning edge over there peers. Some did it for money, some did if for fame, and some did it to reclaim the youth of there game. With every MVP, with every championship, and with every race won, the addiction of being on top hazed the vision and priorities of what these athletes once stood for. As for today, after the smoke continues to clear and the rules and regulations get even stronger. Many athletes fail to recognize the consequences of there choices when it comes to PEDs. Players continue to push the envelope and try to cut corners to no avail receiving suspension after suspension. People say that these athletes have tarnished the game a bit. That the records, stats, and there performances can't be trusted. I disagree. These men and women have tarnished only one thing, their names. The one thing that we were given that truly defined us. After 12 years in the NFL and roughly 25 years of playing the sports that I love. My parents, my wife, and my kids will know that there name is safe and that when I put my head down on my pillow at night, I can sleep easy. The drug of choice for me is, and always has been......HARD WORK. It might not get me the best results, but it will get me the best results that I can truly achieve. That's my take and it's coming out of my Mouth.