The article talks about a team physician basically told by the coach to administer steriods to the players so that they would win. The important point that this article drives home is that the coach is not the person who should be telling you what to do to to the athletes. Our responsbility as athletic trainers is to do what is good for the athletes. If a coach tells us to recommend a harmful substance to the athlete to improve performance, it is not something that we have to do. In fact, it is something can most likely get us in alot of trouble.
Our job as athletic trainers in working with nutritionists and team physicians is to educate the athletes of what is harmful and what is helpful. It is important to make them realize that anything that can cause a huge change in strength or speed quickly will also have some serious side effects.
It is important to educate athletes on reading labels and looking behind the advertisements to see how a product does affect a person. Just because an athlete hears that it works does not make it true either. We must educate them to be smart in decisions regarding the body. It is important to be educated ourselves as athletic trainers and stay informed about new trends with our athletes.
What would you do if a coach was endorsing potentially harmful supplements?
http://www.dawnmwilliams.com/Steroids.html
Solid article Jeanine. I think you could substitute the team physician with an athletic trainer and this article would still have the same significance. In fact, I think its more important for athletic trainers because they have much more day to day contact with athletes and are much more sought after for information because of their availability. With that being said, AT's must be knowledgeable on performance enhancers and other types of drugs that are legal but can be harmful if not taken right.
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