When 24 year-old Rob Garibaldi took his own life, it should have been the shot heard round the sporting world. Instead, the former USC standout’s suicide left an unspeakable grief that tortured his family and his native community of Petaluma, California.
An article written about Rob Garibaldi for the San Francisco Chronicle entitled “Dreams, Steroids, Death—A Ballplayer’s Downfall” tells a story so harrowing it should be required reading for anyone whose child plays high school sports. The article lays out a blueprint for a sports system so completely broken by steroids that many players’ dreams turn quickly into nightmares.
Rob Garibaldi was a high school sophomore standout who didn’t quite have the natural size to make it to the pros. When Rob was 16, his baseball coach started him on legal supplements to bulk up. When Rob was 18, he drove a car to Mexico to get his first fix of illegal steroids. When he was 22, he was drafted in the 41st round of the MLB, but wasn’t “big enough” to garner a higher spot. Instead, he chose to go to USC where trainers immediately handed him two shopping bags of supplements and told him he needed to gain 20 pounds. Rob also continued to use an excessive amount of steroids.
Initially, things were going well. Rob hit .329, and helped the Trojans to the 2000 College World Series. For Rob, it was a “dream come true.” Then, everything started to unravel. The steroids began to infect his mind.
Rob went into alternating manic rages and depressive lulls. On a steroid bender, Rob scared his teammates so badly they locked their doors and slept with baseball bats. During withdrawals he slept through practice and missed class. His behavior became more and more erratic, and in 2001 he was kicked off the team and his scholarship was taken away. When he didn’t make the 2002 draft, Rob fell into a depression so severe he never recovered. On Oct. 1, 2002 he ended his own life.
Rob is a tragic example of the havoc steroids can run on a user’s life. He is also a testament to broken system that encourages kids to cheat to win. An avid Barry Bonds fan, Rob thought steroids were part-and –parcel of baseball, and statistics say he’s not alone.
According to the Taylor Hooton Foundation anywhere from 4 to 6 percent of high school students have knowingly used steroids. That’s an estimated 800,000 to 1 million kids, with a median starting age of 15! The Hooton Foundation is named in honor of Taylor Hooton, a 17 year-old baseball player who took his own life as a result of steroid use.
While steroid users are ultimately the ones who decide to use, the story is complicated, both morally and legally, when it comes to children: pressure from parents, coaches and other players can be enormous, and the child can begin to feel that steroids are the only option.
Please talk with your kids about steroid usage. If you discover coaches are pressuring the kids to use steroids, please remove them from that environment. If you require legal representation, please contact an experienced Illinois steroid injury lawyer.
Martin Dolan is founder and co-sponsor of Without The Juice, an organization dedicated to drug-free sports for teens. Please visit that site for more stories about steroids at the high school, college and professional level.
Additionally, recent studies have shown that steroids may pose a threat to those who don’t even know they are using them. According to ABC News, up to 25% of legal nutritional supplements contained illegal steroids undeclared on the packaging. Thus, if you are taking these substances, the deleterious effects of steroids could be taking their toll on you whether you realize it or not.
Steroids can lead to liver damage, heart attacks, renal failure, psychosis, depression and suicide, among other devastating effects. If you are taking supplements and have experienced any of the steroid side effects, you may want to stop using them until you talk with your physician.
In closing, steroid use is a shortcut to adding muscle and enhancing performance, but the long-term costs are grave. Given the slew of negative side effects, it is clear that steroids are simply not worth the internal damage they cause. Dolan Legal and Without the Juice are dedicated to ensuring that dangerous steroids are kept out of the hands of kids and adults. Should you or a loved one need representation in a steroid injury case, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
-Steven Flores
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