Cheating and Respected Athlete
Shelby Espy
McEachen
AP English 2
10 May 2013
Cheating
Some people may argue that cheating is necessary when trying to succeed; others will claim cheating is wrong and no one should do it. Cheating is a dishonest and easy shortcut to get out of what is being tried to accomplish. The main reason why most people do cheat however, is because they focus mainly on their goal and do not realize what they are putting at steak when they cheat. Cheating is definitely not necessary to succeed and can result in lots of negative effects in a person’s life. I’ve always thought of Lance Armstrong as a healthy and respected athlete, that is until he admitted to blood doping and using EPO throughout his career. Armstrong did not believe that he could get caught, and at the time, he admitted that he “did not feel bad about what he did.” (Source 1) Cheating in sports is one of the worst ways a person can cheat. With everyone being so competitive, it’s just a very risky and unnecessary action to take. Armstrong said, “I disrespected the rules, regardless of what anybody says... That was my choice.” (Source 4) This proves that Lance Armstrong knows that cheating is wrong and ultimately an unnecessary risk to take. There are three main phases to cheating. The first phase is initiating cheating and then winning at whatever is targeted to become successful. Phase two consists of the comfortable stage of a cheater, where they have already accomplished what was needed; now winning is more constant for the person and cheating becomes more of an everyday practice. Finally, phase three occurs when the cheater is caught and ruins all the “success” previously accomplished. For cheaters, getting caught is the most difficult moment throughout cheating. Armstrong’s picture of him getting caught (Source 2) in front of his family, friends, and team portrait him as guilty and knowing of the wrongness of cheating and the price he will pay for it. Besides cheating in sports, there are a
McEachen
AP English 2
10 May 2013
Cheating
Some people may argue that cheating is necessary when trying to succeed; others will claim cheating is wrong and no one should do it. Cheating is a dishonest and easy shortcut to get out of what is being tried to accomplish. The main reason why most people do cheat however, is because they focus mainly on their goal and do not realize what they are putting at steak when they cheat. Cheating is definitely not necessary to succeed and can result in lots of negative effects in a person’s life. I’ve always thought of Lance Armstrong as a healthy and respected athlete, that is until he admitted to blood doping and using EPO throughout his career. Armstrong did not believe that he could get caught, and at the time, he admitted that he “did not feel bad about what he did.” (Source 1) Cheating in sports is one of the worst ways a person can cheat. With everyone being so competitive, it’s just a very risky and unnecessary action to take. Armstrong said, “I disrespected the rules, regardless of what anybody says... That was my choice.” (Source 4) This proves that Lance Armstrong knows that cheating is wrong and ultimately an unnecessary risk to take. There are three main phases to cheating. The first phase is initiating cheating and then winning at whatever is targeted to become successful. Phase two consists of the comfortable stage of a cheater, where they have already accomplished what was needed; now winning is more constant for the person and cheating becomes more of an everyday practice. Finally, phase three occurs when the cheater is caught and ruins all the “success” previously accomplished. For cheaters, getting caught is the most difficult moment throughout cheating. Armstrong’s picture of him getting caught (Source 2) in front of his family, friends, and team portrait him as guilty and knowing of the wrongness of cheating and the price he will pay for it. Besides cheating in sports, there are a