David Thompson Character Analysis

in the second round of the 2012 NFL Supplemental Draft. He played in two seasons before he got tested and violated the NFL drug policy. In 2013 he was suspended two games and after that season 2014- 2016 he kept repeatedly using marijuana which he caught an addition of off. He had so much potential to become one of the best receivers in the NFL and also could have left his print in the league becoming a potential NFL hall of famer/ legend. He would never know his potential because of the drug test he keeps failing which will eventually get him to lose interest from teams wanting him and will eventually cause him to not have a chance of coming back to the NFL.
Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time. He has total 23 gold,
3 silvers and 2 bronzes at the Olympics. He has the most gold medals in history. With all the success Phelps started to receive, He earned his only endorsement with Kellogg’s which is very big. This could have possibly had open up doors for him to receive even more endorsement for other huge companies, but in 2008 a photo had emerged of him smoking a bong at a party from his days he was in college. This picture was older but it goes to show how serious that companies doesn’t want their image to have anything to do with marijuana. This is why marijuana is such a huge issue in the sports world because most athletes are great role models and you don’t want role models promoting drugs.
Back in the day cocaine was a heavily use drug and still to this day is still used. Cocaine is an addictive drug that is made from coca or prepared synthetically and it is used as an illegal stimulant, it is also known as coke. This is the most deadly drug that I have mention on this topic and the side effects are the worst. These side effects include permanent damage to blood vessels of the heart and brain, liver, kidney and lung damage, and high blood pressure leading to heart attacks, strokes, and death. The reason why athletes think cocaine is a performance enhancer is because of how the cocaine impacts athletic abilities, it makes the athlete feel good so they perceive things around them better and that even includes their abilities, it increases their endurance and overall performance for a short amount of time. Athletes such as Dwight Gooden (MLB) and Lawrence Taylor (NFL) have been suspended for using cocaine but didn’t get as addicted as the other players that will be discussed that completely tarnished their careers.
The 80’s era in the NBA was one of the darkest times in the NBA. There were a lot of players that used cocaine in that era of the NBA. There were a lot of sad stories about player that had some of best potential to become the greatest of all time. Two players come to mind when talking about this topic and these players were David Thompson and Lien Bias.
David Thompson was a first round first overall pick in the draft and that alone shows how great and how much potential he had.
At the age of 23 Thompson had averaged 27.2 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game and 4.5 assist per game. His stats were even better that basketball legend Kobe Bryant when they were the same age. Thompson was one of the most explosive players in the NBA and he had leaded his team to the NBA western conference finals at the age of 23. He discovered cocaine and this had him out of the NBA at the age 29. He was still young and could have lived up to the ability to become one of the best but cocaine and the side effects ruined his
career.
Lien Bias was a college all American basketball player. He was drafted in the first round as the second overall pick in 1986. He was seen as a rival for Michael Jordan. He was getting drafted to the Boston Celtics which in the previous season had won an NBA championship. This team was already stacked with superstar Larry Bird. He had the potential to win multiple championships and become the best player of all time being even better than Michael Jordan. Moments after Bias was drafted during his celebrating he had collapsed and passed away. This was a huge tragedy for the NBA. After the death was determined that he died from cocaine over dose which showed the huge problem of cocaine and problems that the NBA was facing in this era.
In sports ethics drugs are a huge issue and need to be stopped.
Drugs in the sports world as you can see tarnish gameplay and damages a lot of athletes careers just off of one bad decision that they decided to make. The athletes discussed didn’t even need to do none of the following drugs and they could of have a the same successful careers by just working harder and having more faith in their selves. Athletes should go the extra mile to promoting not to do drugs to influence the younger generations and to also go the distance to influencing their own teammates. Drugs causes the downfall of athletes that had so much potential in their careers. The side effects of all drugs are horrible and no athletes should not want to experience those side effects. It’s always better to actually train properly and develop your body naturally instead of putting drugs in you system because at the end of the day no sport last you a lifetime. Sports are made for people to learn valuable lessons in life and to have fun with it. Putting drugs in your systems to gain a competitive edge in sports is pointless because of how they can cause you to have lifetime problems just because you wanted a bigger edge. Life is bigger than sports and it’s important that the youth and athletes know that it shouldn’t be a time where you need drugs to be dominant in sports. There are plenty of athletes that are very talented and don’t need any drugs to maintain their great performances. Drugs will always remain a
huge topic in sports and people should know the effects of them and being sure to not use them.