The 1980s was a decade of excess. Ronald Reagan was just elected President in what was known as the greatest prosperous years in American history. As America became richer drugs became more popular amongst the poor and the rich alike. The stock market was booming, and Wall Street was filled with a new breed of achievers, called yuppies. People were making money and lots of it, which prompted a more drug fueled lifestyle. That influx of drugs in the population affected sports in many ways.…
Sports keep teens out of trouble. It uses up their time. They are more involved in sports than other stuff so they don’t get in trouble with the law. Encourage kids to play sports. Join…
Richard L. Worsnop offers multiple different points about high school sports and athletes. Concerns about the oppression of young athletes and debating if high school athletics “builds character”, are some of the main issues pointed out. Some coaches believe interscholastic sports competitions teach everything about character and teamwork, while others believe overemphasizing a win can teach the growth of negative character traits. Meanwhile, there are no doubts that certain drugs can enhance an athlete’s performance, but this can lead to injury and other harmful effects. High school athletes are sometimes considered, “dumb jocks”, which leads to the question if student athletes should maintain a certain grade-point average. Some players think…
1. According to the twelfth edition of Sports in Society by Jay Coakley, “"Generalizing about high school and college sport programs is difficult because programs and the conditions under which participation occurs are so diverse” (Coakley, 476). However, there are definitely some broad, widespread issues that are found within the majority of high school sports programs. The textbook offers a plethora of claims against interscholastic sports, and one that stood out to was the claim that highlighted the pressure that interscholastic sports place on student-athletes. Unlike club sports, high school sports practice for over 2 hours every day after school and have games on weeknights, leaving little time to prepare for exams and to get homework done.…
When we exercise, there is an increase in the blood flow which provides the muscles with a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients and all the toxic waste products are removed from the body by this metabolism. There are many instances where an athlete has used a drug to enhance the desired output in an unfair and illegal manner. Such a practice is termed as “doping”. Eventually in the long run, the effect of drug taking leads to other mental disorders and even death. Certain drugs such as psychomotor stimulant drugs include amphetamines (namely, amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, and methamphetamine) and methylpenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin). The most common name for these drugs is “speed”. Other used names include bennies, dexies, greenies, and pep pills. Amphetamines can be taken orally, but chronic users often inject the drug as it produces a more immediate and stronger effect.…
Sports keep teens well behaved at school and in class. Sports reduce the number of fights, and bad classroom behavior. In order to play any sport in high school, the students must make good grades. If they fail to make the grades, then they are either dismissed from the team, or they must take a study hall before each practice for at least 30 minutes, sometimes even for the whole day until his or her grade comes up to a passing grade. In most high schools, there are problems with attendance from the students. If a player does not come to school, then they may not go to practice or attend the game that…
Nearly 65% of children say they participate in sports to be with their friends (Statistic Brain). Sports were established so that the individual could not only exercise, but also to compete against a rival. Just as there are individual sports, there are team sports in high school. The idea of a team sport is that every single person on the field or court must work in unison to have the greatest opportunity to win. In addition to the increasing popularity of sports, the average child’s age when they join a team is decreasing. For example, the age that a child joins a basketball team has shifted from fourth grade to first grade or even kindergarten in the past decade. School is the primary factor when you review the participation in athletics,…
But, the most alarming increase in the non-medical stated was, “Between 1992 and 2003, the number of people in the general US population who reported non-medical prescription drug use increased by 94%, with an increase of 212% for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years.” The troubling fact is that the majority of college students who report the behavior begin using prior to college. And also, Dr Ford writes, “Research also indicates that use has greatly increased among college.” Dr. Ford interviewed Selby et al and found that, “Athletes have high levels of marijuana use, but they did not include comparison group of non-athletic in their analysis.” Also, by analyzing data from a nationally representative sample of college students, Dr. Ford interviewed with Wechsler et al and found that, “athletes use marijuana at lower levels than do non-athletes.” Also, with that Wechsler et al concluded that, “athletes involved in team sports have higher rates of substance use than do those involved in non-team sports. It also appears that rates of binge drinking increases involvement in athletics increases.” For example, team leaders report higher levels than team…
When watching someone participate in any sport, the audience thinks about how much effort was put into practicing, and not what the player smoked to gain their superhuman stamina. In sports, the competitors need to practice to become better, not default to who has the money to buy the best drugs. Performance enhancing drugs may help during a couple of games, but it’s not worth putting so many lives at risk. Forest Tennant JR., who is an NFL drug adviser, has estimated that half of all professional athletes have been exposed to drugs in their careers.…
As students grow older competitive sports become an important outlet that can easily alter a child’s life mentally and physically. Nowadays, competitive sports in high school and leading into college have become increasingly emphasized, and the question arises as to whether or not these competitive sports provide positive or negative effects for the child.…
Being on an after school sports team can cause students to fail classes. Many schools believe that sports should stay because they keep you healthy, they relieve stress and allow you to focus, and they teach good sportsmanship; however it has been proven numerous times that after school sports are distracting and can lead to academic failure. Therefore, after school sports should be eliminated because they cost too much money, they can cause academic failure, and they are distracting.…
Ever since the recreational use of weed was legalized in the states of Colorado and Washington I’ve wondered how it might affect athletes and sports in those areas. Would athletes be able to smoke as much as they want whenever they cross the states borders? Imagine a United States where the use of marijuana is legal in all 50 states. Athletes whether in college or playing professionally get a ton of publicity for everything they do and are idols to youth across the world. They’re essentially trendsetters. Would seeing Kobe Bryant smoke a joint on television change the general attitude towards marijuana and inspire basketball players across the world to follow? Many think weed would destroy the integrity of sports and would prevent the best product from being on the field or court. The questions can also be flipped around. Could smoking weed benefit athletes? In the end, is it even a really big of a deal?…
Drug abuse is a major problem in our society as a whole and increasingly within our youth. In recent years, many school districts have implemented student athlete drug testing programs within their schools. Athletes were targeted because student athletics are voluntary and the "athletes are often held to higher standards than other students, keeping their grades up for example" (Tantillo, Wen & Morgo, 1995, p. A22).…
6.4 percent of male athletes admitted to using drugs for football. Using drugs in high school for football may get you addicted later in life. Football is also teaching players bad sportsmanship. Bad sportsmanship gives you a bad reputation and no one would want to be around you, not even your team mates. 72% of football players acknowledge or admit to cheating on exams. This could effect the player because the player could cheat just to stay on the team because you have to have decent grades to play. Also, in the future, what if the player applies for a job, but the player cheated on exams in high school just to stay on the team. In the future, the player won't know anything that deals with the job because the player cheated and didn't learn…
Drugs and sports do not mix with each other. Drugs shouldn’t be allowed in sports because, some players will be better than others, or people might get suspended from playing the game or get cut and some players if you take too much might even overdose. Significance is that there is a lot of kids using steroids to make them bigger and better, which is putting other kid’s self-esteem down. Each kid no matter what they play, their parents, family, peers and even you want to be the best one on the field.…