Jose Canseco (baseball player) argues in his book, “We (the players) didn’t see performance enhancing drugs as a big deal. We didn’t see using steroids as being in the same category as cocaine, marijuana, crack, or ecstasy” (213). However, using performance enhancing drugs and taking unfair advantages over others is cheating. At the professional and Olympic level, each athlete is responsible for the drugs they consume and knowing if any of these substances are on the World Anti-Doping Code Prohibited list. Using performance enhancing drugs in professional sports is…
These days, it seems like performance enhancing drugs are the norm in the professional sports worlds. Whether it is football or basketball players, many professional athletes are getting exposed to PEDs. As a result, a lot of athletes are consuming performance enhancing drugs because athletes are living in a culture where PEDs are acceptable in all sports profession. There are certainly many positive effects when it comes to consuming performance enhancing drugs, but most professional athletes do not really consider the long lasting negative effects it has on the athletes’ health, reputations and their playing careers. As well, the influence of PEDs has totally made many professional sports uncompetitive because PEDs…
As children, many people are introduced to the famous quote by late National Football League coach, Vince Lombardi, which is "winning isn 't everything; it 's the only thing" (Voy 204). Sports have always been about winning; however, some professional and amateur athletes take this simple saying too literally and it changes their outlook on their profession. As high school and even middle school athletes, they start to take drugs in order to be accepted, or to better their performance on the playing field (Louria n.pag). Once theses athletes reach the college level; they experiment, and are surrounded by even more drugs in order to get any advantage. It is not fair that one athlete can work hard in order to improve his performance, but then have another athlete improve more than him due to being wired on cocaine or bulked up on steroids. Also, Robert Voy states that drug use today is the biggest threat to the Olympics ideal, thus the Olympics and many other professional organizations are turning to drug testing. Testing is a huge controversy today because many believe that it violates one 's right of privacy; however, if there is no testing, many athletes will continue to have an unfair advantage to non drug users (180). Furthermore, it injures the user because it will result in mood changes, and it will hurt their health, if not immediately, then it will later on in their life. The chance of being caught using drugs is so small compared to the achievements one will have while using drugs which is so vast. No athlete should have an unfair advantage, these advantages only promote drug use, which many athletes believe it is a necessary means in today 's time. The only way to have the use of drugs decrease is to have mandatory drug testing across the board for all athletes.…
In sports, athletes will do whatever it takes to gain the slight improvement over the competition. Unfortunately, many athletes unfortunately turn to PEDs, or Performance Enhancing Drugs, such as anabolic steroids or tetrahydrogestrinone. These energy level boosters are banned by most sports organization. Over the past 48 years, 64 Olympic athletes have lost their medals due to the use of banned substances. Over time, certain countries have had more athletes banned than others. Russia, having 12 competitors banned, and the USA, having 11 competitors banned, is leading the world in athletes banned. On top of the drugs negatively affecting the countries of the users, it is highly not recommended by most any doctor. Each year, against all doctor’s recommendations, role model athletes like Olympians and professional sports players take drugs to increase their physical capabilities and risk losing the medals they win for their country. It can cause…
Performance enhancing drugs in sports has become a controversial issue in the world today, especially when it comes to athletes and people involved in it. These drugs are commonly known as PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) and people who use these drugs to enhance their performance consider it legitimate as it helps in improving their concentration level. Today's athletes continue to push the boundaries of distinction in performance and physical fitness. PEDs have been a go to source for these athletes, with more refined training methods and technologies. However from a social and ethical perspective, PEDs possess harmful threats to the consumer and those who compete with them. Athletes do not take these drugs to level the playing field, they do it to gain an unfair advantage…
Athletics have shaped the American society for centuries. While whites previously dominated a majority of sports, now members of all races and ethnicities have equal opportunity to succeed in the sports world. With this increase in athletes, also arises a heightened level of competition. Numerous athletes are now relying on performance enhancing drugs to better themselves in their sports. Many athletes use these drugs to increase their running and strength abilities. Some athletes are starting to believe that the only way to become successful in their sport is to take advantage of these drugs, but that is simply not the case.…
In 1986, Len Bias, a star basketball player at the University of the Maryland tried cocaine. Shortly after, Len Bias died from cardiac arrhythmia as a result of cocaine overdose (Peck 36) . Not only do drugs ruin the health of athletes, but the use of performance enhancing drugs also ruins the integrity of the sporting world. Therefore, there should be mandatory drug tests for all athletes.…
Through many years of professional sports athletes have been using performance-enhancing drugs and this has affected these athletes in many ways. This may also have an influence…
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport has become a huge issue in all modern codes of sport. In the recent 2012 Olympic games in London, it was suggested that as many as 60% of the athletes were taking illegal drugs. You only have to open the newspaper or turn on the television to discover a new batch of professional athletes that have been caught ‘doping’. Although athletes are regularly drug tested, there have been multiple cases where athletes have been able to cheat the system and return negative results. Australia has been a front-runner in the fight against sports doping, and has even established a…
Many athletes fail to take their time when making the decision whether to use drugs to their advantage. Unfortunately, athletes may use drugs for therapeutic indications, recreational or social reasons, as muscular aids, or to mask the presence of other drugs during drug testing. However, the safety of an athlete's health is being neglected. Drug use has led to an increased number of deaths, and suspensions of athletes. If failing to recognize drug use in professional athletics continues, all athletes will have to choose whether to compete at a world-class level and take drugs, or compete at a club level and be clean. In sports, athletes, coaches and trainers will try their best to find a way to reach the top level. They not only search for a way to enhance performance, but most of them have aspiring Olympians to train. Athletes also are becoming more venturesome about mixing different types of drug (Marie, 2014). Sports…
Nearly one in every ten retired NFL players has admitted to using steroids or “doping” during their professional career. Numerous other competitive sports have athletes repeatedly pumping strength-building substances into their bodies from day to day. The harsh consequences and possible suspension from the game does not faze them as they continue to put themselves in danger of the deadly side effects.…
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.…
Steroids in Sports: Why steroids and other performance enhancing drugs should be banned from sports.…
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).…
Drug use among athletes has become a common action. Many athletes have or still use performance-enhancing drugs. Not all of these drugs are illegal. In fact, many of these products are available at nutrition stores or on the Internet. Performance-enhancing drugs are used to give athletes an edge. Whether this edge is in competition or in self-esteem, consequences play no part. Why would any athlete disregard consequences and consider using performance-enhancing drugs? For many, the possibility of unlimited gains is enough reason to justify disregard to consequences and use of drugs.…