The Ethics of Performance Enhancing Drug Use in Baseball

As Approached from Virtue Ethics and Utilitarian Perspectives Since the 1990’s, Major League Baseball has been tainted by the “steroid era,” with over 127 players admitting to or being charged for performance-enhancing drug usage. As records have been shattered, books have been published, and players have confessed to their exploits, these drugs have made society question the legitimacy of America’s favorite pastime. One of the game’s greatest, Hank Aaron, set the all time homerun record in 1974. Thirty-three years later, Barry Bonds tied this record, and shortly after was indicted for lying under oath about his alleged use of steroids in the BALCO scandal. An example of two monumental milestones, both affected by the use of illegal drugs, raises concerns about ethics and morality in the world of baseball. Though controversy often surrounds the world of athletics, no other topic threatens health, careers, and achievements more than steroid usage. This contemporary issue has two distinct positions that have divided athletes and spectators alike. With the increased attention to banned substances in baseball, opposing approaches to the subject have created convincing arguments on both sides. Ultimately, the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball is an unethical and dangerous act, one that threatens the virtues, integrity, and purity of this revered game. Steroid usage turns baseball into a game of chemistry, fame, wealth, and illegitimate gain instead of reliance upon ability, dedication, and character. Thus, performance enhancing drug use in baseball is unethical and morally wrong. Though I will assert that the Aristotelian Virtue Ethics perspective yields the most convincing argument to support this claim, I will also explain the position from the Utilitarian perspective, which endorses steroid usage from a different position of ethical principles. Ultimately, upon evaluation of both Virtue Ethics and Utilitarian theories, a conclusion will arise that

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