Winners Never Cheat
Winners never cheat and cheaters never win Winners never cheat and cheaters never win. Americans have grown up with this statement. It is as American as baseball or apple pie. It appears that over the years, winning has become everything and athletes will do whatever it takes to win. In order to achieve this goal, more and more professional athletes are turning to the use of performance enhancing drugs. "A performance enhancing drug is any substance that is taken for the sole purpose of enhancing athletic performance" (Saltzman, 2006 p. 16). Professional athletes who take performance enhancing drugs create false expectations for the children and teenagers who look up to them. Athletes are role models, whether they like it or not. Their faces are everywhere, on television, advertisements, newspapers and magazines. Their actions, positive or negative, usually make front page news. Barr (2006) stated, "With certain professions come certain unspoken expectations and responsibilities", he went on to say "athletes know that by hitting a homerun, scoring a touchdown, or slam dunking they are going to be revered, idolized and looked up to as an example" (Athletes:, 4). "Athletics are meant to train us in discipline and fortitude, to build character" (McCormick, 2006 p.43). Many athletes also come from a humble background. This deeply strengthens youth's goals to strive for the same thing, that maybe they can achieve greatness with hard work and discipline. There is a possibility that someday, they will be in the limelight.
Professional athletes who use performance enhancing drugs break that ideal. They are incidentally creating misconceptions of the sport and their abilities. With the use of drugs, they become faster, stronger, and have more endurance. "Depending on the drug type, they help athletes to relax, work through pain and fatigue, build mass and muscle, hide other drug use, or increase oxygen supply to the exercising body tissues" (Saltzman, 2006, p.
Professional athletes who use performance enhancing drugs break that ideal. They are incidentally creating misconceptions of the sport and their abilities. With the use of drugs, they become faster, stronger, and have more endurance. "Depending on the drug type, they help athletes to relax, work through pain and fatigue, build mass and muscle, hide other drug use, or increase oxygen supply to the exercising body tissues" (Saltzman, 2006, p.
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