Do People Understand The Harmful Effects Of Performance?

He was on anti-spasmodic. He was on hydrocortisone. He was on testosterone. He was on a variety of antibiotics…He was occasionally on sleeping medication, and lots of pain killers to deal with his back. (Dallek, Robert).

When he was drafted into the NBA by the Denver Nuggets, the players knew about his drug issue. Therefore, they tried to help him stay on a clean path to a drug free life. His teammates would all take turns staying with him and making sure he didn’t drink or do any drugs. He was clean for over a year, however, that was all erased after he was traded to the Boston Celtics because he relapsed again. While with The Boston Celtics, Chris used painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin, and Percocent. He was released by the Boston Celtics because of a season ending knee injury. After he recovered from that injury, Chris went to play in Europe and Asia. There he would have dealers send packages of painkillers, so he would always have his drugs. However, he was caught using drugs and sent back to America. A few months later, in the parking lot of a Dunkin’ Donuts, Chris was found unconscious and was charged with possession of heroin and driving under the influence with a revoked license. Soon Chris started to purchase and use crystal meth. While under the influence of crystal meth, Chris overdosed and crashed his car into a utility pole. The paramedics on site at the accident said he was dead for thirty seconds.

He “became the university's first student to win varsity letters in four sports” (biography.com) but sadly he had to withdraw from the school because of a financial burden. He then went to Hawaii where he had played in a championship for football but later decided he wasnt for it anymore, he really wanted baseball. We all have that one thing that helps us get our mind off things and makes us more relaxed, that was his thing. As a result he kept on practicing and practicing on his free time and eventually got recognized. It turns out that the Brooklyn Dodgers, a professional mlb team wanted him to be apart of the experience. He had started to play and at first a lot of the players were sceptical on how good he really was until they saw him play, then they took him in as if he was just another one of them. He was succeeding so much him and another one of his teammates had traveled and “received several threatening letters in the two weeks leading up to the Atlanta exhibition game”(Hillstrom 55). He was starting to be recognized not for being the player that was a different skin color than everyone else, but an amazing baseball player. He had made it so that the other teammates would finally realize that being another race doesnt make u and worse or better than other races. Robbie started speaking out loud to crowds about how there needs to be some change with

Jules Tygiel, a sports historian and author once said, “Upon Robinson’s husky, inexperienced shoulders rested the fate of desegregation in baseball”(Tygiel 4). Jackie Robinson was not just the first black man to play in the MLB. Jackie Robinson opened up the door for all black baseball players, and athletes of all different sports. America needed a black man to show them that it was okay for blacks and whites to be together, to play baseball together. Jackie did exactly that. Although Jackie loved the professional baseball, professional baseball did not always love him. Jackie and the MLB did not always go well. Many teams didn’t like a negro sharing a field with them, in fact, the St. Louis Cardinals even went on strike for a short time(“Jackie Robinson”). Jackie’s presence made some teams forfeit games. However, the Dodgers did not care, they were just trying to win baseball games. Jackie knew when he came into the league it was going to be a struggle. He knew it was going to be hard, not only to help the Dodgers win games, but to stay level headed and not let off-field distractions affect his game. Jackie was once quoted saying “I think I am the right man for the test. There is no possible chance that I will flunk it or quit before the end for any other reason other than that I am not a good enough ballplayer.”(“Jackie Robinson”) It was going to take a special man to break the color barrier, and Jackie knew

there medicine is is is it’s not good it all messed up” Tacitus really did look nuts the drugs hadn’t completely worn off he was shaking uncontrollably liu keep asking the same question over and over in the same softly whisper like voice

Cris Carter took drugs and gave them up immediately when he heard he had another chance with a different team. He stopped immediately when he was picked up by the Vikings. He started working out more than he used to. The ambition of getting on a new team motivated him to stop the drugs.

People wanted to be like him, hit long home runs, and call there shots. He also taught people not to do bad things. How did he do this? He said that when he made it big he still hadn’t made it because of all the debt he had to pay. So people took inspired to be like him as a baseball player and also learned how to be a better person.

The choice he made to get involved in drugs jeopardized his

Jackie Robinson fought to be the first African-American player in the MLB which means that he integrated the MLB. He did go through hardships like in this quote from “I Never Had It Made”, “I was forced to live snubs, rebuffs, and rejections.” At this time most of his teammates didn’t accept him because he was black. Later on in the years, he got more inspiration from his wife, Branch Rickey, and children. In the quote, “I don’t think I’ll ever forget the small, shrill voice of a tiny white kid who … cried out “Attaboy, Jackie.” Children just wanted him to deliver wins for the team and to succeed. Jackie was one of many people that had turning points in their lives which changed their lives and their society.

Everyone wants to be the best. Everyone wants to have an edge over their opponent. Some will do whatever it takes, fair or unfair, legal or illegal, to put themselves in the best position to beat their opponent. Rules and regulations have been added and changed over time to prevent some of these unfair advantages created by performance enhancers. Many different methods, substances, and products have been used to create an advantage over an opponent. Performance-enhancers have been used and have changed over hundreds of years.

The themes of escape, addiction, and sexuality in The Basketball Dairies are all intertwined. Jin Carroll first use of drugs was recreational. It was something to do to past the time and to be able to fit in with his friends. In fact, he was so immature and naïve about drugs that he thought marijuana was addictive and heroine was not. It did not take long for his addiction to manifest. Jim Carroll grew up in a difficult time of political and social upheaving. During the 1960’s, the Unites States at war with Vietnam, Russia (The Cold War), and also faced a nuclear threat from Cuba (The Cuban Missile Crisis). Civil unrest, disobedience, increased racial tension and riots also proceeded this era. Young Jim Carroll felt powerless and hopeless in his environment and resorted to drugs to escape his catastrophic reality. Jim stated, “You don’t feel guilty about not fighting a war or carrying signs to protest it either. We’ve just mastered the life of doing nothing, which when you think about it, may be the hardest thing of all to do” (Carroll pg. 128). Jim Carroll was internally wounded by the plague of war. He lived in a world of constant state of terror. To be able to adjust and cope with this reality drugs were his only choice. I believe that if he attempted to handle all of his problems without the use of drugs, the talented artist that he grew to become would have been extinguished.

Numerous athletes struggle with drug abuse and substance abuse. Athletes sometimes form addictions to drugs prior to entering their sport and have a hard time quitting their addiction. Drug Rehab states, “However, like millions of Americans, athletes grapple with drug and alcohol addictions.” Drug Rehab also goes on to say, “rarely a day passes without news of a player entering rehab, failing a drug test, partying lavishly, or over dosing on a substance.” Professional sports enable substance abuse. Many athletes are paid large sums and can access drugs easily. Easy access to drugs has shattered the lives of many

Many cases of enhancer use have put a negative look on sports, the reason being unfair sportsmanship, the negative effects on the body, and eventually can determine the aspect of your future. For all the reasons why the use of Performance Enhancers should be banned in sports.

the ability to enhance an athlete’s performance on the sports field is of a disadvantage

However, conspicuously few would be familiar with that he used to deal in drugs when he was only twelve years of age (Stanley, 2014). He was subsequently arrested and jailed. He went into rehabilitation and successfully emerged from as a musician. He has never considered drugs ever since.