Essay On Peds In Sports

In every sport, there has always been a desire to win. Some athletes will do anything to make winning possible. Every elite athlete wants to be better than their opponent. Some rely on performance enhancing drugs, also known as PED’s, to improve their game. This topic is very important because it can be the difference between winning and losing. Winning can mean money, fame and a place in history. I believe athletes should not use PED’s in sports because it is an unfair advantage, health risk, bad role modeling, bad sportsmanship, and results in tainted records and awards.

The issue of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) has been among the most controversial in the sports world. A number of high profile athletes from Barry Bonds to Lance Armstrong have seen their reputations tarnished as a result of their use of these substances. Even the US Congress has held a number of high profile hearings on the subject to rid professional sports of their usage. In the sports world, it is almost assumed that sports are better when PEDs are removed from the game, and that the sport’s integrity is threatened when its players use these banned substances. Bud Selig, the former commissioner of Major League Baseball, described ridding baseball of PEDs as necessary “to maintain integrity, fairness and a level playing field.” Sports leagues have created highly sophisticated systems to identify players who use PEDs and levy them with harsh punishments. I will argue that the argument from fairness presented by Michael Lavin is not a valid reason to ban PEDs from professional sports. To clarify, my argument is not that PEDs are good for athletes or professional sports, but merely that they should not be banned out of a concern for fairness.

PED use has been a controversial topic over the past few decades in professional, both professional and non-professional. There are many positive and negative effects of the use of these type of drugs. The drugs have been said to even out the playing field if the availability was open to everybody, get the body bigger in a shorter amount of time than just training, and make for better and longer lasting events. They have also been said to eliminate the moral and principle of sports, not everybody can respond to the drugs the same way, and they may be linked to long-term negative effects on the human body. Other debates that have been brought up are the influence of these athletes on younger generations and the representation of the the club or team that these athletes play for. It has been a long and controversial road and debate over PED’s.

The ball was set. Over the net it went, just to be bumped up, and spiked down on the side that set it. Just then one of the teammates flashed past the rest of them and dove on the ground, hands outstretched. There was a smacking sound as the ball hit her hands. The ball bounced back up. She had saved her team. One of her teammates realized what was happening and quickly jumped in to help, spiking the ball down on the other side of the net, hitting the ground with a thud. But how did she dive so quickly? The ball was a second away from hitting the ground yet she had managed to save it. PEDs is how she managed to save it. Because she was taking the performance enhancing drug, it gave her enough speed to dive for the ball that quickly. Of course,

Out of the 21,849 drug tests during the 1968-2008 summer games there was 105 cases of positive drug tests (“Drugs and athletes”). Performance Enhancing Drugs can either be Stimulants, Anabolic-androgenic steroids, human growth hormones, and Erythropoientin (“Performance Enhancing”). PED’s improve your overall athletic performance. PED’ are harmful and can even be fatal. Athletes use these substances to gain an unfair advantage to become better than their opponent. Athletes who use PED’s violate the spirit of competition and makes it not fun to compete for players who respect the rules. Every year countless players take PED’s to give them an unfair boost that can harm them, it also does not show their true athleticism on the field.

In the present day sports have become more competitive than they used to be. With money and fame at stake many lean towards the use of PEDs to support their career. PEDs also known as performance enhancing drugs which are defined as “any substance taken by an athlete to improve their performance”(DrugFreeSports). The enhancers are broken down into well know categories such as “anabolic steroids, androstenedione, human growth hormone, erythropoietin, diuretics, creatine and stimulants”(Mayo Clinic Staff 2). All these enhancers come with a backlash of negative effects. The use of PEDs are an issue that has been going on for some time now which can negatively affect the team. However, the strain is more on the player who uses it. In result of this issue it produces a tension in sportsmanship. Enhancers are a matter that concerns the players mental and physical state. Overall it also can determine the

A world track and field athlete and former basketball player, Marion Jones, stated, “I have never used performance enhancing drugs. I have never taken them and I will never take them.” Marion, however, is an anomaly. Many professional athletes often become so entangled in being the best and being on top, they often forget the reason why they fell in love with the sport they play. They become more involved in their personal success rather than the success of the team. Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) have propelled the mindset of personal success over team success, and professional athletes have been lured into the trap of the “benefits” that PEDs offer. While many professional athletes cannot resist the benefits that performance enhancing drugs offer to amplify their skills, studies show these drugs

Around 20% of professional athletes are caught using PEDs, or performance enhancing drugs. But, CHarles Barkley, a NBA basketball player, says the number is way higher. The sports world needs to put more time and money into anti-doping efforts because PEDs have many bad side effects and are cheating.

In today’s world, sports have become more and more about winning than the game itself. Success within sports not only comes with status, but popularity and fame as well. The want and need to succeed in athletics has driven great athletes to take illegal measures to give themselves an edge over their competition. Performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids, androstenedione, and ephedra alkaloids are all used by athletes to take the shortcut to success and bypass all the hard work that success takes. Although performance enhancing drugs do enhance an athlete’s performance, at the same time they do more harm than good to the human body. Some of these side effects include hypertension, heart disease, liver disease, acne, high LDL, and “roid rage” are just some of the many problems that come with PED’s. Not only do these drugs bring along many health problems but can be lethal as well. Many people believe that PED’s should be allowed because athletes are only doing it for their own good. Professional athletes are not the only ones abusing the easy way out, high school and college athletes are starting to do the same to earn a scholarship to a Division-1 school or landing that big time contract with a professional team. All in all, it’s just not the right thing to do; success from hard work is a lot sweeter than the success from cheating. Performance enhancing drugs must be outlawed in all aspects of professional sports for the future of

Long throughout mankind’s history there have been sports that have pushed men and women to do incredible accomplishments. These sports have always been thought of as an extremely and entertaining competitive activity as well as a celebration of human capabilities. However, with these sports there have always been things that worked to degrade the integrity of them. Some of these things include unsportsmanlike conduct, unfair rules or regulations, and in the last decade or so, cheating through the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). Among these detrimental aspects in sports, PEDs are potentially the worst. These drugs offer up the risk of potentially endangering those athletes that use these drugs as well as put other athletes that do

"I needed to perform, and perform at a higher level every day… I had just signed this enormous contract… I felt like I needed something, a push… to get me to the next level." admitted Major League Baseball player Alex Rodriguez in 2009. Performance-enhancing substances have been an issue for many years: a temptation for numerous athletes. Athletes desperate to succeed are turning to illegal substances, despite the long and short term effects. The pressure on athletes to succeed is soaring and most athletes do not want to let people down. Clean, hard working athletes are being put on the 'back burner' because their contenders want to use drugs to thrive in competitions. The use of performance-enhancing drugs has certainly come to the forefront

Since the beginning of sports athletes have sought a way to get an advantage over their opponents; Whether it be in ancient rome using berries to give a sight stimulation during competition or today injecting steroids to shave that extra second off your run, the use of PED’s are all over sports and are not leaving anytime soon. Steroid use in sports should be legalized because they will revolutionize the modern athlete, save thousands of money on drug tests, and no more athletes will lose their careers over doping scandals.

Professional athletes taking PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) is greatly affecting today’s sports. Many of today’s professional athletes are taking PEDs. PEDs help these athletes to train harder, longer, and speed up the recovery process. This does not only give them an unfair advantage over their opponent but it also comes with many health risks. Professional athletes should be required to take more frequent drug tests because they are unfair and dangerous.

competitive advantage against their opponents. Numerous athletes have been exposed for their illegal substance abuse or “doping.” Athletes, such as New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriquez, were caught with performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in their systems and suspended from their respected sports. Cyclist Lance Armstrong made international headlines when he admitted to using banned performance enhancers during his career, stripping him of his seven Tour de France titles. Hall of Fame-worthy baseball players from the 90’s to 2000’s were denied entrance because they played in the “steroid era.” There are easily several noteworthy cases of illegal substance abuse every year. Along with the increase of use among athletes, the use of PEDs among America’s youth is increasing each year. Most athletic enthusiasts with basic

For many years athletes have been using drugs to enhance and provide better performance for themselves and for their team. Most drugs were introduced to players by fellow teammates and team doctors. Expanding from professional sports to minor league sports, including college and high school sports.The use of drugs isn’t as prevalent in the Midwest as it is to the East and West coast. The act to stop the drug process in sports isn’t very effective because the expansion of drugs and the simplicity of obtaining drugs common worldly trend not only for the younger crowd of society, but also, the older crowd. Sports teams and leagues enforce the band of any drug that meets any of these three criteria: improves athletic performance, harm athletes, and are against spirit of the sport.