Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) have been created to enable athletes who compete in a majority of sports to improve endurance and skill when competing. Illicit drugs should certainly not be legalised to be taken in sport, especially to enhance performance. For a number of years now, society has seen several athletes fall from their significant careers in disgrace, shame and often with fatal health risks. Consuming any form of drug that substantially improves achievement in the athlete’s chosen sport have always been considered as cheating, this shouldn’t change now. Along with performing as an dishonest and prejudiced athlete, drugs can also dramatically affect the stability of mental and physical health of that athlete. There are many significant …show more content…
Why should this change? Athletes that have been successful in their sporting career have worked extremely hard to achieve their goals and meet the harsh qualifications and structure that this occupation requires on a daily basis. Training on average an intensive 5 to 6 hours per day, an elite athlete follows a strict diet to maintain a certain standard (Siddharth Suchde, 2015). If cheating, as a result of consuming PEDs, was allowed during training and competitions, the endurance and determination of the athlete would be wasted and the world will forget those who trained through a difficult day and due to this won their dream through talent and sacrifice. Furthermore, considering PEDs as a form of fraud in all sports, displays that cheating may as well be legalised also. If deception is okay in sport, will it be alright in other fields? Will it then be okay to cheat on a math test? Or to plagiarise somebody else’s efforts? Cheating the way to the top is not an option, unless sport is to fall into a tedious activity that is unenjoyable to …show more content…
There are many medical risks involved when taking drugs, particularly when taken on a regular basis. Professional athletes will experience extreme pressure to take PEDs, if legalised, expecting to fall behind the rest and perform below standard if they don’t. The majority of athletes would give in to this expectation, and will witness their bodies deteriorate as a result of the drugs, leaving the world with few naturally talented athletes left. In addition to scientific explanations and experimental conducts on these drugs, proving them to be extremely detrimental to anybody’s health; PEDs present the athlete’s and their sponsors with an unnecessary cost on medical bills as well as the cost of the drugs. An example of a fatal incident due to PEDs, is the death of British cyclist, Tommy Simpson; who died after his body shut down during the 13th stage of the Tour de France in 1965 (ProCon.org, 2015). Drugs have developed over this time and will only be more harmful, justifying why it is ridiculous even considering legalising PEDs in
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 use of PEDs is illegal in sports, I believe that it should stay that way. Many athletes have had their lives ruined from PEDs loosing the ones they love or dying themselves, and there are many horrible side effects that include, mental problems, and even death. Also, when someone is taking PEDs and another isn’t in say football then the person who isn’t could get very hurt, in short PEDs should just be dropped out of professional sports. If PEDs stay in professional sports (illegally) then many more people will die. Weather it is from another person or yourself. Having PEDs in professional sports give the athlete side effects that are hard to live with, doesn’t even guarantee that the drugs will work-the risks are high and the chances of it being good are low- they set a bad example for kids and teens around the world who look up to the pro athletes who take PEDs, lastly it will hurt the other athlete or yourself.
Many argue that PEDs don't do anything for the fighters strength and only help the endurance of the fighter. Many say they do not do any harm to any human beings, the user nor the opposition. "There is no coherent argument to support the view that enhancing performance is unfair; if it were, we would ban coaching and training. Competition can be unfair if there is unequal access to particular enhancements, but equal access can be achieved more predictably by deregulation than by prohibition." (Dr. Norman Fost). "If each of us ought to be free to assume risks that we think are worth taking, shouldn't athletes have the same freedom as anyone else? After all, if we should not forbid smokers from risking their health by smoking, why should we prohibit track stars or weightlifters from taking risks with their health in pursuit of their goals?" (Dr. Robert Simon). To the main points of why PEDs should be illegal, many come with counterarguments, such as qualified physicians and doctors, to prove that illegal PEDs do not provide an unfair advantage against the opposition. PEDs should stay illegal for the very fact that they are hazardous to not only your health, but to others as well. Not only are they illegal but they are also morally
Many people believe that drug use in professional athletics is not a serious problem, however it is more widespread and serious than people think. In professional athletics the use of drugs is looked upon as somewhat of a serious problem, but is also very discrete and low key. Every once in a while one might see a prominent figure in a certain sport being reprimanded for the use of some outlawed drug, however this is just one of the many who happened to get caught. Athletes today seem to find no moral problem with using performance-enhancing drugs, or in other words cheating. Also many of them feel that because they are "stars" there should be no repercussions for their illegal activity.
Drugs in sports is becoming a problem everywhere. “Another 26-year old athlete died of liver cancer after taking a number of different types of steroids over a four year period ” (Drugs and…). This is significant because this shows how dangerous drugs can be. If we have drug testing in schools this student could still be alive and would have stopped drugs before it got bad. The evidence points to the fact that drugs are a major health risk that is very concerning. In some cases taking drugs can even lead to death. In addition, another situation took place that affected a college student named Bob. Bob tried everything to gain weight so he could play football, so he chose to try steroids like everyone else. Steroids got him to play professional football, but horrible things were happening to him. He was having serious health problems. Bob quit drugs and is lucky to be alive (Drugs and…). This connects to the fact that doing drugs is a major
Taking Performance Enhancing Drugs makes the athletes phony and doesn’t show true skill and talent. Rather it shows that the athletes taking them don’t believe in themselves and need to have that extra boost in order to show the sporting world what they are “truly” capable of. PEDs should be banned from sports with a no tolerance policy. The consequences should be stricter and the athlete should be banned from the sport for life so that there will be less athletes to take the PEDs for years to
The use of performance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids has been a debatable topic in the United States as early as the 1950’s. Former U. S. Representative Howard Berman expresses that “Steroids can seem necessary to compete at the highest level, and the quick rewards may seem to outweigh the long term consequences to users.” The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that countless athletes, both young and old, face life threatening illnesses due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, some of which will cause lifelong problems. The use of the illegal performance-enhancing drugs also poses an unfair advantage among athletes seeing as how not all players take part in the risky benefits steroids offer. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the use of anabolic steroids in the United States is illegal without the consent of a medical professional, while the possession and the distribution of anabolic steroids is a felony offense. By analyzing the historical past and the facts about steroids in sports one would conclude that anabolic steroids should be banned, especially since they are already illegal. Nevertheless, will banning performance enhancing stop athletes from subjecting themselves to drug dependency and a wide range of side effects that in some cases can be fatal?
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.
Performance enhancing drugs, otherwise known as “PED’s” are without a doubt the most controversial and most talked about topics in sports business. Every year, athletes across the country are suspended, fined, and sometimes banned from the professional leagues that they are a part of. The National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and Major League Baseball (MLB) are all among the most well-known leagues and associations that crack down aggressively on the use of these substances that provide unfair advantages towards players. The MLB is the league that draws the most attention in the case of suspending and banning players. While there are many conflicting opinions and views when regarding the legalization of these illegal substances, performance enhancing drugs take away from the natural skill, ability, and hard work put in towards the activity at place. PED’s are a form of “cheating” and should not be allowed to be enabled by professional athletes in any pro sport.
This is a material world promoting material values, thus meaning that it should not be surprising to see individuals being willing to do everything in their power in order to make profits. Or should it? The sports community today is troubled by a series of athletes who have yielded to society's pressures and abandoned their principles with the purpose of taking performance enhancing drugs. It is difficult to determine if it would be normal for the masses to judge these individuals, concerning that they are actually one of the reasons for which these people have come to consider taking performance enhancing drugs in the first place. However, the only ones who can judge them are other hard-working sportspersons who have stood by their principles and who respect the idea of sport in general.
There are good reasons to allow performance enhancement, to make sport fairer and to narrow the gap between the cheaters and the honest athletes. It would provide a better spectacle, be safer and less coercive” (Foddy) Therefore, with the legalization of PED’s not only would the playing field suddenly be even for all players, it would be at a higher level. Furthermore, athletes on the way up whose entourages don’t yet include savvy physiotherapists and doctors would be less likely to overdose and do themselves harm.
Performance-enhancing drugs (PED 's) have been an issue for many decades now for the medical and sports field. Olympic and professional athletes have been using them to gain an upper hand on the competition, but some may ask if it 's really worth it? Studies show that performance-enhancing drugs have been proven to negatively affect the health of athletes who take them. Simply put, performance-enhancing drugs could either improve athletic performance or can be extremely dangerous, in certain situations, deadly. There have been strict rules and drug testing in the professional sporting organizations, as well as in world competitions. For example, in the summer of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, in two of the
Performance enhancing drugs can cause health risks which it takes the time to learn about the benefits, and health risks. Other drugs have different risks, benefits, and side effects. There is at least 7 different type of drugs. They all have different risks. The 7 kinds of drugs are anabolic steroids, Androstenedione, Human growth hormone, Erythropoietin, Diuretics, Creatine and Stimulants. The government should banned them because most of the athletes say it’s cheating and it’s not natural. PED makes you stronger and faster but they can also hurt you. Any substance taken to perform better athletically. This is reference often and typically refers to anabolic steroid use in sports by professional and amateur athletes. (Staff, 2010)
More and more, of our society views winning more important than itself. Success in competition brings status, popularity, and fame, not to mention college scholarships. Today’s athletes are looking for an advantage over the competition that will make them winners. Unfortunately, the drugs of today are caught up in the high stakes competition frenzy. Of this reality, teenage use of performance improved drugs is growing ever more popular. In colleges and in the professional league a lot of people are doing drugs and its ruining their health and life. Also, if some teenagers take performance drugs they are making them better than everyone else giving themselves an advantage over everyone else which is cheating, so why should they get money
Performance Enhancing Drugs(PEDs) shouldn’t be used in sports, because of its adverse health consequences. According to an article called Performance-Enhancing Drugs Can Have Severe Long-Term Impact on Health: Expert, in the long term, PEDs can cause impotence, worsening acne, balding and “steroid rage.” This conveys that if athletes use PEDs there will be serious effects and severe consequence to their health. Also, the drugs aren't subject to government safety standards and could be impure or mislabeled.(Article: Performance-enhancing drugs: Know the risks?) Therefore, the illegal drugs and supplements that the athlete consume are dangerous, damaging and potentially deadly. The drug could be made out of something that gives you a disease or even kills you because it doesn’t meet the government safety