Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports

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

Athletes use performance enhancing drugs to boost their game. The professionals who use these drugs are ruining the integrity of the game. Many people don’t understand why professional athletes would go to such extreme measures to be better when they have already proven themselves. Athletes are just taking away from their natural ability by using these dangerous drugs. The risk of using performance enhancing drugs is a lot greater than the reward, because an athlete’s reputation could be tarnished and their career ruined. Money is one of the major reasons why players use them; if they perform at levels higher than what their natural abilities could do they will be offered a large sum of money.

Performance enhancers are very prominent in professional sports today. A lot of players are facing suspensions and other penalties for using them. The sport that gets scrutinized the most for this is Baseball. Many former users in the MLB (or formally the NABBP) have come out saying that they were using these drugs while playing. Some of these players are Jorge Sosa, Antonio Bastardo, and the famous Alex Rodriguez. Although these drugs have been prohibited, players are still finding ways around the tests which is why in some other countries they are legal so that no one player can have an unfair advantage.

Performance enhancement drugs also promote cheating in sports to be allowed. The violation of cheating in a competitive aspect of sports gives an unfair advantage from the opposition they’re going against (Mumford 2). The offense of using these drugs in sporting events is that it’s against the regulations that the athletes must proceed to follow to able to continue playing the sport (Mumford 2). According to the evidence it shows how the use of performance-enhancement drugs is cheating in sports. “One accepts the lusory goal in sport, an inefficient means of achieving some task, precisely because without the constraint of rules, game playing would

Do you want to want to become the peak athlete that you know your body is capable of? Well, this paper will not do that for you, but it will tell you how, and it will tell you why it should be legal to do so. Doping in sports is one of the most extensive debates within the realm of athletics. Whether it be injecting anabolic steroids, consuming them, or blood doping, athletes will do drugs. Doping has no effect on the viewership of the sport. Athletes can always find ways to cheat the system, and trying to prevent the use seems impossible. The use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) should be legalized, as long as it is allowed under medical supervision.

In the days when steroids were only being used by body builders and professional wrestlers, stories about performance enhancing drugs could only be found on the back pages of the newspapers. When former Oakland Raiders All-Pro Lyle Alzado admitted to steroid use in a 1991 Sports Illustrated article the whispers about what professional athletes were using steroids began to get louder. (Puma, 2005) Finally, in 2002, when Caminiti, a former MVP, came clean, two things were clear; athletes in all sports were using these drugs, and that they worked. The fact that steroid use had permeated our national pastime combined with the media explosion of the internet and 24 hour a day sports talk created a perfect storm which created the biggest sports story of the new millennium so far. However, two other facts remained clear, performance enhancing drugs were old news, and athletes in all sports from all over the world had been using them for years.

Propaganda and the use of glittering generalities may have a way of blinding us of the truths that surround PED’s, however, there is still a way of digging out the answers. One of the most horrific truths is that an athlete will almost endure anything to achieve ultimate greatness, even if it will take their own life. In the article “Gaming by Games”, by Jim Schmaltz he states, “There's an old saying among critics of Olympic drug-testing standards: How do you discover who's using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs)? Find the ones wearing the medals.” (Schmaltz). This saying that Schmaltz states is not only a reminder of the way the sports world of today is, but it is also a sad truth of what it takes to succeed in sports. This example of an Olympic medalist; someone who is viewed as hard working individual who has been training for almost four years for this exact moment, is nothing but a performance enhancing drug user. “‘Death for glory’ mindset is known as the Goldman Dilemma, and it's the reason athletes take enormous risks for their health reputations, and career -- even if they don't want to.” (Schmaltz). This quote specifically illustrates the terrible truth that comes along with being an athlete in which health is a risk worth taking in the journey for gold. The use of a PED is an extreme health risk; however, athletes will still consider using this because

Athletes partaking in performance enhancing drugs is another sport specific risk behaviour to achieve victory. Taking performance enhancing drugs gives an extra edge and is a short cut to good performance. It allows one to perform under any circumstances. In fact, stimulants are the most common types of drugs that are misused. Stimulants reduce tiredness and pain. Further, it increases endurance and explosive power due to the reduction of pain. The earliest reasons for the use of stimulants is because of the restricting barriers to pain. Nevertheless, this causes more injuries as they are pushing their bodies past what they are physically capable of. However, they are not aware of this because at the time the athlete is no responsive to pain.

Think back to 1999. The Foo Fighters were one of the most popular bands in the United States, Bart Simpson starred on thousands of Americans television screens and that summer, Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France. With his win, the world started to question his ability and how amazingly he ascended into the Alps. The thought of illegal, sport enhancing drugs came about. Drugs are a form of cheating, so it was not fair. It was not the first hearing of the drug, but it was the first at the turn of the century. Doping has been around for many years. Humans will continue to use illegal substances, no doubt about that, however if we imply stricter regulations, it will make it harder for athletes to cheat.

In the past couple of years, many athletes in different sports have been caught using performance-enhancing drugs. When an athlete tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs it is usually one that is well known. Furthermore, there have been many instances never reported. It has come to a point where an athlete is doing really well in his sport, speculations on the use of steroids or other performing-enhancing drugs arise, the bothersome thing about sports today is that the speculations may very well be true. The usage of steroids, and other performance-enhancing drugs, is precarious. While it has enhanced the entertainment value of sports, it also has

The growth and use of performance enhancing drugs makes them no longer a taboo subject among professional athletes, and is starting to become in fact rampant among athletes. There appears to be no end in sight when leagues like the NFL and NCAA have weak testing programs.

Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds. What do all of these legendary baseball players have in common? They are some of the all-time homerun leaders in the history of Major League Baseball. They also have another thing in common, which is how they all got onto the career home runs list, through the use of performance enhancing drugs. The debate on whether or not performance enhancing substances should be allowed in professional sports has been going on for years, decades even. Many believe that using steroids and other performance enhancers should automatically disqualify an athlete from ever being able to be a member of the Hall of Fame, in sports in general, not just in Major League Baseball. However, there is an argument to be made to make the use of performance enhancing drugs legal in all of professional sports.  Performance enhancing drugs should remain illegal in professional sports because they provide an unfair advantage, they are extremely unethical, and they can also be dangerous to athletes.

Almost every sport has had a steroid disaster, however the correlation between baseball and steroids is greater known than any other sport. Barry Bonds is the most effective example, for those who don't know, he broke the home run record of 73 home runs in a single season and was inducted into the hall of fame. Barry Bonds took anabolic steroids, there is no question the court has documents and tests stating that three types of performance enhancing substances were found in his tests. (barry) Most people were concerned about how to view his all time record, whether or not any of his achievements should remain, because knowingly or not he did this with chemical support. An athlete on performance enhancing drugs broke one of the most honored records in baseball history, not only offended some and troubled Barry Bonds’ accomplishment but also tons of people’s faith in baseball. Baseball is making an attempt to fix the reputation left by Bonds and many other athletes, but this legacy from the steroid era of baseball stands as testimony to some significant mistakes by both athletes and policy makers in the MLB. Ben Johnson, track and field, was an amazing competitor in the 1988 Olympics. He dashed across the track with a record breaking time of 9.79, soon after being awarded he was found to have taken a supplement of stanozolol. He was stripped of his gold medal, and taken out of the Olympics for good. Lastly, Cyclist Lance Armstrong, wasn't able to

Many people may not know what performance enhancing drugs, or PED are and what they have to do with athletes. When people talk about performing enhancing drugs, they assume that they are steroids or some type of human growth hormone (HGH). However, a performance enhancing drug is anything that is taken by an athlete to improve their skills. Performing enhancing drugs mostly refers to anabolic steroid use in sports by either professionals or amateur athletes. People all over the world use performing enhancing drugs. Starting from high school, college,and even to professional careers, the evolution of enhancing drugs has made a difference in the athletic world to this day. Performing enhancing drugs, should not be allowed in sports because they have serious long term health effects, they provide players with unfair advantages, and they lead to athletes serving as poor role models for fans and future players.

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.