Persuasive Essay On Becoming A Professional Athlete

Being a student athlete can be a very stressful situation. Trying to juggle both school and practices takes a toll on your body not only physically, but also mentally. Now imagine being that same student who balances their studies and workouts, and add a 20 hour-a-week part time job. You can now see how there would be severe effects from being a student athlete with a part time job.

The benefits of using some types of performance-enhancing drugs are obvious. Professional athletes have a very 'short shelf life' as competitors in most sports and must cash in on their talents as soon as possible. For Olympic athletes, the

“Commentators claim that performance-enhancing drugs are not right or wrong, simply another strategy to improve performance” (Introduction to Performance-Enhancing Drugs). There are two main problems wrong with the use of drugs being legal. Health of athletes would drop devastatingly, and the true competition would become who gets lucky. “Some mourn the loss of yesterday's baseball heroes, while others argue that sport figures who use performance-enhancing drugs expose flaws in American culture” (Introduction to Performance-Enhancing

As the use of performance enhancing drugs is becoming more popular amongst athletes, many of them do not understand the risks involved in taking these drugs. Many people are looking for a quick way to build muscles, or to get stronger the fastest way possible. Using these performance aids may very well be a quick fix for many athletes, but taking the drugs is unethical and dangerous. Using special drugs to boost an athlete’s performance is degrading to sports and to the athlete, but after they stop using the drugs and lose some strength, you become

Many incoming student athletes face problems with being out of shape when they first start their season. Many will claim that they will start to get in shape when they begin practicing and once they get used to it. It could be true for some student athletes, but they will find themselves struggling throughout the first couple months. Why not start off the season already in shape by eating correctly. Diet will be one of the most important lifestyles in a student athlete’s life. A lot of new collegiate student athletes will not know that eating three meals a day will help them throughout their whole season as well as their pre-season. I believe that all student athletes should consume at least three meals a day while keeping in mind what they are eating. Not only is it important for them to eat three meals a day but it is very important for all student athletes to consume the right amount of water everyday.

Since the original Olympic Games in ancient Greece, athletes have struggled to find a way to gain the competitive edge. Early rituals included consuming wine and brandy before an event, eating potent mushrooms, and even concocting magic potions thought to give the athlete improved performance ability (Phillips, 2000, p.53). A constant battle has been fought as the International Olympic Committee struggles to keep drug testing up-to-date and effective. We have come to associate drug use with a few famous names of fallen heroes, such as Ben Johnson and the most recent, C.J. Hunter, but few people realize just how widespread drug use is in Olympic sports and how small a

Nobody would argue that the quality of sports is basically dependent upon the level of skill of its players. As the skills of the players improve, so too does the quality of the game. So why are substances that would further athletes’ skills beyond human levels so ostracized? Doping is the practice of using steroids and other illegal substances to boost performance in sports and athletics. The debate of the morality of such substances has been going on for decades and continues to affect the world of sports in many ways. At the moment, steroids and all other performance-enhancing drugs are banned in their entirety from nearly all sports in most countries of the world. Scandalous lawsuits involving athletes abusing substances are constantly popping up, usually involving players and athletes that were considered fan-favorites or even heroes. Performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed in sports because it would make it easier to control them, allow athletes to perform better, and widespread use of steroids would allow more solid research and advancements in the pharmaceutical field.

The most commonly discussed issue in sports of the 21st century is the use of performance enhancing drugs by professional athletes. Over the past four years, it has been nearly impossible to turn on the television without hearing something about athletes and these drugs. From former National League MVP Third Baseman Ken Caminiti's admission of steroid use in an issue of Sports Illustrated (Verducci, 2004) to 2006 Tour de France Champion Floyd Landis being stripped of title due to a failed doping test (Blue, 2006) virtually every sport is involved. Are performance enhancing drugs a substance that threatens the very existence of professional sports, or are they the future? Perhaps the issue

Image winning at the highest level of competition: the fame, successes, all the characteristics of being a champion, and to have it all seized away because you had used performance enhancing drugs. Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) have been used in sports for many years, and there use is one of the most important issues among professional athletes. These drugs are detrimental to the human body physically and mentally. These athletes also serve as role models, influencing the younger generation by presenting that’s it acceptable to cheat no matter the consequences. So with all to consider and the evidence that is available, performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) should not be legalized.

What would you be willing to do to become a professional athlete? This is a question that demands more than a fleeting thought, because not only will becoming a successful professional athlete bring you millions of dollars, but you will achieve fame, fortune and worldwide recognition. Along with that you will be getting paid a lot to do something that you really love and enjoy.

Did you know that around twenty two percent of suicide cases are related to drug use (“Effects…”)? Or that eighteen percent of family homicides are related to drug use (“Effects…”)? Steroids have been used in sports since the early olympics when athletes ate plants with natural growth hormones and that produce more testosterone (“Effects…”). Steroid use since then has changed. Drugs are now faster, more productive, and easier to obtain. This is good for patients who require these to survive, but are very dangerous to those with different intentions. Performance enhancing drugs are addictive, illegal, prevent growth, and can be very deadly to anyone, no matter the age.

Doping has widely become known as the use of banned substances and practices by sports personnel particularly athletes in an attempt to improve sporting performances. No sensible fan of sport today denies the prevalence of drugs in virtually every major sport, yet none would argue they can ever be eliminated completely. Money alone would seem to guarantee that much. High profile athletes today are competing for high stakes, not just millions, but dozens of millions. The fear of losing everything career, opportunity, contracts, name, fame, and money is pushing more sportsmen all over the world to use performance enhancing drugs, mainly

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.

Many People think that the collegiate sports are just a form of entertainment for them and the players but the players think of these sports as a job. The NCAA is the National Collegiate Athletic Association and it is the center of making all of the rules for collegiate sports. They decide on if student athletes are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act or not. Student athletes do not get enough recognition and seen as students or entertainment but not as employees. Although some people do not believe student athletes deserve the recognition of being employees, others know they should because these students fall under the title employee from the requirements placed by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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.