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Persuasive Essay On Cheating In Sports

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The idea of cheating has gained a lot of popularity in the media. Pro athletes caught using illicit drugs to gain a competitive advantage are condemned and often have the awards they've been given revoked. Even professional e-sport players have been caught using drugs such as adderall to gain a professional advantage. The competitive sports scene is not the only place where people use any means necessary to gain an edge. "Study drugs" are also often used in academia. What justification could there be for these people to be morally OK with their actions? Is cheating ever OK?

What does it mean to cheat? The definition of cheating is to act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination. This is a very broad definition that that could encompass a variety of actions. In the Olympics some teams have access to superior resources that other less fortunate teams don't have access to. Having state of the art equipment certainly gives an advantage, but is this an unfair advantage? Who decides what is unfair and what isn't? Several pro-athletes have been caught using drugs to give themselves a competitive advantage. Caffeine is a drug that offers several advantages over someone who doesn't use it. Does that give them an unfair advantage to someone who can't consume caffeine for religious reasons? Where is the line drawn for people using the best methods they can to improve themselves? There is certainly a grey area for what is and isn't considered cheating in terms of bettering yourself.

However, there are methods of gaining a competitive edge that go beyond just bettering yourself that are unarguably unfair. In the e-sports community using "hacks" to cheat offer an advantage that no one who uses any method to better themselves as player can compete with. Using a method that prevents other combatants from even having a hope of winning is certainly unethical. Using methods to better yourself at a faster rate is one thing, but using a method of cheating that gives you an edge over someone who has trained for countless hours more than you is another. Another example of clearly unethical cheating would be using methods that cripple your opponent. Essentially removing someone

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