The Pros And Cons Of Performance Enhancing Drugs

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.

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.

“Why it’s time to legalize steroids in professional sports” written by Chris Smith of Forbes Magazine argues that to level the playing field of professional sports it would be beneficial to legalize the use of performance enhancing drugs. Mr. Smith’s ideals that professional sports would be a fairer, more entertaining version of itself if performance enhancing drugs were legal, is an incredibly irresponsible and impudent declaration.

Abstract:  With the increase of competition has also come the need to become bigger and stronger than the opponent.  The use of steroids among athletes has caused the focus of the game to change.  No longer does an athlete want to win by doing their best, but they want to become bigger and have an advantage over the opponent.  Ultimately, all athletes feel that they need to use performance-enhancing drugs to compete at the same level. Despite all of the warnings and information on performance-enhancing drugs, athletes continue to use them and overlook the potential health risks associated with steroids.

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.

Barry Bonds, the man who broke Hank Aaron’s home run record in 2007 should be hailed as one of the greatest sluggers to ever swing a bat. So why isn’t he? With a career plagued with controversy over the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs (PED’s), Bonds’ historic records will be debated and held in controversy forever. The numbers Bonds put up during his career should earn him a first class seat headed to the Hall of Fame; however, even without an actual conviction, Barry Bonds’ link with PED’s will likely prevent his induction into the baseball Hall of Fame

“…medical researchers believe that between 1 and 3 million youths and adults have taken anabolic steroids in one form or another specifically to enhance their looks or athletic performances,” stated Nuwer (Nuwer, 61). As astounding as these figures are, the number of performance drug users is steadily increasing. With this progressively increasing numbers, it is projected that millions more will use steroids in the immediate future (Newer, 61). Athletes have always sought an advantage in competition even if ignoring the law and their health if necessary. Using drugs of any sort to facilitate an athlete’s athletic ability should be illegal. The use of performance enhancing drugs is not only detrimental to the user but it also creates an

The use of Performance Enhancing Drugs(PED) has a major impact on athletes negatively and cause many problems in sports and competitions. These PEDs should be banned for athletes and competitors on any level because they are, unhealthy and harmful to the body, give users an edge over competitors, and it diminishes the true sportsmanship of the game itself.

Over the past century using steroids or performance enhancing drugs has been a massive issue in today’s athletic society. Using steroids is unfair to athletes and their fans, because it gives certain sportsman an unfair advantage. Some athletes try to win at all costs even if sometimes that cost is there career, achievements, and even there lifes.

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?

Professional sports are a competition between the greatest athletes in the world. And when I go to a game, that’s exactly what I expect to see. Sports are entertainment. There is no room for purity and respecting the limits that athletes had in the past. Modern athletes should utilize all the resources that they have available to them. This includes steroids, which enhance an athlete’s performance. After all, performance is what really matters.

Why are performance enhancement drugs use in professional sports? The use of steroids has been a major problem among sports and has caused lots of controversy. Although these professional sports organizations such as the NFL, NHL, NBA and several others have spent time and money investigating athletes for uses of performance enhancement drugs, nothing has been done to erase records or record breaking statistics. In order to cease steroid and other performance enhancement drug users from cheating there need to be more involvement of severe punishments and stripping away all records, awards, and statistics. During my composition review I learned a great deal of information that I previously was unaware of. Period, the use of steroids in professional sports has ruined the game for avid sports fans, and competing players.

Performance enhancement drugs should be illegal because it gives the individuals who use them more advantages than the people who don’t use the drugs and actually work hard. Here, the World Anti-Doping Agency defines the term blood doping and what it does: “Blood doping is the misuse of certain techniques and/or substances to increase one’s red blood cell mass, which allows the body to transport more oxygen to muscles and therefore increase stamina and performance.” These drugs can be administered via syringe, and blood transfusion. When administered these make the blood more thick with makes the heart work harder to pump the blood through the body. This can cause heart attacks, strokes, and even blood clots in various places.

From a utilitarian perspective, the usage of PEDs would be morally preferable since it brings a great amount of utility. According to the Principle of Utility, “one ought always to do whatever will have the utility for all concerned” (Mizzoni 89). Hence, if the drug does not harm the athlete, and results in fortune and fame for the athlete himself, then it would bring a sufficient amount of utility. Plus, it contributes to positively affects the economy and bring pride to the nation. Then, the usage of performance-enhancing drugs would be considered moral.

Yes I believe it should ,but i'd only take serious enhanced performance drugs because go hard or go home right? It makes our athletes nearly superhuman I see no problem i'd love to be a super human like athlete.I run cross country and track imagine my fastest times after being doped up with performance