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.

“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

“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.

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.

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.

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.

“…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

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

Bigger, faster, stronger. Everyone's goal is to become the best at what they do. From the Wayne Gretzky in hockey, Michael Jordan in basketball, or Serena Williams in tennis every athlete wants to be the best. But is it worth cheating to become the best? Performance enhancing drugs should continue to be illegal in athletics due to the immoral use, to probable increase of concussions, and the failure of bodily functions.

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.

Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are known to be used widely throughout sports, and they have aided many famous players in their success. An example of this is at the time of the “steroid era” (1980s-2000s) in baseball, when well-known players like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and many others used PEDs to hit a crazy amount of home runs that broke records (“The Steroid Era”). Some players feel as if they need to use PEDs in order to earn a spot on the team because of how much an advantage is gained by using them (Rosenberg). What I think about the controversial topic of whether PEDs should be legal is that the health risks, the bad example it shows, and it making sports unchallenging is enough to show that it should stay illegal.

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.

Doping in sports. A topic in which shows up in T.V. shows, movies, newspapers, and magazine articles. But what does society really know about performance enhancing drugs? According to the website Merriam-Webster the definition of doping is “illegal use of a drug (such as a steroid) to improve an athlete's performance.” Doping in sport should not be allowed because, it is not fair to the athletes not on steroids, dangerous to the user, and aggression towards other players also known as roid rage.

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.

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