Hundreds of professional athletes across the world have been accused of taking performance enhancing drugs. The use of performance-enhancing drugs by professional athletes, or "doping", has been acknowledged as a problem since at least the 1960s. The first use of performance-enhancing drugs has been traced back to the first Olympics in Greece. Scandinavian mythology says Berserkers could drink a concoction prepared from a mushroom, to increase their physical power a dozen times. “We have to make some radical move to get the attention of everyone. Cheaters can't win and steroids have put us in the position that it's OK to cheat.” (Lou Brock, 2009) This quote describes how almost every professional player feels when they know that their opponents are cheating. Performance enhancing drugs should be banned and players should be punished more harshly because it leads to numerous diseases, young athletes would be tempted to take it, and players would be unpredictable and can cause. Performance enhancing drugs are known to cause numerous diseases such as tumors, cancer, and can cause fertility problems. There are numerous cases of players dying or ruining their careers because they have gotten caught up in getting bigger and taking these drugs For instance in professional wrestling alone, 28 people have died because of PED’s (All of these people are died younger than 45 years old.) (wrestlinginc.com, 2010). There are hundreds of known PED’s. The most commonly used drug is steroids which gives you an increased risk of heart and liver disease. Players use this drug because it makes you have better endurance, it makes your blood flow faster and it makes you stronger. Another popular PED is Human Growth Hormone. This drug has been and still ... ... middle of paper ... ...t these drugs are catastrophic and cause so many diseases and sicknesses that should not happen to an athlete. Athletes will be looked at as superheroes and children would not want to idolize a player that got to where he is because he did drugs. A child wants to look up to a player that beat the odds and worked harder than everyone else. If Performance Enhancing Drugs were legalized and allowed in all professional sports, there would be a lot of deaths, and player that have diseases caused by the drugs they took. Also High school and college players would begin to take it because they would feel like that is the only way to get to the pros. And lastly players would hurt themselves and their teammates and fellow players. PED’s have a lot of potential but not yet. There are too many health defects and we do not want our “heroes” to die from a disease caused by drugs.
Why performance enhancing drugs should be legalized. For starters, yes they are horrible for your body, and in today’s world it is considered cheating, but imagine an alternate world where they are legal. I can say that it would make sports more enjoyable to watch to a certain extent. Athletes running faster, jumping higher, hitting each other harder. It really would be something to see players hit 650 foot homeruns regularly. Or have basketball players averaging 40 points a game, dunking on each other left and right. We as sports fans go to games, tune into broadcast, to watch the home team win and to see something amazing happen. We watch to see a player make history, which might I add doesn’t happen very often. Yes, it may not be as special if a player such as LeBron James was scoring fifty point every night, but it definitely would be fun for viewers to watch. The main challenge in all of this would be how sports would regulate the use. Otherwise it would be interesting to see what sports could turn into in the
The problems with performance enhancing drugs are that they give the user unfair advantages over other athletes and come with many health risks such as baldness. Steroid use can result in very substantial legal consequences and can ruin the user’s reputation. There are many alternatives to steroids but not all of them are safe. Different organizations have different rules on steroids, but in most cases, the user can get suspended, fined, or even both. Various types of steroids can have various short-term or long-term side effects. There are several types of steroids, the most popular ones being anabolic steroids. Historically, steroids have been around for many years, but the debate surrounding them started recently, more specifically a few decades ago. An important term to know is anabolic steroids which are made to work with the user’s muscle mass. Another term to know is clarified by Ida Walker, author of the book, Steroids: Pumped Up and Dangerous, published by Mason Crest Publishers in 2008, defines, peliosis hepatis is a rare condition in which cysts filled with blood form in the liver, if the cysts were to pop then internal bleeding would occur. A positive argument about steroids is stated by Adrianne Blue, author of the essay, “Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Legal,” published in the book Athletes and Drug Use, published in 2009, disputes, “Blue concludes that legalizing performance- enhancing drugs can protect athletes from dangerously abusing them.” The utilization of performance enhancing drugs has left a giant scar on sports and has compromised the achievements of many athletes; therefore, they are transforming the sports world into a drug filled world.
Performance enhancing drugs affect so many people that don’t even realize it. Fans of the game, coaches, university leaders and of course athletes are the major groups of people that can be affected the most from the usage of performance enhancing drugs. Numerous studies have stated that an athletes drug use in sport could be credited to a complex interaction of personal and environmental factors (Judge). Athletes hold themselves to high standards for themselves or maybe even family members they must provide for. Athlete will do whatever it takes to strive in their sport because in most cases personal success can lead to better opportunities such as the National Football League or maybe even the National Basketball Association. Overall, individuals can be affected in a positive manner through the use of performance enhancing drugs. Furthermore, the use of performance enhancing can do nothing but help athletes. Also, some college athletes need performance enhancing drugs more than others. Not every athlete comes from a well provided family and knowing that can plaque athletes to where they’ll do whatever it takes to be successful. With this in mind it would totally be unfair if only one or a couple of athlete used enhancing drugs however if every athlete were granted the right to use performance enhancing drugs there
For those who've never heard of the term PED's, Performance enhancing drugs are any supplements that are considered to allow one perform better in their respective sports ,such as anabolic steroids and HGH( Human Growth hormones). The effects of these supplements can range from expediting muscle to increasing one's stamina. PEDs began to become the center of controversy when the I.O.C set up a medical commission to oversee the fight against doping, which ultimately lead to the ban of PED's in professional sports. Stemming off from the I.O.C...
Athletes put their lives in danger by using performance enhancement drugs. They use these drugs to gain physical advantages for their sporting events. These methods have been around for thousands of years. According to research, “In ancient Greece, Olympic athletes would ingest huge portions of meat that contained testosterone and creatine before they competed. They would also consume large quantities of alcoholic beverages and lamb testicles” (“Steroids”). Today, sportspersons have a drug policy due to health hazards, violence and incapability’s of normal performances. From lamb chops to steroids, many athletes are willing to destroy their bodies to become “popular” legends.
The use of performance enhancing drugs can lead to great health issues, can provide unfair advantages to those who are in the right and not doping up, and can cause the spirit of the sport to be violated and the loss of an athlete’s integrity. Though one could argue against each of these three criteria and have a valid argument, I believe that the dangers to an athletes health are reason enough for the ban on performance enhancing drugs to continue. Using these drugs can have extreme effects on bodily organs and the quality of life an athlete will lead after their use. The dangers that using a performance enhancing drug could bring to one’s health is not the only issue, causing the spirit of the sport to be violated is also an important reason. Many people look up to athletes or love a sport, but their support for the athlete as well as their support for that particular sporting event is in danger when an illegal act is committed within that
Every athlete dreams of becoming the best player in their sport. For most athletes, this dream was created in their childhood watching their favorite player perform at great levels to achieve success. Most athletes will stop at anything to achieve success, even if that means breaking the rules. An athlete whether the biggest, fastest, or strongest, will always look for something that will give them and extra edge over everybody else, even if that means performance enhancing drugs. With new records being broken day by day, I believe performance-enhancing drugs should be legal in all professional sports.
In sports many people think it is ok to use Performance Enhance Drugs to be the best player of all time.Performance Enhance Drugs are substances used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. For example, Bruce Irvin the defensive end with the seattle seahawks,and Daryl Washington the linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals. It is not just football players , baseball players also like, Cody Stanley from the St. Louis Cardinals. Many people use them, but the end up getting caught and suspended from playing.You are basically cheating your way to fame.People should not use drugs in a sport to become better because,These drugs have an effect on having a long term of health, could lead to overdose, and if you get caught you most
Many athletes are pressured into using PEDs by coaches or managers and are not thoroughly educated about the harmful health issues that can come along with taking performance-enhancing drugs. A rising issue is whether performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed in professional sports. I believe that in any professional sport, the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes should continue to be banned because this rule will help to keep athletes from abusing these harmful drugs. Steroids can seem harmless to the uninformed user, but they actually have harmful side effects. According to the article “News examines relationship between steroids and heart-related deaths,” published by New York Daily News, “The study (presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago on Nov. 12, 2006) shows that deaths jumped from 476 from in 1980-1992 to 987 from in 1993-2005.
The use of PEDs is a trade-off, a choice between health and victory. It should be an athletes personal choice as to which one they value more. “If each of us ought to be free to assume that we think are worth taking, shouldn't athletes have the same freedom as anyone else... if athletes prefer the gains in performance allegedly provided by steroids along with the increased risk of harm... what gives anyone the right to interfere with their choice? After all, if we should not forbid smokers from risking their health by smoking, why should we prohibit track stars or weightlifters from taking risks with their health in pursuit of their goals” (Simon). There are many things that are greater risks to one's health than steroid use that continue to be allowed to be used and yet somehow steroids have been the ones that have been banned.
“We have to make some radical move to get the attention of everyone. Cheaters can’t win and steroids has put us in the position that it’s ok to cheat” quoted baseball hall of famer, Lou Brock. The term “doping in sports” refers to the use of performance-enhancing drugs by an athlete to improve his or her performance. The reasons that doping in sports should be banned are mainly health risks, the equality of opportunity for athletes, and the exemplary effect of drug-free sports for the public. Anti-doping authorities state that using performance-enhancing drugs goes against the “spirit of sport”.
A PED or a performance enhancing drug is a drug which helps the user to improve on any form of activity performance. Athletes and bodybuilders use PED’s to enhance their performance. There are many types of PEDs, one is the anabolic drug. It is the most common and it is to build up muscle. They are steroids, hormones, and human growth hormone. The effects are giving the user extra strength, speed, and increases their size. It can be detected by a urine sample from the user. The side effects are severe acne, oily skin, hair loss, liver disease, liver tumors and cysts, kidney disease, heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, altered moods, irritability, increased aggression, depression or feeling suicidal, alterations in cholesterol and other blood
Have you ever heard of someone or knew someone who used PEDs or performing enhancing drugs? You’ve probably heard of Lance Armstrong or Alex Rodriguez, they got caught using PEDs. Now, what exactly is a PED? A PED is a drug that resembles the structure of the body’s sex hormone testosterone. These drugs are used by athletes to boost the body’s ability to produce muscle and prevent muscle breakdown, according to Kids Health. Athletes may think that these drugs can boost their game, but these drugs can have some nasty side effects. Side effects ranging from tumors to possibly death. These drugs can create an unfair advantage for other players playing the sport. They are also illegal in the United States. Lastly, they can also take a nasty toll on a person’s body. Overall, these drugs can have many effects on a person such as diseases and possibly death, they are illegal, and they can create an unfair playing ground for other players.
Doping is a practice that has been going on since the time of "ancient Greek athletes, who supposedly ate herbs, sesame seeds, dried figs, and mushrooms for this purpose" (Hoberman, 1992, 104). Likewise, athletes have readily consumed such drugs as caffeine and alcohol to improve performa...
Performance enhancing drugs have an overall negative effect on the world of sports. When athletes use PEDs they are not only cheating themselves, but also the people who look up to them. Cheaters have changed the sports world permanently and have negatively impacted the youth of today.