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Professional athletes and enhancing performance drug abuse and the effects
Professional athletes and enhancing performance drug abuse and the effects
Professional athletes and enhancing performance drug abuse and the effects
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Shouldn’t Professional Athletes Benefit From Advances in Medicine?
Today’s professional sports society is full of hypocrisy. We want “superstars”, super performances and elite play. We’re always looking for the next Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth or Joe Montana or someone to do something never done before. Millions of people turn on the TV to watch the Olympics to see if someone will run faster, jump higher, swim faster, or do countless other amazing feats. Fans fill up stadiums that seat over 100k people, just to be entertained and hopefully see something dramatic or beyond belief. The pressure for professional athletes to perform at an extremely high level is astronomical. So why does the professional sport’s society and fans want to punish professional athletes who try to take their performance to another level, while also wanting these same athletes to achieve the impossible? The benefits for professional athletes using a performance enhancer under the care of medical professionals outweigh any risks; it’s not cheating and doesn’t violate the spirit of the sport. Therefore, it’s time for performance enhancing drugs to be made legal for professional athletes under proper care of medical professionals.
So what exactly is a performance enhancing drug? Most people hear the words performance enhancing drug and quickly associate them with “steroid”. This isn’t exactly true. A performance enhancing drug is defined as “any substance or drug that people take so that they will be more successful in a sports competition” (Oxford). The World Anti-Doping Agency’s has a list close to 200 different substances that they consider a performance enhancer (WADA). Some of these banned substances are used by normal people every day, but for a prof...
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Jenkins, S. (2007, August 3). Winning, Cheating Have Ancient Roots. Washington Post.
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2012, December 12). Performance-enhancing drugs: Know the risks. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from Mayoclinic.org: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/in-depth/performance-enhancing-drugs/art-20046134
Oxford. (n.d.). Oxford Learners Dictionaries. Retrieved April 3, 2014, from Oxford Learners Dictionaries: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/performance-enhancing
Savulescu, J., Foddy, B., & Clayton, M. (2004). Why we should allow performance enhancing drugs in sport. Br J Sports Med , 666-670.
USADA. (2014). Unitied States Anti-Doping Agency. Retrieved from http://www.usada.org/
WADA. (2014). 2014 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from World Anti-Doping Agency: http://list.wada-ama.org/
Professional athletes, throughout history, have been exalted for their outstanding abilities and achievements in sports. Unfortunately, many athletes have turned to anabolic steroids in order to give them an edge, a boost their athletic performance. Starting with the 1954 World Weightlifting Championships, where the Soviets unexpectedly dominated their lifting classes with the use of steroids, it has become increasingly popular among athletes to cheat with the help of this drug. Although the appeal to steroid use is evident when observing how it increases someone’s athletic abilities, many users fail to consider the detrimental side effects of the drug. Also, in my opinion, athletes should be expected to perform based upon their natural abilities, opposed to abilities enhanced by anabolic steroids. Ultimately, anabolic steroids should continue to be illegal in professional sports due to their major health risks and the unfair advantage they serve players.
Jost, Kenneth. "Performance-Enhancing Drugs: An Overview." Performance Enhancing Drugs. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Rpt. from "Sports and Drugs." CQ Researcher 14 (23 July 2004): 616-622. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
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...
Performance-enhancement drugs are considered a violation to sporting ethics and are in contradiction of the law. Athletes use anabolic steroids to increase the mass and strength in their muscles. Studies show that, “In the 1800s, strychnine, cocaine, nitroglycerine as well as other antidotes, were used to sustain or improve an athlete’s performance” (“Steroids”). Not only do competitors’ consume these illegal drugs for performance reasons, but they also take them for pain
The use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs is a common trend that is currently fascinating athletes all over the world. Athletes who are using these drugs are damaging the sport and harming their bodies at the same time. Seeking a greater athletic physique and ability, athletes turned to the use of steroids. Once the dangers and possible health risks arose, athletes then turned to performance enhancers. Two specific supplements have taken the sports world by storm and now are being used by athletes of all ages. They are androstenedione and creatine. It took years until people began to understand how dangerous steroids really were. These performance enhancers, like androstenedione and creatine are going to produce the same results.
Latiner, C. (n.d.). STEROIDS AND DRUG ENHANCEMENTS IN SPORTS. THE REAL PROBLEM AND THE REAL SOLUTION. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from https://laworgs.depaul.edu/journals/sports_law/Documents/Steroid%20Problem%20by%20Laitner.pdf
The use of performance enhancing drugs improves the athletes’ performance; however, it may endanger the body’s natural mechanism. The body is an organism that is able to carry out its optimal function by how it is treated through the lifestyle, whether sedentary or active, nutritional habits, exercise and hygienic habits of the individual. These are altered by the use of drugs. Many athletes are oblivious to the reality of the grave effects of doping on the body and put themselves at risk for acquiring many potential illnesses, for example, “cardiovascular and liver disease, infertility in males and females and emotional instability – depression” (Maxwell et al., 2005). These reactions may be evident after prolonged use of drugs as athletes may become dependent. In contrast, enhancement drugs may “increase the athletes strength, speed, appetite and reduce fatigue” (Arnheim, & Prentice, 2002). These advantages add to the overwhelm...
Have you ever wondered how some athletes have gotten so good at a certain sport? Have you ever thought about what they did in order for them to get this good? For some the answer is simple; workout and train. But for others the answer is different; the use of performance enhancing drugs such as steroids. There are some people that argue that steroids should be legalized and allowed in professional sports. Other people argue that steroids should not be allowed. Today I am going to state my opinion and justify my reason. Steroids should not be allowed in professional sports because it can be very dangerous to the athlete’s health, it is a way to gain and un-fair advantage and it can be dangerous in both social and physical aspects.
Athletes are always searching for ways to enhance their performance. Recently, beginning in the 1950s, that search has included the use of illegal substances like steroids and growth hormones. Illegal substances have been used widely by athletes in hop es of achieving the desired Olympic gold medal or multi-million dollar contract. Some nations, for example the late East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s, have mandated the use of steroids by their athletes. The downside of using those illegal substances is that because they are illegal, getting caught using them can lead to losing that coveted gold medal, a lifetime ban from sports, and a total loss of honor and dignity. This is why the search is now on to find some legal means of enhancing athletic per formance.
Scott, Michael. “The Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports.” The Use of performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports. San Joaquin Delta College, 2008. Web. 19 June 2013.
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 willing to do whatever it takes to become a professional. One of the easiest ways to enhance natural ability is through performance-enhancing drugs or, PEDs. PEDs are substances used by athletes to increase their performance. The use of PEDs in athletic competition can date back to ancient Greece. Athletes use PEDs to run faster, jump higher and recover at an increased pace. Many athletes are pressured into using PEDs by coaches or managers and are not thoroughly educated the harmful health issues that can come along with taking performance-enhancing drugs. A rising issue is if 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.
06 Jan. 2014. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470510544.ch70/summary>. Haugen, Kjetil K. "Why We Shouldn’t Allow Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport." Academia.edu. Academia.edu, 1 Apr. 2011.
Overall it is clear that the need to use performance enhancing drugs is outweighed by the consequences and issues caused by performance enhancing drugs. Sporting events such as the world cup, the Olympics or the World Series make young children feel inspired and encouraged about what they could achieve through dedication and hard work. I feel it is important for the sporting industry as well as the athletes to return respectability to the sport. By