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Debates on drugs used in sports
Ethical dilemmas essay performance enhancing drugs
Ethical dilemmas essay performance enhancing drugs
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Sports vs. Drugs There are many ethical dilemmas that athletes face throughout sports in todays society. One of the most common ethical dilemmas that is talked about in sports is performance enhancing drugs, also known as PEDs. Many famous athletes have used drugs to gain an unfair advantage in order to perform better than their competition such as Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez, and Lance Armstrong. With that being said, here I will argue that performance enhancing drugs should still be banned because while other athletes are working hard and putting in the time and effort, it isn’t fair that others take the short cut to reach their full potential. Performance enhancing drugs have very lethal side effects that could affect one’s health in the long run. These side effects can range from mild to very severe depending on the time and length a person used these drugs. The mild side effects could involve balding, growth stunts, acne, and “steroid rage” (Drugfree.org). The more serious side effects can involve heart and liver damage, and also blood clotting (Drugfree.org). In addition, with the help of PEDs, they create an …show more content…
Many athletes do not look at the long term possible side effects. They don’t realize how bad they are once they enter the body. Many athletes don’t consider the long term consequences or the negative side effects. They can be long lasting and effect many parts of the body such as the liver and the heart. They have also shown to cause high cholesterol, acne, mood swings and depression. (Kodjowokout.com). There have been many cases where PEDs have proven to be the cause of hallucinations, anger and rage. It is obvious they have negative side effects on the brain. (Healthyguidance.org). Many of these long term effects have not been studied long enough to have a definite result on the body which can be of great concern.
Those who believe the use of anabolic steroids should be allowed in professional sports have numerous arguments for those in opposition. Professional sports leagues have tried to stop the use of steroids by drug testing players and punishing those who do not pass. A number of major athletes, such as Lance Armstrong, have been stripped of their athletic accolades due to discoveries of drug use. Despite witnessing the fall of great competitors due to “doping,” people continue to use. Because of unsuccessful attempts at banning the drug, many people believe “it may be time to head in the other direction: legalize performance enhancers” (Smith 1). No matter how many rules and regulations are made against the use of steroids, athletes will continue to abuse the drug in order to get ...
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
...25 believed that PEDs were necessary to make it into professional baseball. Keep in mind that these baseball players are still the role model of many of these young men. Another study also showed that within the same sample group " 3-12 percent of adolescent males have willing confessed to using PEDs at some point during their life" this according to a study by Charles Yesalis, Professor at Penn state University founded in their report " Performance enhancing substances in Sports and exercise". It's clear that there seems to be new reports of PED use every month and thus has been increased media coverage on the subject. The increased presence has led to adolescent use as they follow their role models. If athletes are well informed of the risk factors that these supplements propose as well as the connotation its had on children, why do athletes continue to use them?
Sports players are starting to resort to different ways to help them play better or to get stronger. And one of the big ways right now is the use of PEDs. They use them because they are weaker then there opponents. But even though they make you stronger and gives you an edge over on everyone else that is not using them they ruin lives and make people think of you differently as a person. Elite athletes use them to help them win and or play better, example Lance Armstrong who is a seven time Tour de France winner, who was caught “doping” so that he was stronger and had more stamina then his other opponents. Then Alex Rodriguez claimed that he used steroids to help recover from his hip surgery. But when really it was helping him continue to smash the ball even when he was trying to recover from his injury, but he continued to use them after he was better. And the clinic he and twenty seven other professional baseball players were getting them from. When he and Lance were caught they still denied it. They lost a lot of respect in the community because there great performances weren’t really there raw skills and years of training. "A potent cocktail of sophisticated PEDs stacked together to delive...
You’ve all seen them, the enormously large muscle-heads at the gym, the participates of the World’s Strongest Man Competition, the amazing offensive tackles, and the lightning fast runners. They were all unnaturally strong, and looked like gods. You tend to obsess over how beautiful their bodies are, how strong they are, or how fast they can run. All you can think about is reaching that level of athletic excellence, and nothing will hold you back. At times like these some people tend to take the quick fit to get closer to their idols, in the form of steroids. But what individuals tend not see is the horrible side effects that accompany the use of these anabolic steroids. These powerful drugs have both positive and negative results from their use. Along with increased strength and size, users of steroids suffer from a wide range of sicknesses such as cancer, shrinkage of testicles, bad acne, hair loss, damage organs, intense mood swings, and impotence.
The truth is, they do produce side effects and irregular muscle growth. By banning the use of performance enhancing drugs, just like steroids, sports competition will have a much healthier and fairer environment to participate in. Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports 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.
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...
While the effects of steroids can seem desirable at first, there are serious side effects. Excessive use can cause a harmful imbalance in the body's normal hormonal balance and body chemistry. Heart attacks, water retention leading to high blood pressure and stroke, and liver and kidney tumors all are possible. Young people may develop and a halting of bone growth. Males may experience shrinking testicles, falling sperm counts, and enlarged prostates. Women frequently show signs of masculinity and may be at higher risk for certain types of and the possibility of birth defects in their children. The psychological effects of steroid use are also alarming: drastic mood swings, inability to sleep, and feelings of hostility. Steroids may also be psychologically addictive. Once started, users, particularly athletes, enjoy the physical "benefits" of increased size, strength, and endurance so much that they are reluctant to stop even when told about the risks. Major athletic competitions, including the Olympics, routinely screen athletes to prevent steroid use.
“[Thirty percent] of college and professional athletes have used or currently use steroids, as do 10-20% of high school athletes” (“Anabolic Steroids”). These numbers are alarming, but there are two main reasons why this is occuring: people tend to belief steroids will improve their appearances, and athletes believe their athletic abilities will increase. However, most are not aware of the effects steroid use has on the body. Steroid use has dramatic effects on the user’s body and mind in many different ways.
“Performance Enhancing Drugs: Know the Risks.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 June 2013
The problems for males is that PEDs gives them breast tissue development, shrinks testicles, Cause baldness, and also reduces sperm production. For females it deepens their voice, hair grows more everywhere, and also ends breast development. PEDS also cause blood cancer, strokes, heart attacks, thyroid problems, and for men feminization. These drugs are easy to take but can also easily kill you. Once you start seeing some of your body changes, you will want to have more. Once you get addicted you might see some bad physical appearances. People who take anabolic steroids should know they come with major physical side effects. Once you start getting those appearances and everybody notices it will be the time your coach or trainer realizes it.
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.
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 ...
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