Sammie Baxter
ENG 103-121
Professor Hank Blanton
5 December 2015
Ban The Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs
For a number of professional athletes, the temptation to use performance-enhancing drugs could be nearly impossible to resist. In order to be one of the top professional athletes today, the players place themselves under an enormous amount of pressure. The competition schedules along with demanding training regimes take a physical toll on their body while the expectations by their family, fans, and coaches can cause damaging psychological consequences on the athletes. There is always going to be someone that could take his or her spot, someone stronger, younger, or faster. Although it is understandable that athletes are tempted to gain an upper hand, taking substances to do so is not only life threatening, it is completely unethical. Thus, for the wellbeing of the athletes, the fans and the sport itself, professional athletes caught taking performance-enhancing drugs should be banned from the sport for life. Doping is the term referring to the usage of banned performance-enhancing drugs by athletes in competitive sports. Virtually all sports organizations internationally consider the use of steroids to be highly unethical, including the International Olympic Committee. Although illegal, it is no secret that doping has become a serious issue in sports today. Practically every week, there is another high profile story regarding doping in headlines around the world. For instance, Brent Musburger, an ESPN/ABC sports commentator, told students from the University of Montana that steroids do in fact work. He blamed “journalism youngsters” who “got too deeply involved in something they didn’t know too much about” for the image that people now have against doping and steroids (Cherner 1). He believes that although steroids do not have a place in high school athletics, “under the proper care and doctor’s advice, they could …show more content…
A few of the athletes that were questioned recently during the Victor Conte BALCO investigation experienced significant improvements during the time officials suspected them of using steroids (Kakutani 1). If steroids work, athletes are given an even stronger incentive to use them. For this reason, as well as many others, a strict ban policy is crucial. First of all, enforcing a harsh penalty would help protect the athletes from the attractiveness of using steroids. If steroid use was not treated as just a minor infraction, but instead received a serious punishment, athletes would less likely use the substances. Gold medals and trophies are not worth the risk of being banned from the sport for life. The sports world is extremely competitive and even a slight edge can be equivalent to the difference between an athlete being solely a high school player and a gold medal Olympic champion. In an article he wrote for Sports Illustrated, Lyle Alzado, former defensive player for the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Raiders, and Denver Broncos, confessed to using steroids, claiming that they were his ticket into the NFL. He explained in his writing that before he started using, he was just a mediocre player at a junior college and that he had no hope of ever getting a position in the NFL. Alzado was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly before writing this article, admitting to the use of steroids throughout his career. Not only did Alzado confess, but also according to an ESPN reporter, Mike Puma, “Alzado was certain the drugs were responsible for his cancer. He became a symbol of the dangers of steroid use” (Puma
ENG 103-121
Professor Hank Blanton
5 December 2015
Ban The Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs
For a number of professional athletes, the temptation to use performance-enhancing drugs could be nearly impossible to resist. In order to be one of the top professional athletes today, the players place themselves under an enormous amount of pressure. The competition schedules along with demanding training regimes take a physical toll on their body while the expectations by their family, fans, and coaches can cause damaging psychological consequences on the athletes. There is always going to be someone that could take his or her spot, someone stronger, younger, or faster. Although it is understandable that athletes are tempted to gain an upper hand, taking substances to do so is not only life threatening, it is completely unethical. Thus, for the wellbeing of the athletes, the fans and the sport itself, professional athletes caught taking performance-enhancing drugs should be banned from the sport for life. Doping is the term referring to the usage of banned performance-enhancing drugs by athletes in competitive sports. Virtually all sports organizations internationally consider the use of steroids to be highly unethical, including the International Olympic Committee. Although illegal, it is no secret that doping has become a serious issue in sports today. Practically every week, there is another high profile story regarding doping in headlines around the world. For instance, Brent Musburger, an ESPN/ABC sports commentator, told students from the University of Montana that steroids do in fact work. He blamed “journalism youngsters” who “got too deeply involved in something they didn’t know too much about” for the image that people now have against doping and steroids (Cherner 1). He believes that although steroids do not have a place in high school athletics, “under the proper care and doctor’s advice, they could …show more content…
A few of the athletes that were questioned recently during the Victor Conte BALCO investigation experienced significant improvements during the time officials suspected them of using steroids (Kakutani 1). If steroids work, athletes are given an even stronger incentive to use them. For this reason, as well as many others, a strict ban policy is crucial. First of all, enforcing a harsh penalty would help protect the athletes from the attractiveness of using steroids. If steroid use was not treated as just a minor infraction, but instead received a serious punishment, athletes would less likely use the substances. Gold medals and trophies are not worth the risk of being banned from the sport for life. The sports world is extremely competitive and even a slight edge can be equivalent to the difference between an athlete being solely a high school player and a gold medal Olympic champion. In an article he wrote for Sports Illustrated, Lyle Alzado, former defensive player for the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Raiders, and Denver Broncos, confessed to using steroids, claiming that they were his ticket into the NFL. He explained in his writing that before he started using, he was just a mediocre player at a junior college and that he had no hope of ever getting a position in the NFL. Alzado was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly before writing this article, admitting to the use of steroids throughout his career. Not only did Alzado confess, but also according to an ESPN reporter, Mike Puma, “Alzado was certain the drugs were responsible for his cancer. He became a symbol of the dangers of steroid use” (Puma