Performance Enhancing Drugs For Sports

Athletes use performance enhancing drugs to boost their game. The professionals who use these drugs are ruining the integrity of the game. Many people don’t understand why professional athletes would go to such extreme measures to be better when they have already proven themselves. Athletes are just taking away from their natural ability by using these dangerous drugs. The risk of using performance enhancing drugs is a lot greater than the reward, because an athlete’s reputation could be tarnished and their career ruined. Money is one of the major reasons why players use them; if they perform at levels higher than what their natural abilities could do they will be offered a large sum of money.

The benefits of using some types of performance-enhancing drugs are obvious. Professional athletes have a very 'short shelf life' as competitors in most sports and must cash in on their talents as soon as possible. For Olympic athletes, the

Performance enhancers are very prominent in professional sports today. A lot of players are facing suspensions and other penalties for using them. The sport that gets scrutinized the most for this is Baseball. Many former users in the MLB (or formally the NABBP) have come out saying that they were using these drugs while playing. Some of these players are Jorge Sosa, Antonio Bastardo, and the famous Alex Rodriguez. Although these drugs have been prohibited, players are still finding ways around the tests which is why in some other countries they are legal so that no one player can have an unfair advantage.

Many would argue the game peaked during the 1998 home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. This race jump started the sport and began to heal the tension that brewed between the game and its fans after the cancelation of the 1994 World Series. Of course, this home run race was not the only reason fans came back to the game. The anticipation to see one of the greatest pitchers of all time in Rodger Clemens, one of the most talented baseball players of all time in Barry Bonds, and sluggers such as Jason Giambi and Jose Canseco, were surely going to draw a large viewing. Each of these players has had some connection to performance-enhancing drugs. We can sit here writing articles and opinion pieces arguing why performance-enhancing drugs should or should not be allowed in this sport, but there is no argument when it comes to the stats and when we, as fans, have witnessed the best baseball to ever be played. Any fan of the game will admit that one of the best things in sports is a homerun. In 1996, 17 players hit 40 or more homeruns. In 2008, only two players hit 40 or more homeruns (Rymer 2013). We are seeing better, more exciting baseball during the steroid era, which is considered to take place from the end of the 80’s and continued through the 2000’s, than we’ll ever see during any other era of baseball. Players are hitting more homeruns, while pitchers are throwing their best balls when they’re in there 40s (Pantuosco 2011). PEDs should be allowed in baseball because first, we, as fans, get to see a higher competition level while players are on such drugs. Second, these drugs create an even playing field for all players. And third, do we as fans even care if these athletes take these

Do you want to want to become the peak athlete that you know your body is capable of? Well, this paper will not do that for you, but it will tell you how, and it will tell you why it should be legal to do so. Doping in sports is one of the most extensive debates within the realm of athletics. Whether it be injecting anabolic steroids, consuming them, or blood doping, athletes will do drugs. Doping has no effect on the viewership of the sport. Athletes can always find ways to cheat the system, and trying to prevent the use seems impossible. The use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) should be legalized, as long as it is allowed under medical supervision.

Athletes partaking in performance enhancing drugs is another sport specific risk behaviour to achieve victory. Taking performance enhancing drugs gives an extra edge and is a short cut to good performance. It allows one to perform under any circumstances. In fact, stimulants are the most common types of drugs that are misused. Stimulants reduce tiredness and pain. Further, it increases endurance and explosive power due to the reduction of pain. The earliest reasons for the use of stimulants is because of the restricting barriers to pain. Nevertheless, this causes more injuries as they are pushing their bodies past what they are physically capable of. However, they are not aware of this because at the time the athlete is no responsive to pain.

Think back to 1999. The Foo Fighters were one of the most popular bands in the United States, Bart Simpson starred on thousands of Americans television screens and that summer, Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France. With his win, the world started to question his ability and how amazingly he ascended into the Alps. The thought of illegal, sport enhancing drugs came about. Drugs are a form of cheating, so it was not fair. It was not the first hearing of the drug, but it was the first at the turn of the century. Doping has been around for many years. Humans will continue to use illegal substances, no doubt about that, however if we imply stricter regulations, it will make it harder for athletes to cheat.

Historical National Football League coach and manager Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn 't everything--but wanting to win is”. The want to win, is real; it is embodied by the usage of performance enhancing drugs. Blood doping increases the count of red blood cells in the body, anabolic steroids accelerate the growth of muscle and strengthen the bones, and stimulants increase alertness, competitiveness, aggressiveness and reduce fatigue. All of these materials have clear benefits but the health implications are still very present. Many cases of injury from these substances have consequences as serious as death. Athletes worldwide put their bodies and health at risk due to the usage of performance enhancing drugs and methods such as blood doping, steroids, and injections. But in retrospect, it harms a lot more than just an athlete’s body; in fact, performance enhancing drugs and supplements plague the athletic playing field worldwide, which leads to social unrest, health issues, and even political issues.

The growth and use of performance enhancing drugs makes them no longer a taboo subject among professional athletes, and is starting to become in fact rampant among athletes. There appears to be no end in sight when leagues like the NFL and NCAA have weak testing programs.

An issue that is causing problems in professional and college sports are performance enhancing substances. Anabolic steroids such as androstenedione, human growth hormone, berythropoietin, diuretics and, creatine using these substances are known as doping. The question is: “Do performance enhancing drugs make the game better or make it unsafe?” Performance enhancing drugs have multiple health risks. When any athletes use them younger athletes feel they have to take them to make it in the big leagues.

"Fans have demonstrated a willingness to support drug-aided athletes like major league baseball player Mark McGwire… He is the first athlete in history to break a record while publicly admitting his use of performance-enhancing drugs… It is time to recognize that the use of performance-enhancing drugs is here to stay and that elite athletes will go to extreme lengths to succeed" (Barnard). There are two very big myths surrounding society and their thoughts on these drug-aided athletes. "One of the myths is that fans won't pay to see drug-aided athletes perform, something that McGwire's example seems directly to contradict. It is said that more people turn up to watch McGwire warm up than attend most matches" (Barnard). The second myth is that athletes that use these performance-enhancing drugs do not have to work as hard. These drugs actually allow the athlete to train harder and longer. The body can only take an athlete so far, but if he or she is on a performance-enhancing drug they can get more out of a day of training. Athletes train themselves to be the best at what they do. They will push themselves close to death. "Among world-class athletes, the lure of steroids is not that they magically transform performance, no drug can do that, but that they make it possible to train harder" (Gladwell). Performance-enhancing drugs may be looked down upon but it has not stopped the initial public from watching and enjoying these athletes' performances.

As bad of a reputation as these performance enhancing drugs may have, there are many reasons to why they are very useful and impactful to one’s career. Many athletes want to be the best and will go the farthest

Is it okay to use performance enhancing drugs in sport? Some people would agree because they would say that taking enhancing drugs improves athletes’ performance which makes the sport more interesting. The more interesting the sport, the more fans are gained. Most athletes say they dope because everyone else is doing it and they need to do it if they still want to be the best. However, if doping could be put to an end altogether then everyone would have an equal chance at being the best and the winner would be the one who worked the hardest instead of who found the best drugs to use. Doping has diminished the value of sportsmanship.

Steroid use is a major part of professional sports that has negatively impacted the game. It has become a standard for a majority of players that feel they need that competitive edge to succeed. Unfortunately, the use of this drug can tarnish the game, including records and cause injury to other players along with the user. It is difficult to test for these performance enhancing drugs due to modern technology that can make them undetectable in standard drug tests. These drugs have been around for a long time, and until they are completely removed from the game there will never be “fairness” amongst athletes. The following sections will look at a history of performance enhancing drugs, the benefits of steroid use, the negative impacts to

With new types of technology people have started to believe that athletes should be allowed to take performance enhancing drugs. They believe that these performance enhancing drugs improve the performance level of athletics, which will help give the audience something better to watch (Gendin). Others also believe that without steroids “[T]here would be far fewer home runs; smaller, slower, less muscular athletes and no new records for the next few decades until human development and equipment technology compensated for the absence of these drugs. There also would be fewer fans, reduced ticket sales, less ad revenue, less lucrative TV contracts and smaller stadiums built. The benefits of performance-enhancing drug use exist at every level of