...the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport be legalized? By: Evan ENG2D1-02 Performance-enhancing drugs (PED‘s) have become a major issue in today’s sports world. Some people may think that PED’s in sport should be legalized because of the fact that they improve the level of sport and that the harm is worth the fame and glory. The negative factors of legalizing PED’s in sport outweigh the positive factors. Performance-enhancing drugs should not be legalized in sport because they take away from the true origin of sport, taking them can lead to life-threatening health issues, and the athletes who are taking them are setting a bad example for the youth who are the future of sport. Sports were originally designed to test ones ability and talent in a certain area. With the introduction of performance-enhancing drugs in 1936, the true origin of sport has been taken over by men and women who insist on being bigger and stronger than their competitors. Athlete’s who use PED’s are making it unfair to the athletes who work hard, train and push themselves to be the best. With the increasing number of athletes who are taking these drugs, it will start to put pressure on the athletes who are not, making them want to take them. Not to mention taking performance-enhancing drugs is cheating. It is an alternative to working hard and training. The athletes that are abusing PED’s are not playing sports for the competitiveness, health benefits or for the fun of sport, they...
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...Ethical issues regarding the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports In the history of 20th century sports, specifically in the post World War 2 era, there has been an ever increasing use of performance enhancing drugs in all avenues of sport. Sports have become money making machine for both athletes and big business and the “win at all costs” attitude which has permeated itself into all aspects of professional and college level athletics. Winners make money, losers don’t. The temptation of fame, notoriety and million dollar contracts in all venues of sport is a lure for many athletes. Elite professional athletes are worshiped in today’s society. This paper will elaborate on the use of performance enhancing drugs in the sporting world and the associated sports ethical issues. It is a majority belief in all sporting circles that the “true” spirit of sportsmanship does not allow any aspect of performance enhancing drugs. There are several arguments both in favor and against the use of performance enhancing drugs which will be presented and discussed in this paper. While addressing this ethical issue, we need to define the term ethics. Ethics can be defined as the socially accepted norms and values. These norms and values are varied from society to society and are based on culture and tradition. Ethics also could be defined as the unsaid, un-written and understood laws that prevail in a society. Ethics also cover what is right and what is wrong in society and teaches...
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...Sports and Performance Enhancing Drugs John Alvarez Student #0588681 Essay 2 April 1, 2015 PHI – 010 Professor Andrea Yusim Words: 1,519 In a country that is obsessed with winning and competition, athletes, teams and even fans have tried to gain an advantage against their competition. As athletes become bigger, stronger and faster, the margin and window of opportunity to become the best athlete in their respective sports is surely becoming smaller and smaller. Many people will argue that performance enhancing drugs will help in promoting player health and recovery and that sports in general will benefit overall. In this paper, I will argue that the argument in favor of performance enhancement drug use is not valid because performance enhancing drugs are unethical, create unfair competitive advantages and do not promote the very essence of the value of sports which is hard work and team work. Team and individual sports in the United States is a very important part of culture. Athletes are revered for their prowess and mastery of their respective sports and are at times treated as demi-gods. Individual teams and entire leagues depend on these very athletes to compete at the highest level and with the utmost sense of integrity in order to show that their leagues are played ethically. So not only are athletes expected to be at their very best, they are also expected to do so without compromising the integrity of the sport such as cheating by using PEDs. In the article...
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...“An alarming number of sports—baseball, football, track and field, and especially cycling—have been shaken by doping scandals in recent years,” reports Scientific American (Schermer, 2008). The performance enhancing drugs are becoming needed good for some athletes in order to succeed. There is a tremendous clash of ideas, what path we should take in according to these types of drugs. The million-dollar question is to legalize them or not. In “Good sport, bad sport” published in The Age, Julian Savalescu and Bennett Foddy (2004) argue that the use of performance enhancing drugs should be legalized in sports because it is not “against the spirit of sport.” First of all, the authors introduce the issue of using drugs in sports as something that has been around for a long period of time, even in the Ancient Olympics. Savalescu and Foddy then explain that the elimination of drug use in sports is failing. They say the athletes’ desire to win is a lot of times stronger than staying clean. In addition, Savalescu and Foddy argue that performance enhancing drugs do not doubt the spirit of sport. In their view, making human biology more effective symbolizes the human spirit. They say that sports are about striving to be better, and drugs allow athletes to do that. Savalescu and Foddy also claim that sports today are aimed against people without genetic predispositions to be the best, and so taking drugs would equalize people with different genetic predispositions. In their opinion, the...
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...Tainted Idols In today’s society the use of drugs to enhance one’s performance is becoming a common trend in professional sports. These drugs help athletes to compete at a higher level. Not only do these professional athletes break many records and win trophies, they are making more money than ones who choose not to use performance enhancing drugs. Since salaries have increased in professional sports, so has the use of these drugs. While performance enhancing drugs were apparent in the past, they have become increasingly evident in the modern era, tainting the integrity of professional sports. The use of performance enhancing drugs has been around for many years. In World War II these drugs were given to German soldiers to increase their strength and aggressiveness (Edwards, 2006). However, these drugs became evident in the 1960 Olympic Games after a Dutch cyclist died. In 1963, a ban was placed on a list of prohibited drugs by the International Olympic Committee to prevent performance enhancing drugs from being used in sports. This list of prohibited drugs has grown substantially since (King, 2009). Even though there is growing evidence of serious health risk that come along with the use of performance enhancing drugs, they are still being produced and used at a rapid rate. Others would argue that use of performance enhancing drugs dates back thousands of years. There are stories of athletes ingesting ground horse hooves and sheep testicles for ancient Olympic Games to gain...
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...Drug use has reached an all-time high in the sports arena. The need to succeed, be among the elite, financial gain, and the pressure to win are some of the many reasons that drugs are found in sports today. Drugs in sports range from therapeutic drugs, performance enhancement drugs, and recreational drugs. Drugs in sports are found on various levels of competition such as: high school, college, and professional sports. High school athletes' are using enhancement drugs so that they may receive a college scholarship, collegiate athletes' are using drugs so that they make it to the professional level, and professional athletes' are using drugs to make sure that they stay among the elite. Drug use in athletics have led to suspensions of players, athletes being banned from that particular sport, and ultimately death. There are many reasons for using drugs in sports, with performance enhancement being one of the top reasons, but no one will ever understand why athletes risk their career and lives. A concern for the public is the fact that athletes assume these risks just to be among the top competitors of sports. Drugs are a danger to the health of athletes. Drug use to enhance performance is unethical, and using drugs is illegal in today's society. Drugs in sports is unethical because the focus of winning and succeeding overshadows the real reasons for playing sports such as the love for a sport, natural talent and ability, and hard work to be among the elite. Athletes are thinking...
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...Illegal Drug Use in Sports Drug testing in professional sports should be at random times and professional sports leagues should have stricter policies on drug testing. Performance enhancing drugs give professional athletes unfair advantages that are unfair to the athletes who do not use performance enhancing drugs. When athletes use performance enhancing drugs it affects their health and if they are caught when drug tested the athlete can face severe punishments. Consequently, if an athlete is caught using performance enhancing drugs it sends a negative message to young people that often look up to professional athletes. If drug testing was not required in professional sports, some athletes would gain an unfair advantage. Performance enhancing drugs have been used from all the way back to the Greek Olympics through present day. The first drug tests began in February 1968 at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France. "The IOC instituted its first compulsory doping controls at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France in 1968 and again at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City in the same year. At that time the list of banned substances issued in 1967 included narcotic analgesics and stimulants, which comprised sympathomimetic amines, psychomotor stimulants and miscellaneous central nervous system stimulants [including alcohol]. Although it was suspected that androgenic anabolic steroids were being used at this time, testing methods were insufficiently developed to...
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...July 2014 The Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs Ryan Braun, a former Major League Baseball player was suspended for the rest of the baseball season for the use of performance enhancing drugs. Ryan Braun share with CNN News that “I am not perfect. I realize now that I have made some mistakes. And willing to accept the consequence of those actions.” The MLB’s commissioner points out that Braun had various unspecified breaches of the baseball’s drug program and violations labor of contract. For that reason, Ryan Braun will miss the total of 65 games without pay, the suspension will cause him to lose three million dollars out of his eight million salary. As an MLB spokesman shares with CNN that Braun is welcome to return after his suspension, as long as he’s making positive decisions that benefit Major League Baseball, whether it’s on field or off the field. Many professional athletes use PEDs to bulk up, build more muscles, and endurance; however, using PEDs nonstop can result in side effects like strokes, heart attacks, and death when used incorrectly. For the last couple of years, professional athletes from different sports have been caught for the use of PEDs or any other type of steroids, the players, usually a well-known person like Lance Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez. Although, the aid of performance enhancing drugs may provide entertainment to sports they also betray the values of sportsmanship; as well as give an unfair advantage over those who choose not to use PEDs. Many...
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...The main comment people think about when they hear athletes using performance enhancement drugs and why it should be illegal are the health risks. What is a performance enhancing substance? “A substance or method is considered to be performance-enhancing when it has the potential to enhance or enhances sport performance” “It also represents an actual or potential health risk to an athlete”(Performance-Enhancing Drugs and Their Side-Effects.) There are physical and mental effects of taking the drugs. “The physical effects could be acne, male pattern baldness, liver damage and stunted growth if you’re still an adolescent”( Effects of Performance-Enhancing Drugs | USADA). “More serious effects include heart and liver damage, and an increased risk...
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...Performance enhancing drugs (also known as PED) are legal and illegal substances used by professional athletes to enhance their performance. Performance enhancing drug use by professional athletes is a topic of medical, ethical, and social debate. PED usage by professional athletes has advocates arguing that the negative health consequences reported are grossly exaggerated and they contend that it’s an athlete’s personal decision to accept any potential harmful health hazards. They believe that performance enhancing drug usage is just part of a sport’s natural progression and nothing more than the incorporation of enhanced training approaches and new sport technologies. Additionally, they believe that the use of PED by professional athletes helps them to achieve the highest levels of athletic performance and puts a better product before the public. Opponents of performance enhancing drug use by professional athletes argue that their usage is extremely harmful, and possibly lethal to an athlete’s well-being. Such use makes a professional athlete a fraud, gaining an unfair competitive advantage, violating the competitive spirit of athleticism, and sending an immoral message to youngsters. Opponents further argue that the use of performance enhancing drugs by professional athletes is unethical behavior. PED use is one of the most controversial and talked-about issues in professional sports. The professional sports most impacted are baseball, basketball, and football, which...
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...There have been, in recent times, calls to legalise drugs in sport. Despite the difficulties, drugs should still be kept out of sport. The arguments for legalizing drugs in sport which are put forward by various different sources include that spectators want to see the best performance possible, the use of drugs is viewed as necessary by some commentators because they suggest that top athletes can not improve further without performance enhancing drugs. Further, it is sometimes argued that if athletes are told they can’t take performance enhancing drugs, then this is being paternalistic. If members of the general population are able to make the choice about taking drugs, after considering the health risks, then athletes should have this right too. Drug testing is thought to be ineffective and costly. If drugs were to be legalised in sport, this would save the money used on drugs testing. It is also...
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...athletes to take performance enhancing drugs despite the risks involved? Abstract Drugs in sport is an ongoing problem which I believe will never be completely abolished from the sporting world. We have definitely come a long way since the early days of drug use with the introduction of governing bodies such ad WADA to help control the testing of athletes and the detection of illegal substances, however I do not think we will be able to completely remove this ’drug culture’ from the sporting world. Therefore having experienced first-hand the drug testing practices involved in detection after competing in the world youth championships this year I was interested to look into the motivation behind athletes who choose to cheat and risk their future career both athletically and their career after retirement having been branded as a 'cheat’ within their sport. I will do this by looking into the history of drug use in sport and the enhancements the drugs provide to performance to try to understand why athletes risk their careers to simply win. Contents | | Abstract | 2 | Introduction | 2 | Drugs in sport; a modern problem? | 3 | Drugs in sport: what are they? * Amphetamines * Anabolic steroids * EPO * Diuretics * Caffeine | 3-6 | Drugs in sport: health risks | 6-7 | Drugs in sport: detection and...
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...017 Risk-Enhancing Drugs – Is Winning the Only Thing? How far would you go to win? The culture of sports revolves around the goal of winning, this mindset forces athlete to take risk; however, does this ideology cause athletes to make bad decisions. One of the biggest issues in sports today is the use of performance-enhancing drugs as a way of “cheating” in order to get an edge on opponents. From the high school level all the way up to the professional level, men and women have been caught using these drugs, which are banned. It is easy to see the positive effects of using these performance-enhancing drugs with athletes becoming faster, bigger, and stronger; however, these athletes and there spectators don’t realize why these performance enhancing drugs are actually illegal, especially college students who are the major risk takers. Attached to the natural benefits of these drugs that make athletes feel closer to achieving their dream of winning are health risk, reputation risk, and loads of other negative effects of using PEDs. Enrolled in the University of North Texas, the authors of this paper have created a blog in order to appeal to the athletes here at UNT in order to help educate them on the exact reasons why these performance-enhancing drugs are illegal and to help persuade them against using them. In addition to reading and learning about the negative effects of PEDs, we have also included a pledge onto the page that athletes can sign to pledge not to use PEDs. Audience ...
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...Is it acceptable to use performance-enhancing drugs? – RE Essay Performance-enhancing drugs are becoming widely known and used in the world of sport, athletics especially. These drugs are generally used by professional athletes for means of achieving medal positions and/or personal bests in their various races and competitions. There is, however, controversy when it comes to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. There are some who believe that performance-enhancing drugs should be available and allowed to be used in competitions. Sport regulations ban performance-drug use and ensure that athletes are tested to determine that they are not using them. Many religious believers value sport only if it does not involve cheating. All religions...
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...Negative Effects to Performance Enhancing Drugs At the age of 21 Rob Garibaldi committed suicide and it is believed to be from his consumption of performance enhancing drugs. As a young boy, Rob started to play little league, trying to match his favorite sport hero, and dreaming to make it to the baseball major leagues. Prior to high school, Rob was getting pushed by his coaches he had and scouts start to follow him to have him take supplements and more things that will help him gain weight compounds in other to build muscle in the training program. When Rob was 15 years old, he was playing with a team that was scouted by the California Angels and was encouraged by people who were working with him on weightlifting, condition, taking supplements, and anything else to help him gain weight. He was given creatine which is a type of performance enhancing drug, this supplement is over the counter dietary supplement, and protein powders for weight gaining. His throwing arm strength, defensive skills, running speed, and hitting were outstanding to the coaches. His parents confronted him on his male patterned balding, acne on his back and shoulders, upper body muscle mass, weight gain, and uncontrollable rage and irrational, Rob continued to hold back his use on performance enhancing drugs. His parents did not suspect any abuse at first because Rob always determined about not wanting to jeopardize his mental capacity and health. The first time his parent’s learned about him taking steroids...
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