English
8 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 professional athletes know that taking steroids is bad for their health even if only used for a short period of time; however some do it anyway for money. It’s clear that professional athletes who sign bigger contracts make more money and this will likely cause them to turn to the use of PEDs. For example, Alex Rodriguez who is the highest paid baseball player makes 27 million dollars with his ten year contract was caught using steroids in 2009. It’s very likely that when so much money is being offered to players they are encourage to turn to performance enhancing drugs to win knowing that the better their performance, the higher the profits will be rewarded.
Most professional athletes who suffer injuries, particularly football players, will likely take the chance and cheat by using PEDs for faster recovery according to Psychiatrist Dr. Steve Peters. However, Sports Authorities are debating whether the use of PEDs should be acceptable for athletes who are injured during games. PEDs not only speed up injury recovery but also help cartilage to reconnect and repair. For that reason, players often use this substance to help recover faster from injuries and get back on the field. The NFL Association discussed with Sport Blog Nation how “Ray Lewis took PEDs to recover from injury and was able to play in the Super Bowl.” (Sharp) Many people believed that it was the end of his career after he tore his tricep muscles in 2012. But to their surprises, Ray Lewis quickly recovered within 12 weeks and has drawn many suspicious whether it was a miracle or with the aid of PEDs. It is obvious that not a single player would want to end their career with an injury.
Sports are designed to be fun and amusing. The differences between sports and movies, television series, or advertisements, is that many sports are more entertaining and many people like to being entertained by watching athletes try many ways to win. For instance, as much as the Major League Baseball wants to penalize the wrongdoings of Alex Rodriguez for the use of performance enhancing drugs, they have had to reconsider the whole situation. Athletes who use PEDs like A Rod definitely provided greater theater and entertainment, with the aid of PEDs A Rod, the youngest player in MLB was able to hit 500 home runs and hit 600, which surpassed Jimmie Foxx the previous record holder.
Personal accomplishment, dreams of winning a gold medal for honor, and the competitive drive to win, surrounded by these environments, professional athletes have come to use performance enhancing drugs more frequently than ever before. For that particular reason, Sport Authorities do not allow the use of PEDs, mainly because of concerns with the athlete’s health, although many players take anabolic steroids in high doses to promote an increase in muscle mass and strength. However, these drugs come with serious side effects on the body, for example, liver abnormalities, high blood pressure, heart problems, decrease of cholesterol, and infection from contaminated drugs. Other side effects the players might suffer include infertility, baldness, shrunken testicles, and more.
Competition can be fun and exciting to watch when professional athletes are starting at an equal place and compete with their own strength and ability by training hard. According to an article titled Fairness and Performance Enhancement in Sport “Excellence emerges only from a fair competitive process in which the talents, abilities, and skills are being tested.” (Craig 6) When some players performance are enhanced with the use of drugs while others rely on more natural techniques , then there is no longer equality among players. If an athlete uses PEDs, he or she is not only committing a crime, but also cheating in a competitive environment against other players who do not rely on the use of PEDs.
On February 27, 1991 Congress members passed the law of Controlled Substances Act, which stated that any individuals who had supply of anabolic steroids are automatically to surrender to Drug Enforcement Administration authorities. The use of performance enhancing drugs or any other type of steroids that promote muscle growth without a valid prescription is illegal. Anyone who is found to be on performance enhancing drugs or carry any type of the drug can be put in prison to serve a one year minimum sentence and be subject to a one thousand dollar fine. Even though the use of performance enhancing drugs are illegal when not prescribed by doctor, professional athletes and bodybuilders still use them knowing the danger it poses to their health. Oftentimes, most drugs are produced illegally and prescribed inappropriately from Mexico and many other countries and sold in a black market for athletes and bodybuilders. The baseball player Ken Caminiti who at the age 41 died from a heart attack in 2004 was discovered to have been using steroids nonstop during his career. One of the causes that end athletes lives who is using steroids is the increase of oxygen in tissue such as blood doping, protein hormones, and artificial oxygen carriers. Professional athletes who compete in marathons or cycling use almost ten percent of EOP which create more red blood cells that push oxygen to the kidney more quickly. This can lead to blood thickening and make the heart work harder, which leads to heart attack and stroke. The result of blood thickening can take away one’s life in less than three years as Ken Caminiti who has set an example for other players proved.
Thirteen professional baseball players, along with the highest paid players Alex Rodriguez are being suspended for the use of performance enhancing drugs as CNN shares. Even though the use of PEDs may help some players boost up to another level the impact on one’s health can severely damage the body from the inside out. Dr. Robert Truax who studies medicine at Medical Center in Cleveland shared with Foxnews.com that “You can cycle it [steroids] so you have moments of medicine in you, do aggressive training and the medicine helps enhance that training.” . Athletes usually take higher doses of the drug than prescribed by the doctor however, which increases hormones to a dangerous amount in the body.
In a competitive sports, is difficult to avoid the use of performance enhancing drugs or steroids, because professional athletes continuously desire to be the best of all and want to be able to gain something in return. The stake for those players who can avoid the use of performance enhancing drugs receive great benefits for themselves and for other players who compete with and against them, because the use of PEDs have negative side effects like being violent towards others. Players can also avoid losing status and reputation and do not run the risk of suspension or even worse expulsion from the sport. Without the use of performance enhancing drugs, athletes may not receive as much money or have their names remain in general obscurity, unlike Alex Rodriguez or Lance Armstrong, but in the end these players will have a healthy life and carry a values of sportsmanship to the next generation.
In every day lives, youths and adults are being influence by people around them, especially famous superstar athletes. Famous player like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and LeBron James should be more aware that because of their status, their use of performance enhancing drugs can affect others, mainly because they are role models to their children and fans. According to the article Winning, as Lance Armstrong’s son shares “I took cycling because of him. I got interest in the tour. He was a really good model of being healthy and being active…he inspired so many people.” (Bissinger 9) Every year, as many sport fans watches the advancement of the use of PEDs and steroids among players, as they perceive it to be acceptable. Fans see how professional athletes get away with the use of PEDs many times before getting caught, while making millions of dollars; for that reason, there is a possibility of fans and particularly youth who would use PEDs as their idols use.
Despite the fact that most sports organization forbid the use of performance enhancing drugs, athletes continue to use drugs and steroid in sports. For this reason, it has created an unfair competitive advantage for those players who do not use the aid of PEDs. The use of performance enhancing drugs should not be allowed. To have a fair competition, players should not use PEDs to compete with others players who do not on drugs. Instead, they should depend on their natural talents which are endurance, speed, and skill. In the case of Lance Armstrong who informed on Tyler Hamilton, who was using PEDs to improve the race in 2004. Both professional athletes went against the rule by using drugs, not to mention both players has made the sport more unfair for other players who are competing. The fact that Armstrong want to be the best, he believes it is unfair for Hamilton to keep all the “extra new drug” that was not available to him according to the article “Everybody gets popped.” Ironically, Armstrong use of PEDs is already unfair enough for other players who train as hard as he is, but in Armstrong’s eyes is was unfair for him when other athletes who had better drugs than he had.
Ultimately, performance enhancing drugs among professional athletes should be banned, because society, particularly children to young adults, can directly influence the usage of PEDs in sports. Regardless, professional athletes have responsibilities as a role model by thousands and millions of fans. For instance, youths see their favorite sport idol most of the time on television, they will likely look up to their idol regardless in a good way or bad way. As the sports competition become more intense and competitive, players seek for higher performance enhancing substances without aware of consequences of “win at all costs” as National Collegiate Athletic Association shares. According to the article “Performance Enhancing Drugs and Today’s Athletes: A Growing Concern” reports that “In the United States, and estimated one to three million people have used anabolic steroids, many of these are young adults.” (Cheatham) The article also shares that nearly four percent to twelve percent of high school boys and three percent of high school girls are involved with drugs. The article “Winning” discussed how Lance Armstrong son, Luke, who has always looked up to his father as a hero and someday hoped to follow his father footsteps in becoming a professional cyclist. This lead to the conclusion that family members, particularly children, can be influenced to do exactly as their role model does.
Every professional sport contains special values of sportsmanship, as how sports got started in the first place in 1840s. As professional men such as entrepreneurs, lawyers, teachers, and doctors come together to form the baseball club. The professional men train hard to win and play with integrity and claim the principle of sportsmanship. For that reason the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports damages the values of sportsmanship. It’s crystal clear that PEDs can be beneficial to athletes in the way that they can make millions of dollars, have the ability to heal injuries quickly, and provide greater entertainments to fans. However, performance enhancing drugs should not be allowed because it is illegal under the law of the Control Substances Act, long term detrimental side effects, the possibility of deaths, and unfair competition among athletes. Maintaining integrity, fairness, and respect in every competition is the key to sportsmanship.

Works Cited
Bissinger, Buzz. “Winning.” Newsweek 160.10 (2012): 26-33. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Oct.2013.
Craig, Carr. “Fairness and Performance Enhancement in Sport.” Journal of Philosophy of Sport 35.2 (2008): 193-207. Print. 19 Jan. 2012.
Craig Freudenrich and Allen Kevin. “How Performance Enhancing Drugs Work.” Journal of Philosophy of Sport (2001). Print. 6 Jun. 2003.
Cheatham, Seth. “Performance-Enhancing Drugs and Today’s Athlete: A Growing Concern.” Sport Medicine 31.10 (2007). Print. Oct. 2008.
CNN Staff. “Brewers’ Ryan Braun suspended for 2013 season.” CNN.com. Cable News Network, 23 July. 2013. Web.
Pegg, Kent. “Performance Enhancing Drugs: It’s All About Money.” Fitness Column. Print. 21 Aug 2013.
Runciman, David. “Everybody Gets Popped.” The Serect Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle. 260. Print. Sep. 2012.
Sharp, Andrew. “Rap Lewis and PEDs in Pro Sports.” SBNation.com. Sports Blog Nation, 2 Feb. 2013. Web.
Woerner, Amanda. “MLB Players’ Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs Comes With Serious Health Risks.” Foxnews.com. Fox news, 6 Aug. 2013. Web.