Future performance enhanced
Professional athletes are paid millions to show their natural talent and compete at the highest stages of their respected sports. What if one day talents were no longer natural, but performance enhancing drugs turned our athletes into overwhelming, massive beasts ? Many people argue that performance enhancing drugs do not cause harm in the short or long term. And that it would be much easier to get rid of anti-drug law than enforce it. And also how the drugs only improve the physical but not mental stages of a person. While some believe that performance enhancing drugs only improve an athlete’s ability, I argue that pro athletes should not risk fatal health effects as well as having a physical unfair advantage in their game.
Some believe that performance enhancing drugs do not and will not cause short nor long term affects to an athlete. While I do agree that short term wise athletes may not experience health effects, as the body continues to grow long term effects are unbearable to think of. not only physically but mentally players will be unstable as time passes and performance enhancing drugs build in the body. Richard Callicott, former Chief Executive of UK Sport goes on to state “ The idea of allowing them in sport could lead to a situation whereby sportsmen and women are used as human guinea pigs for a constant flow of new, unregulated substances. The long-term effects don’t bear thinking about.” Substances can affect the body in ways unimaginable and cause harmful situations in most cases. Putting athletes in situation that could cause harm to their body whether it be short or long term is something that should not be allowed at any level of athletics. Effects of most performance enhancing drugs have yet to be discovered which is why athletes can be referred to as “ guinea pigs” in this situation.
Another argument that the opposition brings forth is how performance enhancing drug use will never completely end and that it would be much easier to abolish the no drug use law in professional sports than to enforce it. Even though the fact that it may be easier to not enforce this law in sports it is not the right thing to do taking health factors of athletes into consideration. America is a country that pushes through obstacles so why stop now ? we must keep our athletes or “heroes” to some, healthy and honest to the sport they compete in. Also keep each sport and player organization honest to the true talents they hold and judge them off of the hard work put in. Russell Meldrum, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine proceeds to say, “Drug use is a serious concern, not only for the concepts of integrity and fair play in competitive sports, but because of the health threats to the athletes.”… “by empowering the young athlete with the information and skills to make responsible and healthy decisions.” Our future athletes must learn what is acceptable in the world of sports and how everything received must be earned. With millions of dollars being paid to athletes to compete in professional sports why invest or even waste money when it is not being truly earned. Short cuts are not allowed in jobs or even life so why reward players that don’t abide by this rule?
Finally arguments that are made for performance enhancing drugs and why they should be allowed is how they only enhance the physical but not mental traits of the athlete. This argument can be seen as true by most parties involved. Lincoln Allison, DLitt, Founding Director of Warwick University’s Centre for the Study of Sport in Society says “A sportsman or woman who seeks an advantage from drugs just moves up to the level appropriate to his or her underlying ability… There are no drugs to enhance the human characteristics of judgment and leadership in sports.” It is true that these drugs are not able to increase characteristics such as leadership, I.Q and mental stability but physical strength is still a factor to athletes that use the drug. These characteristics are given throughout life lessons and even birth. Physical strength in most sports is just as important as mental smartness. In an opposing quote by Joe Lindsey, contributing writer for Bicycling magazine he goes on to acknowledge and say, “The only difference is a world where the semblance of fair play remains, where sports remain the end product of hard work, determination and talent, and a world where sports becomes merely pharmaceutically fueled entertainment.” This quote shows that if we continue to not allow the use of performance enhancing drugs the outcome can only lead to good things for all sports involved in the conversation. We can not give athletes that choose to use performance enhancing drugs the benefit over players that do not. This only makes the game unfair to the players that choose to be honest with the work they put into the game have the disadvantage.
In recent discussion of whether performance enhancing drugs should be allowed to be used in the athletes respected sport. Many people that believe they should be allowed argue that there is no short term damage done to the body, how it is much easier to abolish the no drug law and also how the performance enhancing drug only affects the strength of an athlete. In my opinion I believe they should not be allowed in sports not only do they affect the athlete’s health long term but also sport should not be unfair when billions are being paid by viewers and companies all over the world to players. If drug performance enhancing drug use is not confronted today in sports then our next generation of athletes may be huge, unhealthy, money hungry beasts that no longer play the game the love for the love they hold for it but for money.
[Photo, Self portrait — Got juice? by MattysFlicks licensed under CC BY 2.0] “In�m3�
[Photo, Alex Rodriguez and Steroids by Cyberslayer, licensed under CC BY 2.0] “In�m3�
