Dolan1

Marty Dolan
Mrs. Fusca
English Pd. 6
February 24, 2015

Drugs In Athletes
Are performance enhancing drugs a problem in sports today? Sports are a massive
component in society. Kids and adults alike look to athletes as role models and lifelong sources
of excitement. Athletes create memories that bring families together and sports serve a purpose
that extend much farther than the playing field. Recreational drugs strip these memories and ruin
fans and other players love for the game. Sports are not just games that end when the whistle is
blown, they are lifestyles that carry on for years. This topic is important because sports play an
incredible part in entertainment around the globe. When athletes use recreational drugs and
performance enhancing drugs to alter their physical abilities in a non-humane way, it affects the
way that players play the game, it is considered cheating and it diminishes the admiration of the
fans toward the players.
Many athletes in Olympic sports have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs,
examples are found in runner Justin Gatlin and biker Floyd Landis who are both world record
and gold medalist athletes. They both tested positive for illegal use of testosterone. Sports fans
everywhere were disappointed and angry at this discovery and sadly, it was only the beginning.
Justin Gatlins consequences included banishment from running along with his coach Trevor

Dolan2

Graham. Justin Gatlin served as a warning shot and athletes all throughout the Olympics have
been being tested and caught using synthetic drugs. Frank Shorter, national spokesperson for the
United States Anti Doping Association argues that Olympic rules should be made tighter and
enforced harsher. He says that there are only a few that commit the crime but they must be
punished accordingly to their decision. All of these athletes lost admiration from the fans and
league, and cheated fairly playing athletes.
A counterclaim to the drugs in athletes thesis would be that athletes should have their
own say in what they put in their body even if it puts them at risk. People should have their own
rights even if some others find it offensive or cheating. Although most athletes are starting to
get caught doping, there are still plenty using substances that cannot be detected present day and
could take years to find an anti doping solution. Drugs such as GW1516, which acts as a muscle
builder and uses fat for energy instead of carbs and proteins, has been in the sports world for
around a decade and its just starting to fall under radar. There is such a huge supply and demand
for performance enhancing drugs today and we really know nothing of the real amount out there.
New drugs are created and used every day and they are evolving. New technology is making
doping easier to get away with. Athletes should be able to succeed even at the risk of their own
safety.
Drugs in athletes are popping up all around the globe. It not only ruins their careers, but
their influence in the world. Sports affect our world today in a way people never thought
possible. The effect is negative when athletes such as former champion cyclist Lance Armstrong

Dolan3

condemn the use of synthetic drugs and then is caught using them. The use of synthetic drugs has
become so bad that only three Tour de France champion cyclists since 1998 have never been
banned from the sport due to doping. Sports fans remember watching Lance Armstrong battle
other cyclists such as Ivan Bosso, and Jan Ulrich. The epic battle that fans idolized was later
tarnished by the discovery that all three cyclists had been doping. The memory of three
determined, hardworking role models for children was now replaced with a memory of a race
between EPO products and doping systems. Side effects of performance enhancing drugs are
much overlooked. For example, new technology reveals that the drug GW1516 can cause cancer
to spread all throughout the body in a simple overdose. Is enhancing your sports play really
worth killing yourself?
Do rich and wealthy kids have an advantage over other athletes due to superior coaching
and facilitation? Are there laws against that? In todays world we accept plastic surgery and
weight loss pills, what moral line do performance enhancing drugs cross? These drugs are said to
make a player better than another and therefore make it unfair. However, surgeries such as
Tommy John surgery and insulin shots are perfectly legal. There is no moral and ethical
argument against these drugs other than the fact that they help athletes. Some say that athletes are
looked at as role models, but a humans speed and strength should not make them role models.
Morals are found in ones actions off the field, not on it.
Performance enhancing drugs are highly dangerous for athletes. Side effects are being
discovered every day that nobody has ever seen coming. For example, use of testosterone can

Dolan4

lead to the wasting of the body and cause HIV or muscle eating infections. Anabolic steroids can
lead to psychological anger and depression. These drugs may help the athletes short term, but can
affect or even end their lives long term. Some of the players are lied to by their trainers about the
drugs. Athletes may be taking drugs that are slowly killing them and they do not even know
about it.
Performance enhancing drugs can kill, harm, and dissipate an athletes health and a fans
love for the game. We may be taking rights away from the players but it is for their own safety.
Sports play such a huge role in our lives and it is only right if the sport is fair and safe for
everyone. When a child grows up he should be able to look back at his role models and brag
about their success, not be disappointed in their methods. Adults should be able to allow their
children to watch these sports, and not be worried about the wrong message being passed. We as
a people must come together to reach new and higher goals in the revolution of our sports.
Ultimately, until we as a society can put a stop to the illegal use of substances, is our
entertainment really safe?

Dolan5

Cited Sources
"The Olympics Should Not Allow Performance-Enhancing Drugs." The Olympics. Ed. Tamara L.
Roleff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Rpt. from "The Straight Dope." Runner's
World (9 Sept. 2006). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Jan. 2015.

Burns, Tim. "Doping Undermines the Integrity of Competition." Doping. Ed. Margaret Haerens.
Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Doping: A
Fan's Lament." The Yarn. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.

Williams, Richard. "New Drugs and Technology Make It Easier to Dope and Evade Testing
Procedures." Doping. Ed. Margaret Haerens. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014.
Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "EPO Is Old Hat for Cycling's New Generation of Doping
Cheats." Guardian 31 May 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.

Dolan6

Saletan, William. "The Rules Against Performance-Enhancing Drugs Are Arbitrary." The
Olympics. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Rpt. from "Turin
Sample: The Nonsense of Olympic Doping Rules." Slate. 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Web. 13 Jan. 2015.

We Should Accept Performance Enhancing Drugs in Competitive Sports," Intelligence Squared

(IQ2) US Debate, Jan 16, 2008