Drug Abuse In Sports Essay

The major issues associated with drug use and abuse in professional sports. The reason why athletes may take drugs and means of primary prevention is addressed. The belief that athletes take drugs because they have not developed effective intra- and interpersonal skills to cope constructively with the pressures exerted by management, media, and fans. A broad-based program of primary prevention is offered that attempts to circumvent the most significant causes of drug abuse. Drug education that provide honest, straightforward information about the benefits and detriments of various drugs. Drug use is not believed to be controlled by purely rational decision-making, emotional education modeled after the scared straight programs with juvenile delinquents would be used to reach young athletes at the gut level. The general life skills would be taught as a means of providing the athletes with ways of constructively handling the pressure. A supportive environment would help develop and assist the athletes in coping with their lifestyle and the associated difficulties.
The drug abuse is the most significant concern among the American people today. As sports are a microcosm of life, drug abuse may now be the greatest problem faced by the athletic community. It has been suggested that the incidence of drug abuse is no greater in sports than in the general population. We are only more acutely aware of it because of the extreme visibility of athletes. The rash of suspensions due to drug testing violations in the NFL recently suggests that its occurrence may be significant and increasing. The widespread use of drugs in professional sports deserves special attention by everyone within and outside of the sports world because of the very exposur...

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...ongress has evinced its belief that the distribution of steroids is a serious offense and should be punished. The majority of the states in the union impose stricter punishments upon individuals who distribute these substances than those suggested by the Sentencing Guidelines. The rate of incidence of steroid abuse by young people and the magnitude of the harm inflicted upon steroid users has spurred public concern about steroid abuse and as a by-product of that, steroid distribution. The current base offense level classification for large-scale distribution is insufficient to deter this illegal activity due to the highly profitable nature of the business, the limited risk of getting caught, the relatively minimal punishments imposed upon steroid distributors, and the high demand for steroids that is apparent from the high incidence of abuse within the United States.