Andrew Sullivan's Article on Drugs in Sports

The use of illegal substances in sports is a trendy topic in today’s society. In the last few years a copious amount of players have been under the spotlight of substance abuse, which led to a punishment for their actions. Andrew Sullivan wrote an article in the year 2004 called “In a Drugged-up Nation, the Steroid Sports Star is King”, in which he illustrates how these “pharmaceuticals” have revolutionized sports around the world but mostly in America. These drugs have had a large influence in the overall performance of the players, even if it the use of drugs is “often denied or simply overlooked”(Sullivan 1), it will lead to a lack of judgment in what is right and what is wrong.
Sullivan starts off by addressing his audience with the impact that drugs in general have had in America by changing “the society, the economy and even our understanding of ourselves in previously unimaginable ways” (Sullivan 1), this statement leads to introduce “whether pharmaceuticals have also revolutionized sport”(Sullivan1). Thus illustrating how the audience is uninformed regarding steroid use in American sports. The knowledge of the audience regarding steroids in baseball can be deduced, by observing the newspaper in which this article was printed. Being a British quality newspaper gives an idea about the readers having meager information regarding the steroid controversy.
The cultural context in which this controversy has evolved is mostly the sport of baseball. A sport in which “up to 50% of baseball players get some sort of steroid enhancement”(Sullivan 2), this is logical proof that something is wrong with the drug consumer culture. The question has to be whether these players have been influenced by a larger society that has overall good ...

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...plicity and denial”(Sullivan 3), illustrating a way of giving up in the fight against illegal use of substances.
This article effectively communicates the idea to its audience, of how large of a problem the use of performance enhancing drugs has become in sports. Using logos mostly to persuade the reader, Sullivan conveys his position with multiple examples of how things have changed throughout the years and the possible negative effects that may arise in the future. The author presents a need for intervention, but also feels discouraged about the possibility of one happening in the near future, that doesn’t involve punishment by which he ends by stating “pass the syringe”(Sullivan 3), symbolizing defeat in the fight against illegal drugs.

Works Cited

Sullivan, Andrew. “In a drugged-up nation, the steroid sports star is king”. The Sunday Times. December 4, 2004