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Effects and dangers of performance enhancing drugs in sports
Performance enhancing drugs and their affects on sports
Drugs impact on performance in sports
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The Best You Can Be
Performance enhancing drugs have made the headlines for several years now and while their effects and testing procedures are still being debated, they are leaving a harmful psychological effect to future generations in sports. The effects of the attitudes on the usage of PEDs are going to affect the next generations’ attitudes toward their sports and their own capabilities. Currently athletes in all sports are testing their ability to use these PEDs to increase their bodily abilities and their sports’ acceptance not only of their new bodies but also their performances that they are exceeding in. Some sports authorities and media are turning a blind eye and others are being slow in their decisions to regulating and penalizing
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these users in lieu of the increase in spectators and revenues. Sports history is decorated with players honored for excelling in their sport by hard work and shaping skills. A difference can be made now by pointing out the insolence of PEDs users, the sport organizations responses to this usage, as well as the next generation’s parents’ and trainer’s goals in guidance. With these actions the future athlete’s attitude will not permit PED usage and instead return the pride in sports. Professional athletes may want to maximize their performances and capitalize on their success no matter if it harms their bodies. But if we praise and condone such with fame then we tarnish the spirit of sports and allow them to influence young athletes that this is the way to become an elite athlete. Researchers such as Kjetil K. Haugen have pointed out that if all athletes are able to be equal then fans will no longer witness a player having an excellent performance and this may actually repel fans. Currently a fan may question or guess that a player is using PEDs but if the fan knows that the players are using PEDs, this takes the spontaneity of excellence out of the playing field. Andrea Petroczi in his research discusses that while some consider doping to be illegal and unfair and the users to be cheaters, the athletes see such usage as a means to achieve performance goals and thus they do not want to cheat but advance. Some athletes consider this is part of their training to maximize their skills and performances instead of gaining an unfair advantage. Athletes do not consider it a moral decision but rather a regiment of training, diet, supplements and a mindset of competitive spirit such as they already use legally. Legal methods are already motivators for future athletes at even very young ages. But if PEDs becomes acceptable behavior the athlete loses the glory of succeeding because of their personal efforts and natural talents and the sports loose the sense of fair play and playing to the best of their natural ability. Organizations are acknowledging the issue and taking a stance against PEDs. The Olympic Movement has established the World Anti-Doping Code which applies to all athletes, coaches, instructors, officials, and medical staff. They have increased their testing process and alerts any adverse findings to the Anti-Doping Administrations and Management System and directly to the International Olympic Committee President. A disciplinary commission is appointed and the athlete attends a hearing from which a decision is made to protect the athletes health, defend medical and sports ethics and maintain equal opportunities in the competition. Other sports organizations at various levels are also now committing to such standards and drug bans. The National Collegiate Athletic Association as well as state high-school sports associations are issuing stronger penalties. Such usage of PEDs may cause loss of playing time, confiscation of awards and team titles, loss of financial aid scholarships and restrictions on playing in postseasons. This strong stance should be an influence to the future athlete in the ramifications of PED usage. Some may point out that athletes are already given advantages.
An Olympic cyclist, Chris Boardman won in 1992 using a specially engineered bicycle. Tiger Woods had LASIK surgery to improve his vision to 20/15 which is above an average person’s abilities to see. Swimmers suits are now designed to minimize friction in the water. Uniforms are not only designed for more protection but for better performance and endurance. Even Little Leaguers have bats that are designed to increase the speed and power of the hit. Regulators are taking such advantages into consideration in keeping the sport fair by regulations, keeping equipment similar, and judging violators. Major League Baseball still uses wooden bats. Colleges and youth baseball have in the past years outlawed the use of certain bats and set controls on acceptable baseballs. But there is still a difference in using steroids or using PEDs that produce unnatural capacities. This choice is being made by the role model currently being presented to younger athletes. Is the result of winning worth the health risks and ethics of competing? Pressure on young athletes are great enough without added the need to keep up with the others using substances in sports and feeling they have to take PEDs to
succeed. I recently talked to parents and trainers for youth and high school baseball on the subject of PED usage. When asked on how they focus their training, one trainer stated that they not only work on body mechanics but also the attitude to improve skills instead of taking the easy and dangerous way with performance-enhancing substances. He stated it is a life lesson that it does take hard work to succeed in other areas in life and the feeling of success can only come from that effort. Another trainer stated that a piece of equipment may be engineered to assist but the athlete still has input skills, knowledge and practice to get positive results from that equipment. He noted that it takes effort and time. A parent stated that he felt that sports would teach his child to work hard to be his best. He felt team sports teach athletes to be competitive to win but also to strive to be their individual best. He felt that some teams may have the pressure to use PEDs but if you have the proper coaches and staff, the teams will focus on pressuring to not use substances, just to play hard. Another parent stated that it is difficult for a young athlete to see a super-powerful hero receiving fame on TV and not want to be the same. It takes guidance to show the correct role models. She stated after the McGuire/Sosa batting battle in the past reviving baseball with this record breaking season while glorifying PEDs, it was nice this summer to have Derek Jeter as a true sports role model. Professional athletes may want to maximize their performances and capitalize on their success no matter if it harms their bodies. But if we praise and condone such usage with fame then we tarnish the spirit of sports. This also allows performance enhancing drugs to influence young athletes that such usage is the way to become an elite athlete. Hopefully by our choice of not accepting falsely achieved results into our records and Hall of Fames the next generation will understand and use their natural abilities, training and knowledge to succeed. If not, the attitude may produce a free for all in what to do to become the best.
Performance enhancing drugs have been a longstanding problem in sports. It not only deteriorates the honesty of the game, but also can have broader social affects that one may not even realize. The use of performance enhancing drugs is especially apparent in Major League Baseball. This problem can be traced back to the 1980’s when baseball was facing one of its first “dark periods”. During the 1980’s Major League Baseball was experiencing a home run drought. Home run totals were down as far as they had been since Babe Ruth, and fans were seemingly becoming bored with the sport. The lack of home runs was a growing concern for players whose salary relied on home run totals. Players needed to find a quick way to boost their power and performance in order to keep the sport alive and to keep bringing in their paychecks. This desire for fame and fortune introduced steroids into Major League Baseball in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Home run totals jumped tremendously during these decades and players were willing to risk being caught using illegal substances in order to shine above the rest. New idols and role models started to sprout up from these outstanding home run statistics and young children started to take notice. This all came tumbling down when these new idols and role models who were making the big bucks and hitting the ball out of the park tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Here lie the affects of a growing social problem in sports. These famed athletes become walking advertisements and promotions for the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. The influence professional athletes have over aspiring young athletes is very powerful and these roles models make it seem acceptable to use performance ...
Those who believe the use of anabolic steroids should be allowed in professional sports have numerous arguments for those in opposition. Professional sports leagues have tried to stop the use of steroids by drug testing players and punishing those who do not pass. A number of major athletes, such as Lance Armstrong, have been stripped of their athletic accolades due to discoveries of drug use. Despite witnessing the fall of great competitors due to “doping,” people continue to use. Because of unsuccessful attempts at banning the drug, many people believe “it may be time to head in the other direction: legalize performance enhancers” (Smith 1). No matter how many rules and regulations are made against the use of steroids, athletes will continue to abuse the drug in order to get ...
The era in sports from the late 90s and into the 2000s has often been nicknamed “The Steroid Age” due to the raging use of anabolic steroids and other PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) by professional athletes. The usage of drugs in sports has never been more prevalent during this time, and many people are making it their goal to put an end to the abuse. Influential athletes such as Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez, and Roger Clemens, who were once held as the highest role models to the American people, now watch as their legacies are tarnished by accusations of drug use. The American population, and lovers of sports everywhere, have followed in astonishment through recent years as many beloved athletes reveal their dark secrets. As organizations such as the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) and BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative) attempt to halt the use of PEDs, both the drug users and their high-end suppliers work diligently to avoid detection. The use of performance enhancing drugs in recent years has proven to be cancerous to the honesty and competition of modern sports. Although some strides have been made over the past few decades, the use of steroids is in full swing in Major League Baseball, The dangerous side effects of the drugs are often overlooked and many do not realize the message this sends to the youth. The support for halting the usage of PEDs is in need of attention or professional sports will face the loss of all progress made through the past two decades in its war on steroids.
The role of PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) in world of sports has been the center of much controversy and debate dating back to the beginning of the Olympics, that has captured a considerable amount of attention within the past century. The revelation of PED use by star athletes has been a repeating occurrence in the world of professional sports. These allegations quickly turn legacies into scandals, for what one person once stood for throughout their career is now quickly overshadowed by the insert of a needle. The question then is, what if they were made legal? what would the reaction be and how would it change each respective league if PEDs were now allowed on the playing field? The use of these supplements has found its place in sports in a very timely and real matter, with many in opposition towards the use because of the growing concerns surrounding them, health and morally. In a closer examination of the purpose of professional sports, it is clear that the use of PEDs only bolster its purpose: allowing professional athletes to push to reach the peak of human perfection resulting in increased performance and success in sports from an entertainment perspective.
There is nothing like watching a close sporting event. What if you found out the players you enjoy watching the most were not using their natural talent and were cheating?
Athletes put their lives in danger by using performance enhancement drugs. They use these drugs to gain physical advantages for their sporting events. These methods have been around for thousands of years. According to research, “In ancient Greece, Olympic athletes would ingest huge portions of meat that contained testosterone and creatine before they competed. They would also consume large quantities of alcoholic beverages and lamb testicles” (“Steroids”). Today, sportspersons have a drug policy due to health hazards, violence and incapability’s of normal performances. From lamb chops to steroids, many athletes are willing to destroy their bodies to become “popular” legends.
In today’s day and age, steroids have plagued the reputation of many sports. It was first presented in Russia and sparked a new era of bigger athletes with no seeming end. Steroids have gotten its way into every sport with usage high school athletes all the way to the pros. Even though there are many effects to the users health, steroid use is through the roof. Because our athletes are bigger and stronger than they were 60 years ago, they feel the need to be the biggest and do not care if there life is on the line. From Lance Armstrong to Alex Rodriquez, also known as A-Roid, our greats have cheated their way to greatness. Although our government has pushed for several laws to cut down from steroid use, they have little to no use. It has been a huge issue in the world of sports and is now getting the attention and recognition it deserves in the media. Steroid use by athletes of all ages are tarnishing their reputation and destroying their lives, and a solution is needed.
In addition to drastic health consequences, PED's have taken a toll on sports themselves. My grandfather now says he dislikes baseball because of players’ to PED abuse. “You can't tell if it is real. Who knows who has real talent and who is juiced up?” he told me once. It Seems difficult for many fans to obtain the level of excitement that they once had for sports when it could all be fake. According to Newsday,since 2005, as many as 62 players have been banned or suspended from the MLB for taking steroids. In other sports, athletes like Lance Armstrong, Luiza Galiulina, Marion Jones, Tyson Gay have found themselves in trouble for steroid abuse as
In discussions about using steroids in sports and if it is cheating or not, one controversial issue has been that it is in fact cheating. On one hand, most people argue to believe that it is cheating only because not everyone in the certain sport wants to take it. On the other hand, some believe that people who want to take it should take it and no one should tell them otherwise. The side effects to the drug are on their hands. Others even maintain a steady mindset that the drug is in fact cheating, and will not change their minds about it. That is why the drug has not been legalized in sports, I see somewhat differently on that matter. My own view is that these stadiums would not be still running if the people did not attend these games. So
In sports many people think it is ok to use Performance Enhance Drugs to be the best player of all time.Performance Enhance Drugs are substances used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. For example, Bruce Irvin the defensive end with the seattle seahawks,and Daryl Washington the linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals. It is not just football players , baseball players also like, Cody Stanley from the St. Louis Cardinals. Many people use them, but the end up getting caught and suspended from playing.You are basically cheating your way to fame.People should not use drugs in a sport to become better because,These drugs have an effect on having a long term of health, could lead to overdose, and if you get caught you most
Many Athletes are willing to do whatever it takes to become a professional. One of the easiest ways to enhance natural ability is through performance-enhancing drugs or, PEDs. PEDs are substances used by athletes to increase their performance. The use of PEDs in athletic competition can date back to ancient Greece. Athletes use PEDs to run faster, jump higher and recover at an increased pace. Many athletes are pressured into using PEDs by coaches or managers and are not thoroughly educated the harmful health issues that can come along with taking performance-enhancing drugs. A rising issue is if performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed in professional sports. I believe that in any professional sport, the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes should continue to be banned because this rule will help to keep athletes from abusing these harmful drugs.
Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, performance enhancing drugs have become a religious practice in “the lives of some sports figures.” The use of these supplements has given the user an edge, an edge to perform at maximum capability. Most major athletes all agree on the fact that the competitive drive to win can be quite intense. Besides the satisfaction of personal accomplishment, athletes commonly pursue high hopes of attaining a medal, a college scholarship or the once in a lifetime opportunity to play on a professional team. In such an environment, the use of performance-enhancing drugs has become increasingly common (Athletes & Drug Use).
The debate over the legalization of performance enhancing drugs also, known as PEDs, has been on the rise. Performance enhancing drugs are as the illegal drugs or substances that are taken by athletes to improve their performance. The term doping is used to describe the act of using PEDs. In the recent years many famous athletes have been convicted of PEDs abuse. Among these famous athletes is Lance Armstrong, a famous cyclist who won multiple titles of Tour de France. As the use of PEDs is becoming more common, controversy over the legalization has emerged.
Today, drug use in sport has reached enormous proportions in society and is destroying athletics from the ground up. Nowhere is the problem more serious than in professional athletics, where athletes, coaches and trainers misuse drugs in search of ways of ways to improve performance. Many athletes fail to take their time when making the decision whether to use drugs to their advantage. Unfortunately athletes may use drugs for therapeutic indications, recreatio9nal or social reasons, as muscular aids or to mask the presence of other drugs during drug testing. But the safety of the athlete's health is being neglected. Drug use has led to an increased number of deaths and suspensions of athletes. Also, if this continues all athletes someday will have to choose whether to compete at a world-class level and take drugs, or compete at a club level and be clean. In sports, athletes, coaches and trainers will try their best to find a way to reach the top level. They not only search for a way to enhance performance...
Overall it is clear that the need to use performance enhancing drugs is outweighed by the consequences and issues caused by performance enhancing drugs. Sporting events such as the world cup, the Olympics or the World Series make young children feel inspired and encouraged about what they could achieve through dedication and hard work. I feel it is important for the sporting industry as well as the athletes to return respectability to the sport. By