Performance enhancing drugs are substances or methods that can be used to improve the performance of humans during any physical activity. According to WADA, a substance is prohibited when it has any of the following characteristics: the potential to enhance or enhances sport performance, it represents an actual or potential health risk to an athlete or that it violates the spirit of sport. (USADA (2017) WADA Prohibited list, Available at:https://www.usada.org/substances/prohibited-list/ ) During the Essendon Football Club’s supplements program in 2012 that became one of the sports longest running sagas. Many of the clubs players were found to be injected with banned peptides. Peptides are natural biological or artificially manufactured short …show more content…
chains of amino acid that are in essence, the building blocks to creating protein for the body which improves the athlete’s performance. (Elisha Pearce (13 Feb 2013) Peptides: How they work and why would a player use them?, Available at: http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/02/13/peptides-how-do-they-work-and-why-would-a-player-use-them/ ). The peptides that were used during the Essendon Drug Scandal, where the players were injected with peptides, were AOD-9604, colostrum, tribulus and an unspecified variety of thymosin supplement as well as Thymosin beta-4. Body 1 Using performance-enhancing drugs in sport can considerably improve athletic performance in certain instances, but these drugs can be extremely dangerous and potentially deadly.
The physical issues of using the peptides - AOD-9604, colostrum,tribulus and thymosin beta-4 , that were administered during the Essendon Drug scandal, are hypertension, blood cancers/ leukaemia, strokes, heart attacks, feminization, thyroid problems and many other physical issues that could harm the athletes that were injected with them. (USADA (2017) Effects of PEDS, Available at:https://www.usada.org/substances/effects-of-performance-enhancing-drugs/) . There are number of emotional issues that are caused by performance enhancing drugs. For Hal Hunter, he was incredibly upset when his dreams of being a professional footballer were crushed by the drug scandal, as were many other of the footballers. The Club treated him with disrespect, unimportance and as if he were a rookie. Hal does still not have the answers to all the questions that he has asked. He fulfilled his part of the contract, which was coming to training, abiding by the rules etc. In addition, the club did not fulfil their duty of care for him or any of the other footballers in the club. This causes a lot of stress and anger for the …show more content…
footballers. No, I do not think athletes should be forced to take performance-enhancing drugs as part of their job.
This is because if the athletes take the performance enhancing drugs, it makes it unfair for the other competitors, as they do not have the same performance advantages as the drug fuelled athletes and is basically cheating.According to David Fairchild, “the use of performance enhancers is cheating because it violates constitutive rules of the activity. Since such use is cheating, it is wrong and we should expect the disqualification of competitors who are caught doping. This conclusion is established through a simple and straightforward argument. Cheating is the deliberate, knowing, and voluntary violation of certain constitutive rules in order to gain a competitive advantage. Since the violation is knowing, the attempt to gain an advantage is illegitimate and unethical, and the advantage sought is thus unfair. The knowing and voluntary use of proscribed substances is an attempt to gain such an unfair advantage. Some specified performance enhancers, anabolic steroids for example, are listed as proscribed substances in certain sports. The deliberate use of steroids is thus an illegitimate attempt to gain an unfair advantage. We conclude that their use is cheating." (David Fairchild (2008) Do Athletes Gain an Unfair Advantage by Using Performance Enhancing Drugs? Available at: https://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001236). Another reason is that it
causes unnecessary health risks for the athletes that can eventually lead to death. It makes athletes technological rather than natural competitors as they are using the drug to gain higher performance levels.
The topic for my stakeholder research paper is performance enhancing drugs. My research is the affects of performance enhancing drugs on athletes and how it affects society. The stakeholders for the research paper are the professional athlete, the college athlete, governing bodies and the fan. The effects of drug use on the professional athlete can cost them their career and also their lives. The college athlete wants to become the fastest or the biggest and nevertheless don’t view performance enhancing drugs as dangerous. Sports governing bodies in the United States have taken action towards controlling the use of performance enhancing drugs. However there is the fan that will still idolize the top athletes even though they use performance enhancing drugs.
The problems with performance enhancing drugs are that they give the user unfair advantages over other athletes and come with many health risks such as baldness. Steroid use can result in very substantial legal consequences and can ruin the user’s reputation. There are many alternatives to steroids but not all of them are safe. Different organizations have different rules on steroids, but in most cases, the user can get suspended, fined, or even both. Various types of steroids can have various short-term or long-term side effects. There are several types of steroids, the most popular ones being anabolic steroids. Historically, steroids have been around for many years, but the debate surrounding them started recently, more specifically a few decades ago. An important term to know is anabolic steroids which are made to work with the user’s muscle mass. Another term to know is clarified by Ida Walker, author of the book, Steroids: Pumped Up and Dangerous, published by Mason Crest Publishers in 2008, defines, peliosis hepatis is a rare condition in which cysts filled with blood form in the liver, if the cysts were to pop then internal bleeding would occur. A positive argument about steroids is stated by Adrianne Blue, author of the essay, “Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Legal,” published in the book Athletes and Drug Use, published in 2009, disputes, “Blue concludes that legalizing performance- enhancing drugs can protect athletes from dangerously abusing them.” The utilization of performance enhancing drugs has left a giant scar on sports and has compromised the achievements of many athletes; therefore, they are transforming the sports world into a drug filled world.
Performance enhancing drugs affect so many people that don’t even realize it. Fans of the game, coaches, university leaders and of course athletes are the major groups of people that can be affected the most from the usage of performance enhancing drugs. Numerous studies have stated that an athletes drug use in sport could be credited to a complex interaction of personal and environmental factors (Judge). Athletes hold themselves to high standards for themselves or maybe even family members they must provide for. Athlete will do whatever it takes to strive in their sport because in most cases personal success can lead to better opportunities such as the National Football League or maybe even the National Basketball Association. Overall, individuals can be affected in a positive manner through the use of performance enhancing drugs. Furthermore, the use of performance enhancing can do nothing but help athletes. Also, some college athletes need performance enhancing drugs more than others. Not every athlete comes from a well provided family and knowing that can plaque athletes to where they’ll do whatever it takes to be successful. With this in mind it would totally be unfair if only one or a couple of athlete used enhancing drugs however if every athlete were granted the right to use performance enhancing drugs there
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 are many types of steroids abused by athletes in order to increase their muscle mass and strength. Though steroids have a negative reputation, there are some that can be beneficial to athletes and certain patients. There are types of steroids called corticosteroids that have more medical uses to them and another type called anabolic-androgenic steroids that have a more limited medical use. The anabolic-androgenic are usually the steroids that are being abused by athletes (Bigelow, par.10). The use of steroids goes back to the end of World War II around the 1940’s. Doctors were giving the freed prisoners from the Nazi concentration camps that were at risk of death anabolic-androgenic steroids to help gain back their muscle mass and weight faster. From this knowledge, steroids began to be used by body builders and athletes to get more fit than they already were. It is believed that the abuse of the steroids started in the late 1940’s by weight lifters and bodybuilders, and by the 1950’s, it was spread to the Olympics (Bigelow, par.11). Any type of steroid should not be used if they are only going to be abused by being used in large doses with the intentions of increasing lean muscle mass and strength (Bigelow, par.11). After years of abuse of anabolic-androgenic steroids in the Olympics they were added to the list of banned substances and random testing of athletes were announced to start taking place (Bigelow, par.35).
Performance enhancing drugs are not fair in sports. First off, they are a form of cheating. Most athletes work in the weight room and sacrifice their time. They work hard to use their natural talents and abilities, PED’s give the players an undeserved and unfair edge over his or her peers. “It is not fair to those that are naturally talented or work hard to remain in shape for another to come in and take the spotlight because they have decided to take the easy route” says a individual from Debate.Org. Along with giving the player a trump card, so to speak, it gives the whole team an advantage. Therefore, the whole team or organization is now cheating! “Hard workouts can not have the same benefits as PED’s, this makes the users have an advantage.”
The truth is, they do produce side effects and irregular muscle growth. By banning the use of performance enhancing drugs, just like steroids, sports competition will have a much healthier and fairer environment to participate in. Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports The use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs is a common trend that is currently fascinating athletes all over the world. Athletes who are using these drugs are damaging the sport and harming their bodies at the same time.
Americans today tend to believe that there are only a select few in sports who are users of steroids. However, according to Julian Savulescu, "20.3% of professional athletes said they have tried drugs or steroids to improve their performance in the game" (3). At this high percentage, about one in five athletes are considered "cheaters". Jacob Beck believes that "using steroids is not cheating if a whole generation of the best and most promising athletes have been doing it" (5). There is no reason to continue trying to catch steroid users when so many athletes take them. All major league sports are filled with steroid use to some extent. It is impossible to have a perfectly "clean" sport without eliminating a good percentage of its players. Since steroids already have a major presence in major league sports and there is no way to ever completely get rid of them, steroid use should be legalized. By legalizing steroids, athletes would no longer have to worry about unsafe or risky suppliers; with prescriptions from doctors, steroids would be safe for the athletes, and users would be less likely to abuse them. Also, the playing fields for all sports would be more equal than they have ever been in a long time. By creating an equal playing field, sport records would be more meaningful and there would be much fewer arguments for cheating or an unfair record. With an increase in muscle strength, there would be fewer injuries and more quality performances, which would make fans more inclined to go to a game knowing there was going to be a great display of strength and athleticism.
Each day, professional and amateur athletes and body builders thrive to achieve their goals and dreams of winning gold medals or representing their country worldwide. The sports or games in which they participate require physical strength, athleticism and stamina, and due to the tough competition they face, some of these athletes decide to take performance enhancing drugs, an act called doping.
Many wonder how drugs can influence an athlete's performance in sports. Over the past few years, it has become more known and more common for athletes to use drugs to enhance their performance abilities. It has been becoming more common for athletes to overdose on drugs whether it being intentional or accidental. Many athletes who use performance enhancing drugs do not know the consequences or the damage the drugs can do to their body. Most athletes that use performance enhancing drugs are high school students. They believe that because their favorite professional athletes is using the enhancers that they are able to also. Athletes should be drug tested before every game to help reduce the use of drugs.
Every athlete dreams of becoming the best player in their sport. For most athletes, this dream was created in their childhood watching their favorite player perform at great levels to achieve success. Most athletes will stop at anything to achieve success, even if that means breaking the rules. An athlete whether the biggest, fastest, or strongest, will always look for something that will give them and extra edge over everybody else, even if that means performance enhancing drugs. With new records being broken day by day, I believe performance-enhancing drugs should be legal in all professional sports.
The use of performance enhancing drugs pose several threats to an athletes health, gives athletes an unfair advantage, and can bring a lost of spirit and integrity for the sporting event and athlete. In athletics there is a code for the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs referred to as the World Anti-Doping Code. This code is enforced by the World Anti-Doping Agency and reads:
Many athletes are pressured into using PEDs by coaches or managers and are not thoroughly educated about the harmful health issues that can come along with taking performance-enhancing drugs. A rising issue is whether 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. Steroids can seem harmless to the uninformed user, but they actually have harmful side effects. According to the article “News examines relationship between steroids and heart-related deaths,” published by New York Daily News, “The study (presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago on Nov. 12, 2006) shows that deaths jumped from 476 from in 1980-1992 to 987 from in 1993-2005.
Performance enhancing drugs are known to cause numerous diseases such as tumors, cancer, and can cause fertility problems. There are numerous cases of players dying or ruining their careers because they have gotten caught up in getting bigger and taking these drugs For instance in professional wrestling alone, 28 people have died because of PED’s (All of these people are died younger than 45 years old.) (wrestlinginc.com, 2010). There are hundreds of known PED’s. The most commonly used drug is steroids which gives you an increased risk of heart and liver disease. Players use this drug because it makes you have better endurance, it makes your blood flow faster and it makes you stronger. Another popular PED is Human Growth Hormone. This drug has been and still ...
In all professional sports in the United States, the use of PEDs are prohibited. However, there is only one acceptation to that rule. If an athlete is injured, prescriptions to certain drugs which are used in recover are allowed. These drugs may consist of certain chemicals that enhance muscle grow. Some athletes have used this to their advantage and have got prescriptions to these drugs for their own personal benefits, will other athletes are using it for recreational purposes. This, however, is not the only way to obtain PEDs; there are also other ways such as buying them from an underground market. Athletes with the intention to cheat will take the risk of using PEDs, since if they are successful they will achieve fame and money.