Performance Enhancing Drugs Persuasive Speech

Drugs, from performance-enhancing, to the kind that make you hallucinate and forget who you are- it doesn’t matter what kind of drug you use, drugs are drugs. You want to shoot up to feel alive or to make yourself more energetic and athletic? Go for it, it's your life, do what you want, but just a warning, most drugs are addicting. Yeah you say you can stop when you want- but is that actually true? I don’t think so. If you can stop whenever you want, then why can’t athletes stop using performance enhancing drugs? Performance-enhancing drugs are being accepted more today, than ever before.
Society is betraying us, as they use EPO more, now even in schools. Society today, is accepting drug use more, athletes trying to prove who is better, while

they are all on EPO. Schools are academically competing to see who has the most academically advanced students, and are giving their students EPO and testosterone. Everywhere we look we are being betrayed, “Marion Jones runs like the wind-- when she is on EPO. In China, a school has been exposed as systematically doping its young students. EPO and testosterone were found at the school and a bundle of syringes in the headmaster's room.” (Smith). The schools and athletes are using drugs more and more to improve skills. EPO is being used more and more as time progresses, but not only do they use that drug, they also use banned drugs.

The athletes only beat the tests by using banned drugs. Athletes didn’t really pass any of the drug tests, but they didn't fail either. They were using banned drugs, and somehow beat the test. “For the most part, these players didn’t fail drug tests, the majority of them apparently used banned drugs, but were able to beat the tests.” (Ford). Athletes used banned drugs so they could beat the tests. The athletes using drugs, even if they aren’t detected in the tests, don't usually accept their punishment. Most athletes deny the accusations against them, until they have factual proof against them.
Most people who cheat wont accept punishment. Athletes think they can just cheat, and never get caught. Most athletes who get caught still won’t admit to being a cheater. If they do admit, they still won’t accept any punishment that they may receive. “Baseball didn't rid itself of cheaters or banned substances-- that won’t ever happen-- but it showed it won’t turn a blind eye to them, either. If only the narcissistic phony from New York would have accepted his punishment, too, and faded into oblivion. Alas, Alex Rodriguez clings to his last shred of hope, a pariah even to his own team and fanbase, defiant and smug to the end.”(Scoggins). Athletes try to lie their ways out of their punishments when they cheat. People cheat, and won’t admit it, but our society is also messed up. We don’t accept any drugs to be taken by athletes, but we would sit and watch them risk their lives, while the drugs may or may not be able to save them from getting injured, or not as injured.
We’d rather someone almost die for a game than accept drug use that could protect them.

We watch football players tackle and shove each other, risking brain or spine damage. We watch volleyball players diving head first to hit the ball back to the opponent. We watch baseball players running head first into fences, sliding into bases, just to make a catch or play. But what we don't understand is why-- why do they use drugs? Why do they feel the need to drug themselves up for one game? Well, it may be as simple as the fact that they don't want to risk injury or feel the pain as strongly if they do get injured. “Given the true problems in our society, should we be investing federal money and angst over professional athletes trying to make themselves better and their teams better, and in the process making their sports more interesting? Don’t we watch professional sports to see superhuman effort and talent? We ask players to run head first into fences to make catches, and to risk brain or spinal damage while making tackles, but we cringe at the idea of them sticking a thin needle into a vein.”(Souhan). We watch athletes almost die or get seriously injured during a game, but we cannot stand the thought of them even shooting up. We don't want drugs to be used at all in sports, but they are so common everywhere now that the fans don’t really care anymore, or at least they seem like they

don't.
Performance-enhancing drugs are so much a part of our culture now, the subject is numbing, the fans just don’t care anymore. Our society today doesn’t seem to care about the use of drugs as we did five- maybe ten- years ago. As fans we just want to see championships for our teams, we want to win. But today, America is also more forgiving than we were years ago. “America, at its very essence, wants to forgive. Its part of our makeup. We can’t help ourselves. We love champions, yes. But we love comebacks, too, and no country, no society is more generous with second chances. Besides performance- enhancing drugs are so much a part of the culture now, that the subject is numbing. Where PED use once was viewed as rogue and vile behavior, today most fans at least understand the why. Meanwhile, fewer and fewer fans seem to actually care.” (Miller). The fans just don’t care about the use of drugs, as long as their team is the champion. Performance-enhancing drugs may be accepted more by society, but doesn’t mean we should partake. It doesn’t mean we have to shoot up. It's our choice.
Society is betraying us by using EPO, athletes are using banned drugs, they won’t accept punishment, we cannot fathom the thought of athletes using drugs but we can let them get seriously injured, and our fans don't care much anymore as long as their team is winning.

Our society is just crashing, it doesn’t know what true beauty is, it doesn’t know what true competition is, it just doesn’t care. Society just doesn’t care anymore, drug use is being accepted more, but I think it is unacceptable. I think drugs of any kind shouldn’t be accepted into sports, and I disagree with the acceptance of America today towards the subject. Drugs are bad no matter what they are- unless they are prescriptions (of course); and shouldn’t be taken at all. People who take them and get illegally caught should accept their punishment. But society isn’t going to change because of just me, one person in millions. With help we could better our

community.