Should Athletes Use Performance Enhancing Drugs Essay

Should Athletes Be Allowed to use Performance Enhancing Drugs?

Athletes are some of the most admirable, respected, and fascinating beings in the world. They gain the hearts of fans by not only being entertaining, but displaying physical excellence on a consistent basis and performing at high levels in front of anxious crowds. From Michael Jordan to Michael Phelps, there are plenty of athletes who’s journey and dominance in a particular sport connect people in a way only sports could. Would you look at these athletes any different if they used a substance that supposedly enhanced their physical performance? A substance that was meant to help them do what we all love to watch and gamble over. There has been an issue in modern sports about this. More and often there is news about a player having their statistical milestones be deemed invalid, or even obvious Hall of Famer level players being left out because of allegations of using performance enhancing drugs. This leaves us with a great question. Should athletes be allowed to use performance enhancing drugs?
Although PEDs may seem like a relatively new issue, athletes have been using substances to enhance performance since the

time of the original Olympic Games. It used to be somewhat of a norm amongst high level athletes, and it definitely wasn’t considered cheating. There have been all sorts of drugs used to help athletes, from cocaine to HGH. Only in the 1970’s did it become known as unfairly beneficial to competitors, and dangerous. In 1975, anabolic steroids were officially banned by the International Olympic Committee. The US Anti-Doping Agency, formed to regulate drug use in Olympic sports, wasn’t made until 2000. Other sports organizations and leagues soon followed suit. There have been hundreds and hundreds of cases where Olympians and other pro athletes have lost medals and titles because of evidence of sometimes just very faint amounts of a banned PED. For instance, Martini Hingis, a former number one ranked tennis player and five-time grand slam champion, tested positive for cocaine in Wimbledon and was banned from tennis for two years. She retired from the game, swearing she had never used the substance. The amounts of cocaine found in her urine were so small, they would have passed a U.S Military drug test. There are other cases like Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds, two Hall of Fame level baseball players who had their whole legacy tarnished and stripped from them because of them admitting to using some sort of performance enhancing drug. Ken Caminiti, the 1996 National League MVP winner, claimed that during his career he was sure that at least 50% of Major League baseball players use steroids.
Of all the athletes that have been criminalized or have their great careers discredited over banned substances, there seems to be a reoccurring theme. They all say they would still have accomplished those things without the drugs. I agree, and as a college athlete myself, I see that to reach those type of levels in a sport requires things that no drug could ever do to you. This is one reason I believe performance enhancing drugs should be allowed. PED’s would also be more properly used if they were legal and regulated, which wouldn’t make them unfair at all.
When discussing what’s fair and what’s not, it is important to consider other aspects of athletic development, such as training, coaching, practice facilities, etc. Every athlete doesn’t get the same coaching; which athletes would agree is monumental in a player’s success. Every athlete doesn’t get the same training, which is a big way these athletes become who they are. None of these are regulated or banned. If I have an experienced coach or trainer whose won championships or has worked and developed other great players, I would have an obvious advantage over someone who learns their skill from someone that never even played that sport at a high level. If I have access to a world class facility with all sorts of training tools and a weight room, I’ll at least have a little advantage over someone who can only practice their skills a few times a month. Fact is, the playing field has never been level when it comes to sports. The notion that everybody has the same chance at winning is a misunderstanding. If anything, the legal use of PED’s would do nothing but help even it out.

Another misconception about performance enhancing drugs is that they somehow make you win.

This is completely false; performance enhancing drugs are not magic. They may help improve your body in terms of muscle, but that is a very little piece of the puzzle when it comes to having success is a sport. Being good at a sport requires skill, focus, mental strength, composure, hours on hours of training, some natural talent, and several other things you can’t obtain by taking some pills. If PED’s were legal, they would be good for minor performance and body improvements, that would help athletes in ways that would only make the games more competitive and entertaining for fans. But there isn’t a drug on this earth that will turn an average player into a great one off the sheer effects of a

PED.
Many people against performance enhancing drugs would say that they are unsafe and do more damage than good. It’s true, athletes sneaking PED’s from unauthorized dealers and taking improper dosages can be very dangerous. Legalizing them would change that. There would be professionals subscribing to PED’s to the athletes who are more informed on how they should be taken. This way athletes stay safe while also legally improving their bodies to their liking.
It just doesn’t make sense for athletes to be banned from performance enhancing drugs. As long as they have been used, PED’s have only been a small element in making the sports world better. If we are concerned about maintaining equality throughout athletics, then PED’s are one thing that would bridge the gap. And to those concerned about the nature of the sport. Let’s face it, there is only so much a drug can do. Being a great player in any sport requires a lot more than what PED’s cold ever offer. Let’s look to change the stigma behind performance enhancing drugs, and try to prevent any more hard working, talented athletes from having their careers tarnished because of a teeny bit of help.