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Essay / Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports: The Steroid Debate Steroids, stimulants and hormones have been proven to improve the physical body and increase athletic abilities. Yet athletes destroy their physical and mental personalities to illegally obtain the minimal effects of these harmful and dangerous drugs. Some of the most memorable moments in sports history are tainted by the fabricated abilities of artificial players. We need to return to a time when legends are created in the face of adversity by their own hands, without the twisted effects of synthetic substances. Precautions and boundaries must be set in order to establish and maintain the purity of all sports leagues and athletes, which will make the game more enjoyable to watch and participate in. The economy of several global economies is at extreme risk if the reputation of the sport is threatened. an avalanche of viewers are turning away from this pastime, so the honor and morality of the sport must be protected and defended by all party members. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The steroid debate has become one of the most controversial issues in the world of sports today. Athletes in all types of sports are getting bigger, faster, and stronger, making the inhumane feats that occur in sports one of society's most popular types of entertainment. With the advancement of technology, it has been proven that athletes can become even more impressive with the help of performance-enhancing drugs. However, the risks and consequences associated with these drugs far outweigh the gains possible from allowing athletes to use them and create an asymmetrical playing field for participants. Sport is supposed to be a pure pastime for people to enjoy, performance enhancing drugs would taint this reputation and ultimately bring about the downfall of sporting competitions and perhaps more across the world. Sports existed long before the time of Jesus, when Greeks and Romans competed in various strength and endurance challenges. Starting in the late 1800s, top athletes around the world fought to push the limits of the human body. The official Olympics website specifically describes the evolution of the Olympics and weightlifting when it describes "Today, weightlifters compete in the snatch and clean and jerk" rather than its primitive origins consisting of simply lifting a heavy object with one or two hands. Demonstrating the monumental evolution of one of the most fundamental competitions in world history, weightlifting notably provides an introduction and connection to the discovery of performance-enhancing drugs and their unnatural consequences. This is not necessary, however, since the human race continues to evolve on its own without the dangers and deaths caused by PEDs. Take football for example. The game has been gaining more and more popularity on American television and much of this is because bigger, stronger and faster athletes are more fun to watch. One of the most common ways to view this development is through the offensive and defensive lines. For example: “In the early 1980s, Washington line coach Joe Bugel told Joe Jacoby, a 6-foot-7 offensive tackle and275 pounds from the University of Louisville, that he had a chance to make it in the NFL – but only if he got bigger.” So, with hard work, determination and honesty, Jacoby bulked up and became one of the most dominant players of his era. This is what people want to see, incredible feats of the human body and precisely that. Synthetic winnings and illegal methods taint the game and the athletes themselves, causing distrust and disrespect from fans. PerformanceDrug enhancement corrupts the game and leads to a decline in popularity, which could be detrimental to athletes, society and the economy that relies heavily on it. One of the most popular and controversial substances used by athletes to get a leg up in competition is anabolic steroids. . Used to increase muscle mass and strength by reducing recovery time, allowing an athlete to train harder and more frequently, anabolic steroids have alarming negative side effects that cannot be ignored. According to the Mayo Clinic, these illegal drugs can lead to high blood pressure, psychiatric disorders, infections, illnesses and addiction that worsen exponentially when "many athletes take anabolic steroids in doses well above those prescribed." for medical reasons. . Clearly, these athletes are risking their lives for minimal advantage in a game that many children play simply for fun. Being the best of the best certainly comes with praise and perks, but at what cost? PEDs simply should not be legal in sporting competitions. The risks are too great. Especially since “the long-term effects of performance-enhancing drugs have not been rigorously studied, and the short-term benefits are tempered by numerous risks”. Do fans really need athletes to risk their own health to provide entertainment for the less gifted who appreciate talent and effort without endangering the athlete's life? On the contrary, these drugs should at least be tested for years and made safer before being legalized by sports organizations. Another reason why these harmful performance enhancing drugs should not be legalized is the fact that they will not solve the problem by creating popularity and leveling the popularity level. playing field in sport. How would people react if they found out that their favorite player on the home team that broke the home run record was using PEDs? The Gazette's Haley Tackaberry explains, "It makes athletes look fake and fueled only by an unnatural substance that shouldn't be found in the body." This reduces the respect fans have for players who did not accomplish their feat legally, safely, or honestly. Worse still, legalizing doping would create a vicious circle. Athletes will continue to seek an edge in competition and take more and more drugs, or even find newer, more dangerous narcotics which could also lead to "many players not wanting to suffer from the long lifespan" . -long-term effects [for] feeling forced to consume illegal substances themselves.” Part of the reason professional athletes have reached the level they are at is due to a significantly greater competitive edge than many other players. Their tireless focus and work ethic sets them apart from others and could lead to dangerous actions formaintain their status. The incorporation of performance-enhancing substances removes one of the fundamental aspects of sport. These illegal substances take the fun out of the game and make it a strictly win-lose situation. PEDs devalue the game and in turn show fans the selfish and vain aspects of an improved player's personality. PED medications must be eradicated from sport to ensure a healthy, balanced and respectable environment within any sporting competition. Let's look for a moment at the possible outcomes of using performance-enhancing drugs. PEDs could lead to multi-million dollar contracts, unparalleled fame on any platform, and perhaps a longer, more successful career. However, these results can only be achieved if the steroids or stimulants do not deteriorate the athlete's health too much and if the athlete does not get caught. In a Northwestern University article, the author quotes Jose Conseco, a known PED user, as saying, "I don't recommend steroids to everyone...but to some people, I sincerely believe in them, because I have been experiencing this for many years. , that it can make an average athlete a super athlete. This can make an incredible super athlete.” Some PEDs have been proven to work and it is understandable that some impaired and weak-minded athletes turn to unnatural and illegal substances to enhance their performance. However, this is a risk that could ruin their health as well as their career. Another aspect of the drug debate concerns substances such as marijuana and Adderall. Adderall, a medication prescribed to ADHD patients to help them focus and calm down, has become a hot topic and a fashion trend in the NFL. Since it is a substance allowed with the right prescription and proven to increase hand-eye coordination, it is a tool sought after by many NFL players. Marijuana, on the other hand, is sought after by players for its pain relief and to ease the hours of intense trauma these athletes endure on a daily basis. In the same article, WR Antonio Cromartie is quoted as saying that "[marijuana] is the least harmful and least addictive of the painkillers used to cope with the violent demands of the game." Yet it is evident in the choice of words that this drug remains harmful and addictive for athletes, regardless of sport. For these reasons, sports leagues and associations should not only continue to keep PEDs illegal, but also implement even stricter controls and penalties for drug use. One of the huge problems with MLB's drug system is the lack of consistency from player to player. Every major league viewer and fan knows that steroids, marijuana, and human growth hormone are bad and illegal, but what about a drug like Adderall? Bleacher Report, a hugely popular sports news source, writes today: "Major League Baseball players take Adderall with an MLB therapeutic use exemption every day, while others have been suspended for having taken the exact same pills, just without a doctor's prescription.” Adderall has been reported to improve hand-eye coordination, but it is a common prescription for gamers with ADD or ADHD. With this type of unfair advantage, it seems like the most logical solution is to make it available to all players, as this drug has little to no effect on players' health. A possible argument that could be made explicitly in favor of
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