Ruisi 1

Joey Ruisi

Ms.Collins

Eng IV: 4

13 April, 2017

Performance-Enhancing drugs in sports

Performance-enhancing drugs make sports more exciting. When an athlete uses drugs to

improve themselves it will make that sport more money, more competitive, also it will bring in

more fans. It will better the sport in many ways, it will also become a lot safer for the athletes.

Steroids should become legal in sports. The use of steroids will not make a player better at a

sport it will make the player more athletic they still need the years of training and practice, but

steroids will help with making sure an athlete's body can handle the training and practice that is

required to be a pro at a sport. The use of performance-enhancing drugs should be legalized, and

athletes have the same rights as other citizens. Although some counterclaim that athletes should

be drug tested and performance-enhancing drugs should be banned are objections that exist in

relation to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Because steroids are illegal they dont go through the FDA. But if steroids were legal the

FDA would have to regulate and approve the drug, if they regulate then the negative health

consequences of using steroids would be taken away. Monitoring and regulating steroids would

become much easier and illegal steroid activity would subside (Whittaker 2) .Steroids help build

muscle mass and take out fat, this is why athletes are attracted to them. It doesnt give the athlete

special skills for their sport, the athlete still need years of training, practice and natural ability

(Whittaker 2). It is possible for athletes who are natural to compete with athletes who use
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chemical assistance. It's also possible for athletes to set records without chemical assistance. To

set records it requires strength, power, speed, and endurance. It's not like like athletes who don't

use the performance drugs cant set records, it is very possible but its also very possible for the

ones that use the performance drugs. But to be fair it would be easier for the athlete who took the

performance-enhancing drug to set a record. Drugs have always been in sports, so making them

legal wont change the sport, like everyone is afraid of them doing. If using drugs really did

change the sport then it will be noticeable with the athletes that already use the drugs. Some

might say it will make it better because of how good the players will come and if the players

become better people will discover how great the sport can be (Noakes n.p.). Another thing to

think about is maybe the players want to use the drugs that makes them better. Why not use them

if they help, when it comes down to it it should be the player's choice. It could make sports more

exciting if a player chooses to use these drugs. Think about it from the player point of view,

something to make you better thats quick and it works. There is no question that most athletes

would say yes to taking the drug. And for the athletes that dont then its fine maybe they have

the natural born talent so they dont need to take it. But it should be an option the is given to the

players to take the performance drugs (Noakes n.p.).

Normally being an professional athlete means you are a good person and dont cause the

public harm unless you play for their least favorite team. But still with most athletes being these

good people they still are subjected to many drug tests that felons and criminals are required to

take. While athletes face mandatory drug tests, these tests are not mandated for other

professionals who interact with and provide service to the public, these professionals are

musicians, computer programmers, salesman, taxi drivers, and chefs. And they are not subjected
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to mandatory drug tests. It would defy the law of averages to suggest the complete absence of the

use of drugs or banned substances by these individuals (Jacobs and Newton 3). In some states

high school athletes are already subjected to mandatory drug testing-not because of suspected

steroid use, but as a part of an anti-drug program that is aimed at preventing the use of illegal

substances. After all, drugs are drugs, whether they affect the brain or the biceps. It goes against

the 4th and 5th amendment for the athletes to give up their right to take the drug tests (Jacobs

and Newton 3).

The use of performance enhancing drugs and the need to regulate them is worldwide. In

american athletes who used such drugs include baseball players, football players and many more

from many different sports. Blood doping The use of blood transfusions or erythropoietin to

increase the number of red blood cells in an athlete's body. Doping The use of drugs or unlawful

supplements to improve an athlete's physical conditioning, performance, or endurance. Gene

doping The use of genes or genetic elements to enhance athletic performance. Because no

foreign substances enter the bloodstream, gene doping presents a unique challenge for detection

and prevention (Bouchard et al. 1)

Every sport has its rules. These rules must be enforced if the sport is to have any true

meaning. With these rules there is a ban against artificial muscles-builders such as steroids.

These rules were created to make the game fair for all athletes. The players should remember the

official stance of the olympic games The important thing in the games is not winning but taking

part. The essential thing is not conquering, but fighting well.(Lee, et al., 2) If steroids become

legal it will become safer because it will be regulated by the FDA. All the bad effects of using

steroids could go away (Whittaker, et al., 2). The reasons for athletes to be drug tested are simple
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and straightforward, if you want to play you should be able to demonstrate that you are not using

banned substances to gain an unfair advantages (Lee, et. al., 2) .There is many athletes that we

know of that take performance enhancing drugs and probably a lot that we dont know about. So

if that one little rule changes then the sport will not change, It could maybe make the sport better.

It will also end up making the sport like i said before people will see how great a sport can be

and they will want to come see it (Lee, et. al., 2).

With the millions of dollars invested into each player, and with recent studies suggesting

athletes are reaching their limits for record setting achievements, the pressure to perform is

continually increasing. During an interview of Olympic athletes by Sports Illustrated magazine,

98 percent of those interviewed said they would use performance-enhancing drugs if they were

guaranteed to win any competition they entered and not get caught. Additionally, the East

German government established a covert program in the 1960s to enhance the abilities of their

athletes using steroids and subsequently received a number of gold medals in the Olympics (Lee,

et al., 2).

Kids look up to their sports hero and follow what they do. And professional sports figures

set the pace for the kids. With olympians making the news for steroid use, the kids are getting

that message.Although the use of steroids brings with it the threat of suspension, fines, legal

action, incarceration and the ultimate ruin of an athletic career, not to mention serious health

risks, athletes continue to use them. Increasing rates of steroid use among American middle- and

high-school athletes has become a trend. Illegal steroid use has been reported among youths as

early as sixth grade. A nationwide survey regarding drug abuse revealed that over 1 million kids

within this age group used steroids in 2003, and rates have increased since then. And this
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message is a very dangerous one to the kids, who are increasingly able to acquire steroids for

their own use(Chittom, et. al., 3). Legalizing steroids would make them much easier to monitor

in schools. So if student athletes did use them they would be safer and the control of what they

take and how much they take will be much easier because the kids arent trying to hide the fact

they are doing it (Whittaker et. al., 2).Despite the history of performance-enhancing drugs, the

social reality is that the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs amounts to nothing more than

cheating (Chittom, et. al., 3).The use of steroids increases muscle mass and reduces body fat. It

does not make you better at a sport, it only helps you to be stronger and you can be the strongest

man in the world but cant a baseball more than five feet. What im saying is that you still need

the skills and training for a sport, and getting those skills takes years and years of training and

practice. using steroids wont make you better at sports it will only help you get better

(Whittaker et. al., 2).

In conclusion the option of taking Professional athletes should be allowed to use

whatever supplementary substances they need to maximize their athletic potential, including

anabolic steroids and growth hormones. If steroids are legalized, they will be easier to monitor

and the frequency of illicit steroid use among teenagers will decrease. Athletes have the same

rights as other citizens. Although some counterclaim that athletes should be drug tested and

performance-enhancing drugs should be banned are objections that exist in relation to the use of

performance-enhancing drugs. If it does become legal the attendance of sporting events will go

up, the ratings on tv will go up, and more money will be made for the leagues. The use of these

drugs will also become a lot safer for the players that use them. As well it will not ruin the sport

like everyone is afraid it will, it will only make it better. Sports will become so much better in so
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many ways. And really who doesnt want to see someone who is faster, stronger, bigger, and just

better in a sport.
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Works Cited

Bouchard, Erika and Nancy Sprague. "Drug Testing for Sports: An Overview." Points of View:
Drug Testing for Sports, 30 Sept. 2016, p. 1. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=23760829&site=pov-live.

Chittom, Lynn-nore and Ann Griswold. "Counterpoint: Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be
Banned." Points of View: Steroids, 3/1/2016, p. 3. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=28675326&site=pov-live.

Jacobs, W. E. and Heather Newton. "Counterpoint: Athletes Have the Same Rights as All Other
Citizens." Points of View: Drug Testing for Sports, 30 Sept. 2016, p. 3. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=23699182&site=pov-live.

Lee, Deborah and Ann Griswold. "Point: Athletes Should Be Tested for Drugs." Points of View:
Drug Testing for Sports, 30 Sept. 2016, p. 2. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=23699181&site=pov-live.

Whittaker, Anne and Rosalyn Carson-Dewitt. "Point: Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be
Legalized." Points of View: Steroids, 3/1/2016, p. 2. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=28675325&site=pov-live.