The Use of Drugs in Sports - Essay Example

Drugs and Sports Sports nowadays are considered to be one of the most popular constituents in manycultures in the world. Majority of the athletes worldwide try their best to try as hard as they can to get to the finishing line first by training for long hours. However, some athletes turn toward an easier route; drugs. Drugs of many kinds are being used in the sports world today to enhance performance while training as well as ‘on the field’. Although some athletes, coaches and trainers support the use of these drugs, parents, sports officials and many others argue that these drugs should not be used due to their harmful effects to athletes and the society as a whole. Drugs should not be used in sports because they can lead to adverse effects to athletes’ health and image, promote the world’s youth to use them for recreational and other purposes, are unethical in the world of sports and incur legal consequences, even though they might improve athletes’ performance in the field. The most important adverse effect of drugs in the world of sports is that they are extremely unethical. Basically drugs enhance the efficiency of athletes, therefore enabling them to reach their full potential (or in other words, win the game) easily. This is called cheating due to many aspects. If, for example, among all the athletes taking part on a race, one athlete has ingested performance-enhancing drugs while the rest have not, it is obvious that the drug-using athlete has an extremely high chance of winning that race. This is because that athlete’s body would work faster and have much more stamina than the other athletes. If that athlete would not have taken any drugs, he would have an equal chance at winning the race, just as the other athletes would have. Therefore, drugs in sports do not ‘level the playing field’, so their use should be stopped in sports. Moreover, as sports are more or less physical games which test the skills and endurance of athletes under certain rules, even victory is inextricably connected to the game’s rules. Certainly, a drug-using athlete cannot claim victory if it achieved with the help of drugs. It is questionable whether that drug ingesting athlete has even competed in the first place. Thus, drugs bring along unfairness, which is a grave ethical issue, in sports (Robinson 21; Pound). The second most important negative impact of drugs in sports is that they are very dangerous to athletes’ health. All drugs, whether legal or illegal- have the ability to harm the body. Many prospering athletes learn ways to improve their athletic skills from gym trainers, coaches and other such athletic figures. Sometimes, these figures encourage potential athletes into using performance enhancing drugs in order to make their strict training regimes easier to bear, to build muscle mass or to boost athletic performance. One of the most dangerous of these drugs is anabolic steroids because of the huge number of adverse side effects it causes. Some of these side effects include increased risk of heart diseases, sterility, and damage to the kidneys, higher levels of cholesterol and blood pressure and liver cancer. In addition, they can result in stunted growth, especially if used by adolescent athletes. Some of these effects are temporary, depending on how early athletes stop using them, while others are permanent (Pound; Nelson, 5, 6; Mangan). However, the most repelling side effects of certain drugs are that they cause undesirable gender effects. Anabolic-androgenic drugs cause changes in physical aspects of both men and women; according to Mayo Clinic, these drugs can cause men to develop shrunken reproducing organs, reduced production of sperm, enlargement of breasts, premature balding and acne on the skin. Female athletes, on the other hand, develop manly features, irregular menstrual cycles, deepening of the voice, excess growth of hair on the face and body, enlargement of the clitoris, baldness, acne and fetal damage. In addition, both men and women face the risk of a decreased sexual drive as well. Along with these unappealing physical changes, drug taking athletes face numerous emotional problems as well; anabolic androgenic steroids can lead to severe outbursts of violence, aggressiveness or rage and abrupt mood swings. They could also lead to states of depression. Research has shown that by using steroids, athletes suffer delusions such as believing that they are invincible, impaired judgment and paranoid jealousy, which can cause them to act in a reckless way. This proves how harmful drugs are for athletes (Mangan; Pound). Not only do athletes hurt themselves, but they also hurt the society. Olympic and professional athletes have a great influence on others, especially youngsters. Youngsters look up to these role models and try to copy them in order to become like them. If, for example, a famous athlete is found to be taking performance-enhancing drugs, his/her fans will consider it to be a ‘cool’ thing and will start taking these drugs as well. This is most likely to occur if the fans are aspiring to become athletes themselves. Therefore, the act of taking drugs, by professional athletes, can result in the movement of majority of the world’s youth towards taking drugs as well, causing the future health of the world’s population to be at a huge risk, especially after knowing the harmful side effects of drugs. Furthermore, by taking drugs, athletes are spoiling the image of sports and fitness; athletes are symbols of good health. Using drugs (and worse, being caught doing so) would instead portray athletes as unhealthy and decrease their popularity, especially among adults (Robinson 17). On the other hand, the justification that most athletes, trainers and coaches give for the use of drugs in sports is that it creates ‘increased competition’ in sports. In fact, they say that performance enhancing drugs should be made legal so that all the athletes can use them and gain equal advantage in the playing field. The performance of athletes would also be at a higher level, and it would be a test of their ‘real athletic skills’ as all of them would be ‘doped’. Moreover, it would increase the thrill of watching the sport; nothing would be more interesting than to watch a harder pitch or a farther home run (Smith). However, it needs to be considered that whether performing at a higher level is more important that an athlete’s health. There are many adverse effects of using these drugs. An athlete may not be able to even enjoy his victory owing to the usage of these drugs as they may deteriorate his health. Moreover, taking drugs would create a bad example to the youth who are inspired by each and every action of famous athletes. The consequences can also be a lot worse if the drug taking athlete is caught doing so. One such athlete, Lance Armstrong, has been stripped off his medals and banned from the sport for a lifetime (Smith). In brief, the use of drugs in sports is very harmful to both the athlete and the society. The most important reason for this is that it is morally unfair to gain a competitive advantage over the rest of the athletes, and thus gain higher chances of winning. Another equally important issue is that of health; taking drugs can cause various negative side effects, some of which are very critical, undesirable and permanent as well if their usage is not stopped in time. Athletes who take drugs can also create a poor example to majority of the youth, who look up to them as role models and follow their actions. True, if performance enhancing drugs are legalized, they can increase competition and the thrill of watching sports and athletes in action. However, no amount of thrill can compromise an individual’s health. Works Cited Mangan, Tricia. “Effects of Performance Enhancing Drugs”. Livestrong.com. 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. Nelson, Elizabeth A. Coping with Drugs and Sports. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1999. Print. Pound, Richard W. Inside Dope: How Drugs Are the Biggest Threat to Sports, Why You Should Care, and What Can Be Done About Them. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2010. Print. Robinson, Tom. Performance-enhancing Drugs. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub. Co, 2009. Print. Smith, Chris. “Why it’s Time to Legalize Steroids in Professional Sports”. Forbes. 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. Read More