Doping Is Not Dope - Essay Example

 According to Aaron Hermann and Macie Henneberg, usage of the doping method has been around since the 1930’s (Hermann), meaning that is has been around prevalent for 85 years. This paper is concerned with the issue of performance enhancing drugs, specifically focusing on the argument against the use of doping amongst athletes. I will rely on outside facts, statistics, and examples to aid in backing up my argument. Being that I am a student studying exercise science, I feel very strongly about the respect of the human body. According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the use of these drugs for doping, “can be extremely dangerous and, in certain situations, deadly” (“Effects”). Therefore, the doping method can improve an athlete’s performance in their desired sport, but it has many consequences on their bodies. This is why in many sports, baseball in particular, there has been a ban put on the use of doping. In some sports, doping is seen as a way of cheating. It is known to “have the ability or potential to drastically alter the human body and biological functions, including the ability to considerably improve athletic performance in certain instances” (“Effects”). In order for a drug to be seen as a performance enhancing drug, it must meet two criteria (“Performance”). One being that it must have the potential of enhancing an athlete’s performance and two, it potentially has effects of health risks towards the athlete (“Performance”). Some of the drugs that are used for doping are anabolic agents, beta-2 agonists, stimulants, narcotics, cannabinoids, and gluco-corticosteroids. All of these happen to be on the the list of banned substances released by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Deligiannis). Being that there is such a wide variety of drugs used in the doping method, there is also a lot of effects in result of usage. According to the ESC Study Group of Sports Cardiology, athletes tend to combined some of the drugs which leads to dangerous side-effects . Some of the possible short-term health effects of doping include high blood pressure, acne, weakening of immune system, seizures, nausea, and tremors. There are also more emotional effects as well which include emotional outbursts, loss of memory, increased aggression and anxiety, loss of length of attention span, and insomnia (“Performance”). The use of performance enhancing drugs may be able to improve an athlete’s ability to compete better but there is always life after sports. The effects of doping are not only short-term but are long-term as well. Some of the after-math effects or results of doping over a long period of time include several types of cardiovascular disorders such as ischemic heart disease, arterial hypertension, cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. In some of the more drastic instances, the use of doping has lead to myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack, and even death (ESC). Although there seem to be so many consequences to doping, athletes still find it helpful to enhance their ability to perform and meet the expectations of society. Sports is known to be one of America’s most popular pastimes. We have become such big fans of a certain team or organization, that we feel so connect and sometimes emotionally invested in these athletes. The use of performance enhancing drugs was brought about through the pressure that a society puts on athletes to win and perform to their best ability at all times. Doping is not only happening at Collegiate or Professional levels, it is now starting to effect the younger generations as well. Charles E. Yesalis, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, and Dr. Michael S. Bahrke stated that according to several studies, 3-12% of adolescent males and 1-2% of adolescent females have admitted to using some type of performance enhancing drug at least once already. When talking about adolescent males and females, we are talking about younger person that is developing into an adult. Being that their bodies nor their brains are completely developed yet, the harsh effects of doping has an even larger impact on them. Even after having the knowledge of these side-effects, it doesn’t seem like enough to stop athletes from using the doping method. Not only can it harm and destroy your body, but it can do the same for you athletic career. Athletes at the professional level have the ability to be a great role-model to other, younger athletes. They are constantly in the media and being interview before or after a big game. The media is going to ask about or question the good and the bad things in an athlete’s life. In our society nothing seems to be private, especially for professional athletes. Take Alex Rodriguez as an example. He played for the New York Yankees and put up some of the highest statistics in professional baseball. In 2009, right before the season started, Alex Rodriguez released a statement saying that he did get involved with the use of performance enhancing drugs. After this, his fans, his competitors, and even some of his teammates questioned the true ability to perform as well as he did while doping. Not only did this ruin his baseball career all together, but it also destroyed his reputation and took a toll on his personal life. All of this just because he wanted to be one of “the best”, and he thought the only way he could really achieve that was to use the doping method. I can see how performance enhancing drugs can be appealing to athletes. I mean studies do show that these drugs have the ability to enhance the human body to perform at a higher level. For athletes, the stress of always “being number 1” decreases because they are performing better than they ever have. Instead of having to put in extra work, extra hours at practice, and more conditioning, by just using the doping method, athletes are able to do all of that in a short amount of time. Some people believe that the ban of doping should be removed because of the fact that athletes should have their own freedom to decide what they should do with their bodies. I do agree with the fact that they should have freedom. If they want to enhance their ability to perform and deal with all of the harmful side-effects, more power to them! The main object of this essay was to state my strong argument against the use of doping. I support completely the ban on performance enhancing drugs in sports because of the fact I believe in respecting and love your body. The side-effects of this should be more than enough to turn an athlete away from using. They are destroying their bodies just so that they can receive recognition, praise, and money at the professional level. I also think that doping has become so widespread that it is now reaching the adolescent level, which I despise. These “young people” are still children in the developmental stage. Their bodies are nowhere near fully developed and the usage of these drugs could potentially prevent them from ever getting there. So what? Why should we care? Well I know a lot of athletes and I sure don’t want them to get wrapped up in something that could be harmful for them. Maybe you have kids, or know someone with kids that play sports. I think that we both need to know the consequences of doping and be able to talk to these adolescent athletes about how it can be extremely harmful to their bodies especially. 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