Why Performance-Enhancing Drugs Are Ruining Sports Essay Example
Introduction
Sports are something that everyone in the world, regardless of age, sex, or nationality, can enjoy. Whether it's a child playing in his first t-ball game or a professional athlete swimming in the Olympics and everyone in between, sports can connect almost everyone. Fan support and overall devotion for athletic competition has raised professional athletes to superstars and national icons; Super Bowl Sunday is a national holiday to some, and sports are one of the largest moneymakers in the economy.
Because sports are very important to many people, and have been since the days of the Romans, there is much pride and honor in sports; however, there is something that has tainted the image of sports and athletes alike: performance-enhancing drugs. These drugs come in substances, chemical agents and are used in medical procedures which provide the user with an advantage in athletic performance (Encarta, 2007.)
These drugs have been a very dark shadow over sports since they came into athletics. Recently, the Tour de France and Major League Baseball have seen major cases in which star athletes in their sports have been questioned if those drugs had been used. These types of drugs are bad for sports, the athletes themselves, and for athletic competition altogether.
Performance-Enhancing Drugs
Realizing that these drugs are bad for sports all together and also a form of cheating, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) came up with a basic list of principles concerning performance-enhancing drugs in sports. This list, written in 1967, includes:
1. A protection of the health of athletes.
2. Respect for medical and sports ethics.
3. Ensuring an equal chance for everyone during competition. (Mehlman, 2005.)
Protection of the Health of Athletes
Since sports are, in fact, a business and also very profitable, owners and leagues are obligated and very interested in maintaining the health of their professional athletes. In some instances, players
Sports are something that everyone in the world, regardless of age, sex, or nationality, can enjoy. Whether it's a child playing in his first t-ball game or a professional athlete swimming in the Olympics and everyone in between, sports can connect almost everyone. Fan support and overall devotion for athletic competition has raised professional athletes to superstars and national icons; Super Bowl Sunday is a national holiday to some, and sports are one of the largest moneymakers in the economy.
Because sports are very important to many people, and have been since the days of the Romans, there is much pride and honor in sports; however, there is something that has tainted the image of sports and athletes alike: performance-enhancing drugs. These drugs come in substances, chemical agents and are used in medical procedures which provide the user with an advantage in athletic performance (Encarta, 2007.)
These drugs have been a very dark shadow over sports since they came into athletics. Recently, the Tour de France and Major League Baseball have seen major cases in which star athletes in their sports have been questioned if those drugs had been used. These types of drugs are bad for sports, the athletes themselves, and for athletic competition altogether.
Performance-Enhancing Drugs
Realizing that these drugs are bad for sports all together and also a form of cheating, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) came up with a basic list of principles concerning performance-enhancing drugs in sports. This list, written in 1967, includes:
1. A protection of the health of athletes.
2. Respect for medical and sports ethics.
3. Ensuring an equal chance for everyone during competition. (Mehlman, 2005.)
Protection of the Health of Athletes
Since sports are, in fact, a business and also very profitable, owners and leagues are obligated and very interested in maintaining the health of their professional athletes. In some instances, players