Drugs In Sport Essay Research Paper DRUGS

Drugs In Sport Essay, Research Paper

DRUGS IN SPORT prepared by Wade Clark, Year 12 Health and Physical Education 1. Introduction When the topic of drugs in sport is raised, images of muscle-bound athletes, pumped up with anabolic steroids, come to mind. Performance enhancing drugs have tarnished the image of many sports over the last few decades. Drugs in Sport is a broad term used to refer to the issues associated with the use of prohibited substances by athletes to gain an unfair advantage over their opponents. In recent times, this issue has received high levels of media and public attention particularly in relation to Olympic and World Championships. In Australia, the National Rugby League (NRL) competition has been rocked by a number of high profile players testing positive for performance enhancing substances. Australian athletes and sport officials have also been involved in incidents involving athletes and prescribed analgesics and illicit recreational drugs including cocaine and cannabis. These issues have created a lot of confusion with regard to the drugs in sport debate. This paper will aim to evaluate the issue of the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport, presenting arguments both for and against the use of these drugs. It will conclude with my personal view on this important issue. 2. Drugs in Sport Contributing Factors There are a number of factors that may contribute to an athlete misusing drugs to achieve higher levels of performance in their chosen sport. These factors can be related to the drug itself, the person or the environment. There has always been a powerful need in people to prove that they are stronger, faster, better, than those around them and this is a major factor that contributes to athletes taking performance enhancing drugs. Many athletes use performance enhancing drugs to speed up recovery and return from injury. These athletes are under pressure to return quickly from injury to avoid a loss of income. It is also possible that athletes would use drugs to assist recovery and enhance their performance as they are concerned about losing their spot in their particular team or squad. Sportsmen and sportswoman know that money comes with success and this is a major contributing factor that prompts athletes to use drugs. They are all well aware that to be wealthy from sport they need to be the best in their sport and therefore take drugs to achieve number one status. Another contributing factor influencing athletes is that they believe that their fellow competitors are taking drugs to assist performance thus an athlete feels that they also have to take them to keep up with their opposition. 3. Arguments For and Against the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs The dilemma over drugs in sport is summed up by Steve Haynes, the Chief Executive of the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA). He says, There will always be grey areas because there is no clear rationale for why drugs should be banned (Sydney Morning Herald, 29 July 1992). What this means is there is no obvious, defensible and absolute position regarding the use of drugs in sport. There are compelling arguments for banning drugs and compelling arguments for regulating them. 3.1 Arguments Against the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs Athletes that choose to use drugs to gain an advantage in their particular sport are creating an unfair situation for other athletes. Not only are they making it unfair on other athletes, they are also ruining the public image of their particular sporting event. When Ben Johnson was found to have been using steroids in the Olympics and was disqualified after winning the prestigious 100m sprint event, the headlines used were CHEAT . It could be argued that a fairer system would be to allow all athletes access and controlled use of steroids but this would be against the great ethics of sport. Athletes who are taking performance enhancing drugs are causing a heavy impact on their particular sport. Athletes play a major part in being role models for young people and therefor are ruining the image of the game or event for the next generation. If athletes cared for their sport they should look after the reputation of it and stay away from the use of drugs. Performance enhancing drugs can also have a negative impact on the physical and psychological health of athletes, particularly with anabolic steroids. Male athletes using anabolic steroids place their health at great risk and are often found to develop breasts, bad acne, decrease the size of their testes and become violent and aggressive, usually towards family, friends, coaches and team-mates. Female athletes might start growing hair in places that they haven t had hair before, develop bad acne, stop menstruating, develop a much deeper voice and also like their male counterparts, become violent towards other people. These are just a few of the health consequences athletes face if they decide to take illegal performance enhancing drugs. Anabolic steroids can effect sportsmen and sportswoman in different ways. They can experience heart disease problems, damage to their kidney, liver and their reproductive system. These health problems are all the major effects that tend to occur in both male and female drug users. The main argument against the use of drugs in sport is that their use is very dangerous and is unfair on other sportsmen and sportswoman. 3.2 Arguments For the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs In discussing th