Doping in Sports

Tim Spykerman

Mr. Roberts

English 1C

9 September 2011

Doping in Sports: The Unfair Advantage?

All over the world today, sports competitions are used as the vehicle for the fierce quest to win, to be the best. The basic problem in sports is that doping has become so common, should we even bother with testing anymore or is the danger to athletes and fair competition so great that enforcement must continue? Doping in sports is the administration of drugs to athletes in order to enhance sport performance. Many athletes will do anything to win. As long as some athletes dope while others stick to the rules, winning has as much to do with cheating as it does with skill or effort. This is creating a natural disadvantage. Honest athletes don’t have access to safe drug enhancement methods. Cheaters have the competitive advantage. This would not be a problem if all athletes were officially allowed to take growth hormones, steroids, beta-blockers, or other relatively safe drugs and it was safely monitored An athlete doping in sports is no different then Wall Street traders taking Ritalin, everyone using caffeinated drinks during work to stay alert, or news anchors getting face lifts and actors taking Botox so more people watch them. Although many people feel that doping creates an unfair advantage in the competitive sports world, athletes should be allowed to use performance-enhancing drugs because the allowance will lead to greater regulation and safety for the athletes.

First, I would like to discuss the two main arguments against allowing doping in sports. One argument is that doping agents are dangerous for the athletes. Dr. Norman Fost, a professor of pediatrics and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin claims there's no scientific proof steroids cause health problems like high blood pressure, strokes, and liver damage (Lodhia). With proper medical regulation, like with any other administered or over the counter drug, these doping agents such as steroids or...