Drug Use Amongst Athletes

DDESPITE SEVERAL CASES OF CHEATING IN THE PAST, WHY DO YOU THINK ATHLETES NOWADAYS STILL USED BANNED SUBSTANCES?

Banned substances are considered an “easy fix” for those with talent but lack the endurance and determination required to stay on top, a hack that allows them to go from zero to hero in an instant, without the hassle.

Nowadays, athletes are put directly under the limelight. With sports garnering more and more interest amongst youth, more athletes are forced to endure the scrutiny and criticism of millions. Athletes are expected to “up” their performance over and over again as the standard continuously increases, which is a difficult task for even the most talented athletes.

Sometimes, the pressure placed atop these athletes become too much to handle, which leads to said athletes facing the dilemma of their lives. As sports are literally their lives, coupled with the fact that they do not wish to disappoint fans, these athletes turn to the easiest fix: drugs. One example would be Jon Jones. With his fans having his back and cheering him on to take his Mixed Martial Arts title back from Daniel Cormier, the pressure placed on him by both the media and viewers has never been greater. Unable to accept defeat and driven by his intense need to reclaim his title, he turned to steroids. However, a huge scandal soon broke out and Jones’ poor decisions were exposed to the public eye, resulting in an immediate forfeit on his part.

Moreover, competitions involving sports have never been more intense than it is today. In fact, a margin as small as 0.1 seconds could potentially differentiate the winning and the runner-up positions. This all comes back to the immeasurable amount of pressure that athletes face that demands them to deliver and perform well, and as I have mentioned before, some people just are not cut out to sustain that amount of pressure. A moment of weakness and a sliver of opportunity is all it takes for athletes to slip up and make a...