Introduction: One of the largest industries in the United States is the professional sports industry; it brought in $63 billion in 2015 1. Professional athletes are seen as strong and talented, but how much of their strength and talent is achieved naturally? Performance-enhancing drugs have been increasingly used in professional sports and are prohibited from being used, but should they be prohibited?
Background: Performance-enhancing drugs have been widely used in sports for centuries. The first recorded use of PEDS in sports was during the ancient Olympic games in 776 BC when athletes experimented with herbal medication 2. However, what qualifies as cheating to us was perfectly acceptable to them and the athletes that participated weren’t
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There are many arguments supporting the ban of PEDs from professional sports. A science-based argument against the use of PEDs in sports includes the possible side effects that accompany PEDs. Using PEDs can be detrimental to ones health and each drug comes with different unwanted side effects. The side effects range from superficial problems to long-term high-risk medical problems. The side effects aren’t just physiological but psychological too. PEDs can cause aggression and other mood changes as well as more serious disorders like depression 4. PEDs are unhealthy for the body and the mind. Steroids and other PEDs don’t increase dopamine in the brain like other drugs; dopamine produces the “high” feeling. But they can become addictive and people that use them will continue to do so despite physical problems and negative effects on social relationships 5. PEDs can also have nasty withdrawal symptoms that can influence users to use …show more content…
However only .5%-2% of drug tests are found to be positive, but the estimated percentage of athletes using PEDs is 14%-39% 3. Coaches and athletes suggest that the actual percentage of users is much higher. This is evidence that even though PEDs are banned from professional sports, they are still being used, and drug tests are barely effective. PEDs should be allowed to level the playing field for all athletes, because they will be used regardless if they are allowed.
The use of PEDs in professional sports is also an ethical dilemma. PEDs users clearly have a leg up on their competitors that they achieved unnaturally. They are taking a short cut to achieve greatness and that’s unethical in sports. Is it right to play against competitors while taking a substance they aren’t taking? Shouldn’t sports be as fair as possible to everyone? Athletes are also role models to kids and teenagers and allowing PEDs would make younger athletes want to use them too.
But at the same time, maybe PEDs are ethical. Isn’t the goal of professional sports to have the best of the best battling it out on national television? Professional athletes are supposed to be the strongest, fastest, most powerful people in the world, and PEDs would make them stronger, faster, and more powerful. This ethical battle has been going on for ages and it is far from being