Since the start of the 21st century, sporting achievements are esteemed by millions of fans all over the world, who breathlessly tune in to live coverage of sporting events in anticipation of the next world record. Billions of dollars have been pumped in by sponsors for their products to be endorsed by athletes or to be advertised in stadiums. Due to all this publicity, sportsmen and sportswomen are under an enormous amount of pressure to perform at the highest level. Karen Goldberg Goff was quoted saying “As the competition became tougher, so did the number of athletes who chose to use performance-enhancing drugs, pushed on on by the lure of big contracts and lucrative endorsements” (Despite Sensitive Testing, Athletes Still Dope to Win) Insight on the New March 15, 1999. …show more content…
There are many advocates of Performance-enhancing drugs out there, who claim that these drugs should in fact be legalized because it increase the quality of sports as a whole and that the harm is worth the fame and glory. Drug testing, which was first made known in 1968 during the Olympic Games in Mexico City, has been a failure in many occasions. Society, especially the Westerners, have been open to the widespread use of drugs outside sports. Drugs such as Viagra and Ritalin are now often prescribed by qualified doctors to improve sexual and academic performances. Keeping these substances out of reach of sportsmen and sportswomen is increasingly challenging nowadays for sports authorities. The International Olympic Committee should ban the use of all performance enhancing drugs by athletes in all level of competition. The effect of these Performance-enhancing drugs on the health of sportsmen and sportswomen, and the demolition of the spirit of the sport as well as the improper role modelling, make these substances a must to be avoided by all