Should Athletes Be Drug Tested For Playing Sports Essay

Should Athletes be drug tested for playing sports?

Drug testing athletes has been a thing in sports for many years. Athletes who test positive on drug tests are often portrayed as cheaters and are using performance enhancing drugs for an advantage over their opponent. While most athletes who are caught using performance enhancing drugs others believe that some athletes who have tested positive were not aware that things they were taking for ailments and other health treatments are against the rules in the sport. Some people also believe that it is against a person's rights to be drug tested if you are not in a professional sport. Becoming a good athlete takes time and hard work and people believe that athletes should not be able to use performance

Some athletes have said they turned to PEDs because of the stress and them wanting to be able to perform at the level they were expected to. In the article “Random Drug Testing in Sports: Why It’s Important” it states, “When athletes lose their form, they are criticized due to their failures, which leads to stress and anxiety. Many athletes take steroids so as to enhance their performance. However, they might not opt for such drugs if only they know about the consequences of this decision” (“Random Drug Testing in Sports: Why It’s Important”). The main concern for the drug tests of the athletes are to promote good health and fair play. Although everyone wants fair and equal pay most people believe your health should be above all. An alternative athletes try is called blood doping. This is where the athlete gets a blood transfusion to increase their red blood count which will improve oxygen flow. When blood is taken out for transfusion, platelets, red blood cells, and plasma are removed from the sample and then frozen. The red blood cells are then returned to the athlete’s body to increase their ability to carry oxygen. After re-infusion, authorities can’t detect drug consumption. The article states, “As drug testing methods become more advanced, athletes have uncovered innovative techniques to avoid the detection of

Becoming addicted to drugs is a big price to pay to improve your performance. If there are drug tests for athletes, the students will know the consequences and will be less likely to ever try drugs. Drug testing athletes is also a good deterrent for even when the athletes season is over because they will know it is not allowed. Another big reason for drug tests are for the teams to prevent further health problems. The article “The Purpose Behind Student Athlete Drug Testing” states, “Universities can use drug testing to combat health issues and to keep their student athletes from suffering from health problems. When drug use becomes apparent, schools can take the necessary steps to intervene and help their students” (“The Purpose Behind Student Athlete Drug Testing”). With having drug tests . to prevent the use of drugs, this will prevent any athletes from having any health