Coping Without Doping
Even though “blood doping” does not involve drugs, should the act be illegal in sports? This controversial practice is growing increasingly popular due to the benefits athletes can gain by such an easy fix. Blood doping is the injection of oxygenated blood into an athlete before an event in an attempt to enhance athletic performance. The practice was first documented in the 1980's during the summer Olympics in Los Angeles (“Doping in Sports”). It was not until the early 2000’s that a mass outbreak of athlete blood doping addictions was revealed to the public. This caused a war between those for and against banning blood doping for sports. Although some athletes find blood doping for sport an immediate way to improve their performance, there are many health consequences and much controversy regarding the fairness to other athletes that should be examined.
An example of the attitude some have
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He discusses the process that must be done in order to end the war that is getting out of control. The first step is to acknowledge the beginning and end of the situation at stake (Cooper 224-225). If all of the supporters of sports look at the big picture and the long-term affects of blood doping, they will be able to see how it is ruining the spirit of sports, and causing more pain than a few seconds of cheap victory is worth. Cooper brings up English philosopher, John Stuart Mill and his original case of individualism (224). This idea was that every human should have the right to his or her actions, and the subsequent consequences. However, Mill also states that a person should lose this right when inflicting harm to others (Cooper 224). So while one might feel like this war is not worth fighting and blood doping should be legalized as a part of ones’ rights, many others notice the consequences it has for others and know that it causes far more harm than