Should the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports be legalized?
Life isn't a level playing field!
The concept that everyone has the same chance in sport is ridiculous. Developed countries have institutes of sport, funding, doctors and wealthy athletes. Therefore, an athlete from a smaller less developed sports program cannot match this and there is an inherent disadvantage from the outset. Therefore, it is nonsensical to say that drug use in sport would be cheating, as the playing field will never be even. The use of drugs does not mean that an athlete simply wins without hard work and sacrifice, it simply makes the results better and the spectacle greater.
Posted by: AnonymousYes because its their choice!
It makes for better sport. Ufc would be way better since its essentially the gladiator pit minus the killing. Those arguing that it has long term side effects, well who the hell cares its not you body! You know what has instant death or long term effects far worse? Guns! If I want to inject myself for sport or personal gain it should not be anyone's business. If drugs shall be illegal then so shall guns. No one strictly on ped has killed anyone due to the drug. Before anyone says yes those wrestlers and others, well they were high on a mix of cocaine and other drugs.
Posted by: AnonymousIf its going to be banned for sports, why isn't it completely banned for the rest of the country.
I am not a big fan of sports so I believe let them do what they want. But if they Re planning to ban it for sports completely then why don't they catch out the drugs that is used outside of the sports industry. Why does it seem like they are only focusing on the sports?
Posted by: AnonymousWho cares?
It's not a big deal. The majority of athletes these days are using some type of PED. The sports field will never be fair. If you were gonna give the gold medal to the next athlete who didn't test positive on the last tour de France, it would go to 27th place!
Let them use! It makes for better competition.Posted by: AnonymousIs it really as bad as people say to take PEDs?
EPO is a drug taken to increase red blood cell production. This is illegal. High-altitude training increases red blood cell production. This is legal. Both confer an advantage to those who use it.
Painkillers and even caffeine can be classed as performance enhancing drugs in sport, yet no one would care one bit if you arrive in the office on a Monday morning with a cup of coffee or having taken a pain killer. Why is this such a big deal in sport and not other professions?
If drugs provide unfair advantage then so does your genetics. the latter though is 'natural' and so acceptable.Posted by: AnonymousMy Body My Choice
I have no problem with the NFL or the NHL or ... decided to ban these drugs. In fact I hope they continue to do so. However, for the government to do so intrudes on the most basic of human rights, right to ownership of one's own body and mind. It's also a waste of our time and money for Congress to be holding hearings over suspected steroid use. That alone should get people to support legalization, it wastes our politicians' time that could be spent on better things. Private organizations, I have no problem with them banning these drugs, particularly if they deem them cheating under their rules. Government bans are different.
Posted by: MasturDeBator2009They take them whether it's legal or not.
Neil Armstrong took drugs and no one knew of it, and others did and still do. Yeah it has effects afterwards but it's their choice whether it's legal or not. Many people just picked NO because all they hear is "it's bad for you, it makes you a cheater," and so on, but it doesn't change much at all.
Posted by: AnonymousPeople will be people.
No matter if it legal or not people will continue to do it. The only way to fix it would be to equalize it and let it be. If everyone takes the same dose it will be the same but better to watch. If they want to take drugs so be it at their own consequences. It isn't affecting anybody else so who cares? These people only want to be equal so let them see the truth. Cheating by taking drugs is the same as it being legal only without consequence. Some people may say it is deadly and has consequences. Um, hello, what about smoking? That is legal only nobody seems to care. They may say it doesn't matter everyone does it. So, let's drop the whole drug thing and adapt to more important subjects like things that are already legal and are killing people without any personal benefit unless they are suicidal. Let's make it legal and we will forget about it soon and it will just become another every day thing.
Posted by: Anonymousyes they should
It is just another way for the athletes to excel at what they do. So what if they have major side affects. The players should think about that before they decide to take them, and who doesn't want the sports they love to exceed to a higher level. More home runs get hit, more football players get "Jacked Up", or more amazing slam dunks in a basketball game with a higher level of play.
Posted by: AnonymousDrug use should be legalized, but regulated. If the level of enhancement drugs is used we can handicap for it, but making outlaws of athletes is wrong.
Outlaws should not have access to athletes, if drugs are outlawed people who are trying to be physically healthy have to have contact with the underworld. It's like prohibition in any other way -- use of alcohol shouldn't be a gateway drug for becoming a scofflaw and in general rule abuser, the criminal element doesn't need our achievement-motivated children and adults as an income source. People who are taking drugs should have their scores rated differently but sending potential models for our children to prison is sending the wrong message.
Posted by: groovyboxDefinitely make things equal
Create two separate categories for athletes, one for those who use P.E.D's and those who say they don't. Testing would be easier, all you have to do is test those that say they don't use and don't worry about the rest. I agree with making those who do use pass a certain amount of "community service" educating future athletes about the dangers. But why not allow the athletes the choice of using all available means to achieve the rank of "The Best", including chemicals that enhance their performance. After all, the spirit of sport is all about celebrating the achievements of man, including the power of the human mind in discovering methods of performing better. Imagine the spectator value...
Posted by: AnonymousBad for health and cheating.
I think that using drugs to make you faster or better at a sport is not a good idea for the body. The body is very unique in the way it works. These type of drugs could help an athlete be faster and better at what they do but later on in there lives it could cause liver abnormalities and tumors, increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol, High blood pressure (hypertension), Heart and circulatory problems, and these are just a few.
I know that many athletes use drugs to be at the top of there game but after reading about all the athletes that use performing enhancing drugs makes me think.. Is he real or he is on something?
Using drugs to boost up your oxygen or make you faster and stronger is like cheating in my opinion. I think that if you are a strong and a fast person and good at what you do then you deserve to be successful as an athlete but if your not and you have to use drugs to make you better is cheating.
I think that they should restrict the use of performance enhancing drugs. I don't see why someone would have to take drugs and risk their health to be faster and stronger.Posted by: AnonymousYes, because performance-enhancing substances work, and the cost is only to the athlete.
The lure and appeal of performance-enhancing substances is that they work, in large measure. They have definite adverse side-effects for the athlete, such as gynecomastia and hirsuitism, but these do not impact anyone other than the athlete. To argue that they create an imbalanced playing field is to ignore the fact that the playing field is already imbalanced by the present illegal use of these substances. Legalizing them would serve to better level the field, by giving those who might be reticent for legality reasons the ability to engage in these behaviors, in order to compete with their less scrupulous counterparts.
Posted by: LivingRoosevelt78Strive to be the best you can
I think that anything that could potentially help any athlete in the sport they're competing in should be legal. But they should be aware of both the benefits and the risks of taking any performance enhancing drugs. Athletes know taking too much of something is bad for you, they just need to know when to stop escalating.
Posted by: AnonymousYes for safety
Should performance enhancing drugs be legal? Performance enhancing drugs should be legalized as long as these drugs are distributed correctly. Taking risks with their health is an athlete’s decision to make and using these drugs is part of the evolution of sports much like improved training techniques and new technologies. The reality is that no matter what these drugs will always be obtainable by any athlete through some sorts of supplements.
If distributed thoroughly and safely then performance enhancing drugs should be legal. In Ryan Joan’s “Is it time to legalize steroids? / Its certainly far too late to ban them” he explains why PED’s should be legalized. Joans says that these drugs have been banned due to the safety of athletes and the mental and physical after effects caused, even death. Like most prescription drugs, steroids are dangerous when used improperly. “But steroids and human growth hormones themselves are not “bad”. Steroids and performance enhancers are used for a number of health reasons. “Cancer patients are usually given steroids to help increase muscle mass, energy and appetite.”(Ann Olsen) Olsen is explaining the positives of PED’s and what they can be used for such as fighting cancer.
So if you concede that these drugs are here to stay in sports, wouldn't the players be safer if they didn't go to backroom hucksters with no medical background but rather to doctors who can prescribe and supervise usage according to a player's medical history, physical condition and professional goals(Joan)?” So if managed and treated properly then there would be a large decrease in the number of mental and physical problems and this would be an understandable reason for legalization of PED’s.
Performance enhancing drugs will always be obtainable by any athlete and are actually used by almost everyone every day! The following listed are performance enhancers people use every day: stimulants, sedatives, anti-nausea agents, beta blockers, painkillers and diuretics. Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical functions or both such as coffee. Sedatives reduce and relieve stress and irritability. Beta blockers are used for their ability to reduce nervousness and shaking and are used heavily by musicians, actors and surgeons. "Creatine is an example of a popular supplement used by non-elite athletes in hopes of increasing creatine phosphate, which in turn produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the chemical that provides all the energy for work performed by muscles"(Nyfeler). Leah Nyfeler explains how even non-elite athletes and even regular people are PED users. So before judging these athletes and these PED’s remember that you yourself are a user of some of these enhancers.
Sports is about exploring and stretching the limits of human potential. Going back even to pre-modern Olympics, when athletes ate live bees and ate crushed sheep testicles to get a leg up on the competition. Sports have never been some natural display of physical ability alone. Resourcefulness, innovation, and knowledge about what makes us faster and stronger has always been a part of the game.Posted by: AnonymousYes because helps to make sport faster and more exciting.
Performance enhanching drugs should be allowed in sport because it makes the athletes quicker and stronger which makes the competition between them more competitive and exciting. With faster sports there will be far more action which will bring larger crowds to the sports which will boost the amount of money that is made though sport. This boosted profit can be used to coach and tutor young and up and coming sports stars which will keep the sport going long into the future. Also will get more kids into sport and off the couch. This will help to lower the rate of obesity which will make the world a more healthier place. :D
Posted by: AnonymousThe spirit of sport is not violated by drugs.
So is cheating here to stay? Drugs are against the rules, but we define the rules of sport. If we made drugs legal and freely available, there would be no cheating.
The World Anti-Doping Agency code declares a drug illegal if it is performance enhancing, if it is a health risk, or if it violates the “spirit of sport”. They define this spirit as follows. The spirit of sport is the celebration of the human spirit, body, and mind, and is characterized by the following values:
• ethics, fair play and honesty
• health
• excellence in performance
• character and education
• fun and joy
• teamwork
• dedication and commitment
• respect for rules and laws
• respect for self and other participants
• courage
• community and solidarity
Would legal and freely available drugs violate this “spirit”? No. Would such a permissive rule be good for sport? Yes!Posted by: AnonymousThis is a big topic to look at!
Some people would say that it is not fair, but if everybody does it, then why would it not be fair? And why did it take so long to find out that Lance Armstrong did actually use P.E.D.s and that he was cheating and not just wanting to break the rules? i think that it should be allowed.
Posted by: AnonymousPeople have different oportunities, and also there need to exist a freedoom of choice.
So, let me define what i mean when i say performance-enhancing drugs. These drugs are stimulants thaht boost organizam activity by increasing heart and brain functions. Some substances, like caffeine foe example, is allowed to normal people bur are not to athlets. I just want to say that athlets are human being just ike the other (normal ) people., so, they need to have a freedoom of choice. We need to allow athlets things that are available to normal people. Just like that we need to be equal. On the other side we have different opportunities. Some of us are born with some qualities, with talent. People who have talents have better chances to be better. Also some peple work with better coaches, haw more money so can pay for better trainings. Some people have better conditions for training. Also the difference between our body's possibilities before and after taking drug are not large. It's not going to happen sometthing like, that on the list od sportsman first twenty are ones who take performance-enhancing drugs, and then ones who not. That's not gonna happen.
Posted by: AnonymousGames would be better.
Performance enhancing drugs should be allowed because it will add to the intensity and violence throughout games. Games of any kind will be much more fun to watch. Sports are too boring now a days. Players can't play the way they used to with passion, pride, and honor. Peace Son!
Posted by: Metzie2015Drugs should be allowed in sports.
I believe this because people are just going to keep finding ways to beat the system and if we keep blocking out these ways they are going to find ways and not realize the danger, and they are going to kill star athletes so we should just accept it now while they have safe drugs.
Posted by: Anonymousit should be legal
They can take illegal drugs covertly anyway so legalising drugs in a restricted manner (no illegal drugs like cocaine and anabolic steroids) which can have lasting impact on the health of the athlete or individual who takes them but legal drugs and performance enhancers like the blood transfusion that lance armstrong used during the tour de france may have seemed to be a horrific thing to do at first but at leapose any health dangers to him
Posted by: AnonymousThe use of performance enhancing drugs absolutely should not be legalized.
The entire idea of sports is based around fair competition. The best of the best athletes competing against each other leading to extremely exciting entertainment. When performance-enhancing drugs get involved, the idea of FAIR competition goes out the window. Then the winner becomes not the most talented and hard working athlete, but the one who injected the most steroids into their system.
Posted by: esmond10Why not?
Simple to say, make it fair and share it around. People these days get confused with the term, drugs make the athlete. When really the athlete makes the athlete the drugs just enhance them. People are all ready cheating around authorities by health problems and getting their hands on drugs. No matter what happens people are still going to find ways around he rules, so just legalize it!
Posted by: AnonymousPEDs should be legal.
Officials spend too much money trying to prevent athlete's from using performance-enhancing drugs when use is inevitable. Athletes find ways around these drug tests. Therefore, I think the money that is going toward these drug tests that aren't proving anything should go toward scientists who can control the intake on the PEDs that athletes use.
Posted by: AnonymousIt will never be eradicated
P.E.D's are here to stay. It is naive to think this will change. If regulated,it would be safer. Athletes would heal faster. It would be vastly more entertaining for us the fans. It would level the playing field. In closing: Mark McGuire, Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi, Melky Cabrera, Andy Petite, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmero, Sammy Sosa, Lance Armstrong, Ben Johnson, Marion Jones.
Posted by: yessNot for PEDS but Not against them
People say its not hard work to take a pill. Using PEDs isn't just taking a pill and then your amazing. You have to workout hard and practice hard like everybody else, you just see more progress in you body and performance. I don't take PEDs, but if it comes down to being the best at what I do and be able to compete with others I will choose to use them. Some people platue and need that extra boost to become better
Posted by: AnonymousEntertainment Enhancing Drugs
I'm not a big follower of sports; I am certainly not a fanatic. But, I do enjoy watching a game of football, hockey or basketball on occasion. I like to see awesome feats of athleticism, that is the most exciting part of any sports. So if these drugs help athletes be better at what they do, let them use! It will only enhance my (and your) entertainment.
Posted by: BeEsBeIt will make sports better to watch.
People would be more interested in our sports, so the sporting industry would benefit greatly. People will still do it whether it's legal or not, so it may as well be legal. It gives not as naturally talented people a better shot at winning. It will make the sport more fun, so more people will do it. Boom, end of obesity. It will benefit us greatly.
Posted by: AnonymousIf you want the sport you love to last...
The sporting world has been backwards for many years. It claims to be fair yet it can only ban some athletes who use PED's not all. The majority of cyclists use PED's when competing at the professional level (there are numerous studies, confessions from athletes, and autobiographies proving this point and it is irrational to argue for them being clean when the evidence is overwhelming). So how is it fair for USADA to ban a cyclist for life when he was up against dopers just like him and then give some other doper his first place trophy while simultaneously forcing his sponsors to drop him. He becomes broke and without a job while some other doper profits from it. On the safety issue of doping think about this, these athletes have former cyclists with Phd's prescribing them drugs and there hasn't been a death from PED's in decades since research has improved. The reality is everybody dopes, few get caught, and those that do suffer while others profit. Do I think this is fair? No. Drugs should be legalized so that sporting can get back to the way it should be, fair and entertaining.
Posted by: madoneYes, make it legal, I believe let them do what they want.
I am not a big fan of sports, so I believe let them do what they want. But, if they are planning to ban it from sports completely, why don't they catch out the drugs that are used outside of the sports industry? Why does it seem like they are only focusing on the sports?
Posted by: AnonymousDue to Genetics
Genetics.... Enough said. Some players have a far greater advantage over other players who have no been 'gifted' genetically. It's time to level the playing field and let's be honest. Thousands of new drugs are created every year which aren't tested and are undetectable in drug tests so no matter what we try to do, drugs will always be an issue.
Posted by: AnonymousAthletes should be allowed to use any PEDs for the following reasons:
1. It gives a clear route to a successful win. Although the others do not have the same advantage, the win will give you fame.
2. It makes the sport fun to watch and for the audience to see their favourite athlete winning.
3. If all athletes use the PEDs, then it levels the playing field. All of the athletes would have the same advantage, and it would be the same level of effort. The only thing that can change is the use of different types of PEDs. Some of the athletes who take PEDs could have more doses of the drug or have a drug that gives you a better athletic performance.Posted by: AnonymousBigger, faster, stronger
The viewing public want to see athletes pushing the bounds of possibility. They want to see the fastest runners, the biggest and strongest rugby players etc. This can no longer be achieved without the use of drugs. It is so easy to pass drugs tests that so called doping control is effective only as a PR tool, due to drugs like andriol and human growth hormone. The amount of money required to catch people is simply too prohibitive to even consider for all but a handful of sports as it would require almost daily testing. The money would be better spent on grass roots facilities.
If you don't wish to take PEDs then that is fine, good on you, but don't expect to succeed at your sport, because you almost certainly lack the mentality of a champion.Posted by: AnonymousThe Only Way to Eradicate the Problem.
There is never going to be a count of zero drug cheats in sport. Scientists will find ways to dodge the testing. It took about a decade too long for Lance Armstrong to be found. Why? The scientists found a way. They will keep on finding new substances and the cycle will never end. See what I did there?
Posted by: AnonymousThese drugs are actually benaficial
Many of these drugs benefit the user, making them heal faster and be able to train harder and even feel better in general. Many of the arguments against them are false saying that they are damaging is a complete lie. Also the drug testing doesn't even work in the first place due to it being to generalized. So to say it would give an unfair advantage is preposterous due to the fact that it would actually level the playing field.
Posted by: Anonymous“With reference to the Lance Armstrong case, should drugs be legalised in sport?”
With reference to the Lance Armstrong case, it could be argued that drugs should be legalised in sport. With the 41-year-old American band for life and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles; due to the chosen method of enhancement for a heightening performance. Some may express that legalizing performance-enhancing drugs would only help athletes climb even higher. However, others may disagree and say that drugs affect people differently and perhaps performance enhancing drugs gives an athlete an unfair advantage.
Many believe that in the event of participating in competitive sports, it should be in a fair playing field. With the legalisation of drugs, not only would the playing field suddenly be even for all players, it would be at a higher and more intense level. Smith wrote, "A huge part of watching sports is witnessing the very peak of human athletic ability." Indeed, drugs do give a major boost to the user over other athletes, so therefore why is it so difficult to identify the athletes who use drugs to enhance their performances? No drug can transform an individual into a world-class athlete. Who really knows if Lance Armstrong would have won in first place with the decline of any drug usage? Lance Armstrong won seven times. He did not come out of obscurity and win something that his previous or subsequent performances would call into question. He won with hard work and persistence in training, resulting in something for which he was always considered a contender for.
Nonetheless, In an alternative reality in which cyclists could freely use whatever substances they felt they required for an improved performance, victory may go to the elite competitor who’s willing to adopt the most extreme. This would then be a clearly be unfair as well as athletes risking their health. Without the restraining effect of the fear of getting caught, dangerous levels of drug use would be expected to grow more customary in many sports if the usage of drugs were legalized. Athletes’ current choice between cheating or losing might be replaced with an even more catastrophic choice between death-defying levels of drug use, or losing.
Performance-enhancing drugs are stimulants that boost organism activity by increasing heart and brain functions. When running or doing any excessive activity, it requires more oxygen for the body to use up; also meaning that more blood is pumped around the body in a smaller space of time than then the body is used to. With the use of drugs, they enhance an athlete’s performance as the speed that in which their brain and body reacts giving them an advantage. “When there are no tests, as was the case before these tests were instituted, some athletes will elevate their PCV levels significantly higher; and because red blood cells make blood thicker, this is very dangerous. According to a 2004 article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a PCV of 51 percent or higher dramatically increases a person's risk of stroke and heart attack.”
Often the assumed purpose and motive of athletics is to help an individual get, be or maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle, as there is an automatic association between athletics and health. Be that as it may, it is important to differentiate between professional, amateur and recreational athletics. Considering the aftermath of a single professional rugby or boxing match and the results of a career in the profession; professional athletes motives are not necessarily to maintain healthy, as it’s not always necessarily the highest priority. The purpose and goal of the professional athlete tends toward performance over health, while the goal of the recreational athlete tends to be health more than performance.
Some may say that with the use of drugs in the course of training; with the purpose of enhancing an athlete’s performance, it does not entirely differ from the incorporation of any other technology in sport for the same purpose. They argue that there are advantages with using computers and electronics to enhance performance in training. In the run up to the 2012 Olympics, the UK took advantage of their advanced technology during training to track and indicate various performances such as heart rate, speed, distance and change in direction. Analysis programs are routinely used to quantify an athlete’s performance and determine necessary alterations to training. As this happens, it becomes less and less the athletes’ natural ability and motivation which gives them that upper hand, but more their equipment and training enhancements. Sports clothing such as body-hugging tops that can help players escape tackles in rugby and technologies such as streamlined, light weight racing bikes can give a team a winning margin.
In favour of the above argument, developed countries have institutes of sport, funding, doctors and wealthy athletes. Therefore, an athlete from a smaller less developed sports program cannot match this and there is an inherent disadvantage from the outset. The use of drugs does not mean that an athlete simply wins without hard work and sacrifice; it simply makes the results better and the spectacle greater. The playing field will never be even.Posted by: AnonymousLegalizing performance-enhancing drugs won't make a difference
Think about it. Whether you legalize performance enhancing drugs or not players are still going to consume the drugs whether you know it or not!! In fact legalizing the drugs would make the game more fair. This can give many honest players who don't take the drugs because it is illegal a massive advantage. If it were legal all players would also consume the drugs and Viola!! There you have it. An equal playing field!
Posted by: AnonymousLegalize them, but...
I have no issue with athletes using performance-enhancing drugs. But I think that as part and parcel of their legalization athletes should be obligated to (a) undergo an educational program on the benefits and risks of using PEDs and (b) agree to participate in programs to educate others, particularly younger athletes, on the benefits and risks of using PEDs. Making behavior illegal, in my experience, doesn't stop people from behaving in a particular way. It sometimes seems as though we have learned nothing from Prohibition.
Posted by: MWEinNCThe line is blurry as is at the moment
With cortisone injections a staple for many athletes (legal steroids), and plenty of unclassified drugs being invented every day and used, it would be simpler to just legalize the lot. The fact is, drugs don't make you superman, you to have to train your balls off to compete at these levels. I am sure in 10 years we will probably realize that most of the London Olympians were on something to compete at the level they did so.
Posted by: AnonymousCriminalization is hypocritical
Almost everywhere else in these modern times we use technology to get the desired results people seek faster, more accurately, more efficiently, cheaper. Where ever a technological edge can be gained to help us in our business or personal lives we think its a good thing. But when it comes to professional or elite athletes we consider the use of biotechnology cheating. Why?
The level playing field argument is bogus. If PED's were not outlawed then every competitor has the opportunity to use, or not use them. Its the athlete's choice. The same way that some companies are early adaptors of technologies that they feel will help their business perform better, there are some athletes who are willing to risk their health use the bio technologies that are available.
If health is the only factor standing in the way of permitting PED's from becoming accepted, then the governing bodies of sports should dedicate funds to research to making it safe of safer so that they may be used by all athletes to use.
The simple fact is that there is obliviously a demand for PED's which means that the "black-market" research and production will continue to progress. And sports in general should accept that no arbitrary ethical standard or rule will prevent the existence and use of PED's at the elite level.
Let's make them safe so we can all use them, if we choose to do so and end this non-sensePosted by: AnonymousIt's time to take advantage.
PED's are proven to make athletes 5-10% better as stated by Tom Murray of the Washington Post. Athletes take energy drinks protein shakes and many other products to make them better taking PED's would be similar. For all the people whom of which believe it is unfair and destroys the meaning of sports then, what is the meaning of a sport? In my eyes sports are about having a good time, showing sportsmanship,determination, skill and athletic capability. By legalizing these banned substances Linebackers will hit harder, pitchers will throw faster, sprinters will run at glorifying speeds and athletic capabilities will reach a new peak. The fact that we have capabilities of doing such things to make the human race better its just absurd that many people can't grasp on to the thought of taking advantage of these capabilities.
Posted by: AnonymousIt will help atheletes.
Athletes are always pushed to their limits and expected to perform at super human levels. In sports there should be certain performance-enhancing drugs that are allowed to help athletes keep up this level of intensity. Now there should also be different leagues of sports. IE. NCAA with performance enhancers and one without it. I think this would be good and there should be significant studies on any drugs allowed and they must be cleared with the FDA.
Posted by: AnonymousLEGALIZATION IS GOOD
If legalized, it is now the players choice whether they take the drug or not. It is a more fair playing ground, because now everyone has the choice of taking the drug. If they do not it is there own fault. Thus you must affirm this resoluition in todays debate.
Posted by: Anonymous
Drugs and sports don't mix.
If they take some performance-enhancing drugs then they are making themselves better than anyone else giving themselves an advantage over everyone else which is cheating, so why should they get money for using drugs to win, how do we know they aren't actually good at that sport. It doesn't make sense for people to get awards for cheating.
Posted by: AnonymousHow is that fair?
If we allow athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs, it means that it is not an even playing field. This would force athletes who do not want to use these drugs to either stop playing the sport or take the drugs, against their wishes just so that they can have an equal chance.
Posted by: AnonymousTell you everything you don't know
We barely know any of the effects at all! We should not legalize performance enhancing drugs because there are so many different health risks we don't know about. MayoClinic proves performance enhancing drugs to give such health problems like baldness infertility, and heart problems! Do we really want to unleash these problems on our athletes we admire so much?
Posted by: AnonymousPerformance enhancing drugs can be compared to murder
Sure, drug taking has been going on for as long as sport has been around and many people would say just let them be legalised. Hasn't murder been going on since the beginning of humanity? Isn't murder in our world everyday? It is and it has come to be part of our human existence but let me ask you this... If someone said "oh just let murder be legalised because it's been going on for a long time", where is the justice in that? How can you say that just because something wrong has been going on for a long time then you should just let it be?
Posted by: AnonymousPerformance-enhancing drugs are unfair to those athletes who actually work for their performance.
It is not fair that other athletes work really hard to be the best and the athletes that take PEDs just take a shortcut. There are also health factors. For instance, you may just faint while you're doing the sport or something worse may happen. Using drugs means you ignore your body's needs. For example, if you've been working out for ages and you've taken drugs, then your body forgets how hot it is and doesn't do anything. This can lead to overheating of your body, dehydration and so on. It should not be allowed if you want the athletes to live.
Posted by: AnonymousDoping puts the ANTI in front of Sport
It is an unfair advantage and also is selectively unfair to those who cannot afford it. High performance athletes who gather just enough money to go to the Olympics, FIFA, etc. Cannot afford PES whether they want to use them or not. This is not a fair playing field and the ruins the whole point of sport. Sport promotes and improves one's wellness while having fun and if PES were used, you would not be improving your health.
Posted by: AnonymousTyrranny
Although that they have many positive effects the negative impacts of taking these drugs greatly outweigh the pros of using these drugs. It is morally wrong to win in competition but it is simply horrible to harm your body in this manner. Please raise awareness about this problem and the dangers of these drugs.
Posted by: AnonymousAthletes should not use drugs to enhance their performance; these can be dangerous to the user and unfair in competition.
The world of sports has become too much of a money-centered business with little left for pure competition and enjoyment of the sport. All drugs have side effects; they are foreign substances to the human body. The use of these can endanger the athlete's health and is certainly a cause of unfairness in competition. Where would it stop? There would be constant escalation of use, new more powerful drugs, use at a younger and younger age. Let's get back to pure human ability.
Posted by: 54IInfernoIs it a contest of sport or drugs?
If we are to legalize drugs, are we competing in sport or in the creation of a new drug, and which one is the best in enhancing performance? Drugs damage us, and when you put them in your body, it's not honest to yourself as it is not you who won the race, it's the drug.
Posted by: AnonymousIt's not Fair!
Drugs. The sad issue. So many children are having their heart broken because their role model has been diagnosed with performance enhancing drugs. Children look up to these people and they may follow in their footsteps. I don't know about you but I know that it is wrong. Athletes are setting a bad example for future generations of sportsmen and women. Choose your own side but I'm sticking where I am.
Posted by: gri0004Danger In Roids
Using performance enhancing drugs for any reason is extremely dangerous to the athletes health. Bones are made weaker and muscles around them are made stronger. Thus putting more force on those now brittle bones. Steroids and other performance enhancing drugs could be the beginning of the downfall of all professional and amateur sports.
Posted by: AnonymousBad PEDs Will Trickle Down
If professional athletes are doing PEDs, why shouldn't kids who want to be good at sports? All the aspiring athletes will want to use PEDs to get better at sports. If athletes start using alcohol, methamphetamine, marijuana and other illegal drugs, won't we have to make those legal? It wouldn't be good to start letting others use these drugs.
Posted by: AnonymousNo others didnt need it. Why do they?
People who say yes are basically saying "oh hes using PEDs? Thats fine". People like Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Carl Yemstrenski didnt use PEDs and they had some of the best careers in baseball history. Barry Bonds and Mark Maguire went off hitting a bunch of home runs, but they used PEDs they didnt do nearly as good as Ted Williams and them even if they were cheating.
Posted by: AnonymousDrugs in sports are CHEATING!
If we use drugs in sports, we wont see who's better at the sport we'll just see who's the biggest drug user. I think people that use drugs in sports are weaklings. I mean the people that are using drugs aren't giving the people that aren't using drugs a chance.
Posted by: AnonymousSport should be fair.
The whole point of sports competitions is to test the human ability of people, and not the ability of the drug used. What is the whole point of competitions if we will just cheat. I don't believe a guilty victory is better than a honest defeat. For these reasons I say we should not legalize performance-enhancing drugs in sports
Posted by: AnonymousDrugs Will Ruin the Game We Know Today
If we legalize performance enhancing drugs, then all athletes will use them and then they will all do more and more performance enhancing drugs trying to out-do their opponent and the result will be a burial violent game which will become increasingly different than the game known today. But not only will performance enhancing drugs ruin the game, but they can also ruin the player's life. HGH can cause cancer cells or small tumors to grow, osteoarthritis, congestive heart failure, an increased chance in lung cancer, and even make private areas abnormally small.
Posted by: Anonymousdrug taking
I TOUGHLY disagree with the negative team. Drug taking is NOT legal in sports and SHOULD stay that way. Drug taking can cause many problems within the society. Drug taking creates many disappointments. Drug taking is NEVER fair. People should rely on their abilities instead of drug taking. Performance enhancing drugs can overtake your abilities power. Drug taking should only be used to cure your sickness. Drug taking should not be used to jump higher, run faster and cycle faster.
Posted by: AnonymousNo drugs should be allowed, sport should be about talent.
It's about hard work, determination and focus, not drugs. It's about having fun and enjoying yourself, not trying to kill yourself. It should be like the old days where you do your best not cheat, have fun and enjoy yourself. Compete with only your talent, not drugs. It's only fun with your natural talent.
Posted by: AnonymousIs it a contest of sport or who can invent the best drug?
Performance enhancing drugs in sport should not be tolerated and should be illegal.
The taking of these performance enhancing drugs isn't fair, we’re encouraging youth to take these drugs and it can have dramatic health risks weather it is short term or long term.
Performance enhancing drugs in sport such as the commonly known steroids give the consumer an unfair advantage on rival competitors. Is it really fair if one athlete who has the financial means to buy these products has an advantage due to that and not his natural raw talent? If drugs in sport are aloud then wont it really be a competition on who can create and afford the best drugs and not the untampered skill that these athletes who train for thousands of hours genuinely possess.
If we allow drugs in sport what is it teaching the youth of society? Is it telling them that you don't have to work hard to become and athlete and that you can take shortcuts to get what you want. Is this the child you want to raise? A slacker who finds the easy way out. This isn't the message that should be sent out to the youth of our country. We should be teaching the developing nation that if they want something bad enough they will have to put in the hard work and pain in order to reach there goals and not that everything in life will come easy to them.
Many drugs have harmful effects on the human body. These may not be visible until many years into the future but when discovered can lesson the quality of life in later years and can even send you to a premature death.An example of this is a body builder who went by the name of Zyzz who was idolized by many adolescents.It is a known fact that he took performance enhancing drugs in which put much stress on his body contributing to his death at only 22 years of age.
To conclude performance enhancing drugs give an unfair advantage, are harmful to athletes and give a bad message to the upcoming generation. If we allow performance enhancing drugs in sport then we have lost the real meaning of competition. It is designed to show off how hard someone has worked and we admire that. With the introduction of these drugs we should really be giving praise to the scientists not the athletes.Posted by: AnonymousI am fully against this because...
This could promote the use of other drugs and also what if a country decided not to legalize these drugs, it would give them an unfair disadvantage during competitive events! Performance Enhancing drugs are wrong, you have seen the upset they have caused in the recent months, sports fans would be disappointed at the wrongness if this was to happen
Posted by: AnonymousWhere do we draw the line?
To determine ones inner strengths and capabilities against real challengers in life is one thing. But when competitors are pushed into situations for commercial, financial and personal gains, this becomes unacceptable and removes the entertainment of sport therefore losing the essence of competition. Although this is an unrealistic outlook but when we as a society give credit towards the use of drugs to enhance performance we are then as a society removing fair play.
Posted by: AnonymousPerformance-enhancing drugs take from those athletes who actually work hard.
In my opinion using performance enhancing drugs is just low. It just shows that your not good enough to compete with those who don't use the drugs. Give some credit to those who work hard for their reward. Athletes caught using these should be jailed. I looked up to Lance Armstrong, I was disgusted to hear he used that stuff. Changed by view on him completely.
Posted by: AnonymousMost athletes know that taking drugs is cheating however many still do take them putting themselves at risk of getting caught.
Athletes that take drugs to enhance their performance are cheats. It’s clearly unfair to those competitors who have not cheated or taken any type of performance enhancing drugs. If younger athletes see this happening they would also probably consider taking these drugs as they would look up to older athletes as their idols. If athletes compete using these drugs, we wouldn’t know who has the natural ability of the sport or who won the sport fair and square without cheating. We would not be able to determine the actual winners. If an athlete takes drugs, I believe they should be banned from all sports, stripped of medals, money and sponsors, be made to do community service or coaching clinics and give back to their sport.
Posted by: AnonymousSuccess is to be made on your own
Performance enhancing drugs are cheating, they are a substiute for hard work. Tt the end of the day you want to be able to say "I did it." Take these enhancing drugs and all of a sudden that "I" is no longer in there. Wouldn't you want to have the benefits of knowing there you did it all on your own. Swallowing a pill is easy. Work is hard.
Posted by: AnonymousIt is not healthy for anyone to use steroids specifically for the purpose of making themselves stronger, faster or better at sports.
Aside from the fact that it is medically unsafe to use steroids merely to be better at sports or physical activity, it is also unsportsmanlike to cheat in such a way in order to stack the odds in your favor.
Posted by: PleasantCleveland49Performance enhancing drugs should not be legal because they ruin the integrity of sport.
The use of performance enhancing drugs should be banned in sports because they ruin the level playing field for all participants. If legal, performance enhancing drugs would force professional athletes to partake or lose their careers for an inability to play on a level with those who took enhancing drugs. The future health implications of performance enhancing drugs on players also cannot be dismissed easily.
Posted by: ThegaXenCheating is wrong
Many people now use performance enhancing drugs and out perform everyone. This is cheating and makes the game or hobby unfair and spoils it for everyone. Also, this is a dangerous practice and could lead to serious injury. This could also endanger others. Lastly, this could ruin your life and your families lives. I do not think that taking drugs is to out perform others is the right choice
Posted by: AnonymousOF COURSE NOT!!!!
They're many harmful-side effect for athletes: headache, irritability, restlessness of muscles, nausea, sleeplessness, urinary disturbances, increased heart rate and vomiting. That also will make some athletes die for that. Furthermore, that make a very unfair competition for people to watch. If athletes always use performance-enhancing drugs in sports, that will make them depend on using drugs and not to practice very hard like before.
Posted by: aaronjiI am strongly against using performance enhancing drugs in sports.
First off, cheating causes the sport not to be pure. You improve at a sport by practicing not taking drugs. It isn't fair to the real athletes who work for their success to still be on the bottom because of cheaters. Also, atheletes' bodies are hurt by sports enough already. It has been proven that using steroids can cause your bones to break down. It has also been proven it makes a human more aggressive while taking the drug and for a long period of time after. Lastly, we all know that kids look up to athletes, and try to imitate a lot of the things they do. If they see an athlete on TV taking these drugs they will think its okay. I do also know these drugs can improve your performance. But, towards the end of the career of an athlete who used drugs, their body starts to break down. At the end steroids hurt them more. It also ruins their reputations. So keep it real.
Posted by: thiskid1They can never be great
Yes, anyone in the world can take performance-enhancing drugs and be great at their sport, but only those who don't take them and are natural born sporting stars can be "legends". For example: Lance Armstrong was a great cycler, but the allegations against him are making him seem... not so great. Do you agree?
Posted by: AnonymousNot a chance!
These substances are prohibited for a reason. They are dangerous and harmful to athletes bodies, it also means that the playing field is not level in sport and athletes and coaches who can afford the best doctors receive the better drugs, it is morally wrong and is not seen as ethical behavior. This should not become a norm within sport, it is deviant behavior and cheating. The true value of sport is about competing and trying your best at all time while respecting yourself and other people involved but by using banned methods and substance the true values of sport is disregarded.
Posted by: AnonymousAthletes who dope get an unfair advantage, it is bad for the users health and athletes who dope set a influence other athletes and teens to consider drugs.
Drugs in sports should remain illegal. All athletes should be able to compete on a level playing field. In addition most performance enhancing drugs have significant health risks like kidney disease. Lastly athletes who use drugs can cause other athletes to want to match their level and it also influences teens to try drugs to.
Posted by: AnonymousNo
Taking performance enhancing drugs at that young age can drastically half your life span to about a low 40 years which is much to young to die. And for what, a silly medal? For the thrills? It's just not worth it.
Posted by: AnonymousNo way Jose
No because that is cheating and it could make people go crazy. They could kill someone or themselves by using drugs and you shouldn't encourage people in the Olympics. I have more sense than most people who vote it should be legalized. I hope you know it could kill you within five years.
Posted by: AnonymousDrugs will ruin the game we know today.
If we legalize performance enhancing drugs, then all athletes will use them and then they will all do more and more performance enhancing drugs trying to out-do their opponent and the result will be a brutal violent game in which will become increasingly different then the game known today. But not only will performance enhancing drugs ruin the game, but they can also ruin the players life. HGH can cause cancer cells or small tumors to grow, osteoarthritis, congestive heart failure, an increased chance in lung cancer, and even make private areas abnormally small.
Posted by: 123baseballIf one athlete does it all have to do it
If we'd legalize PEDs, then most athletes will take them, hence making it impossible for somebody to win without them. If an athletes personal decision is to live a healthy life and not take PEDs then he has an unfair disadvantage to the athletes who will want to harm their body with PEDs in order to win competitions. Promoting drug use in sport is promoting an unhealthy lifestyle and will most likely lead to more than 50% of athletes overdosing themselves as they dont have to worry about drug testing anymore.
Posted by: AnonymousI do not agree that sports enhancing drugs should be legalized, enhancements take away the true athletic talent of a sport.
I feel that sports should be about true athleticism. The use of sports enhancements have really taken away from the energy and excitement of watching sports. When an athlete achieves a victory and then it comes out that they were using it takes away from the victory. They no longer seem genuine and the victory is no longer enjoyable to the fan.
Posted by: C0ImEIiteWhat do drugs and sports have in common?
Any sport is an activity to get fit and be healthy. Those who are at an Olympic standard then start to introduce drugs, when in the first place drugs, period, are bad. Bringing them into sport would create long term damage and leave a lot of our once-healthy athletes dead. If children at school see athletes using these drugs and their use being allowed, what is that going to do for the good of the children today? Some of these kids look up to them. There is a reason a lot of drugs are illegal. It's not just because they can, it's because they are dangerous and corrupt our world.
Posted by: AnonymousNO, IT IS CHEATING !
C'mon guys. It's not fair and not an honest way to play sport. It's not fair on the people that actually try their hardest to achieve victory. It is cheating and has to stop - if we want Australian sport to be saved and unpolluted. Play fair or don't play at all.Posted by: AnonymousNo, because it is just not fair.
Using drugs should never be part of sport, because in other words you are just saying that the sport you are playing isn't all that important. You are otherwise just saying that your performance doesn't matter compared to those of others. You are putting yourself on a higher rate or level of importance in comparison to you team mates or opponents.
Posted by: AnonymousWrong
Its not a good place to be in a athlete. People can die using the drugs and it breaks supposedly records of people who didn't. I don't believe that they should legalize performance enhancing drugs for this reason. Many athletes over the years have been penalized for this act. It is wrong for an athlete to do that.
Posted by: AnonymousUsing Performance-Enhancing Drugs Is Cheating And It's Dangerous
There is no way that performance enhancing drugs should be legalized. First of all they are not called performance enhancing by accident. The affect a persons ability to perform in sporting events. If some use them and others don't then there is no way that sports would ever be fair. Plus those who are playing today are playing against records set by people who played before steroids existed. So there would have to be a new category of records established. We would have to set up a performance enhanced record book for all the new records that would be set. Plus they are dangerous. Using steroids leads to long term health problems that can ultimately be fatal. So there is no way we should ever legalize them.
Posted by: TasticBranPerformance-enhancing drugs should remain illegal, they offer an unfair advantage.
Performance-enhancing drugs shouldn't be legalized, they give an unfair strength advantage to the user and the long-term effects of these drugs isn't known enough to even determine if they may be doing harm to the user. There is the so-called roid-rage that some steroid users experience, for example. While its true that some sports are a big business, by using these drugs, athletes are giving a bad example to young people. Hard work and practice should be the message to kids who want to excel, not taking drugs.
Posted by: PinkMychSportsmen are role models to children.
Many sportsmen are idolized and worshiped by children. If children were to find out their favourite sport star has been taking illicit drugs and cheating the sport, they would be devastated. I know for a fact many Essendon supporters who are extremely disappointed in their club. With sportsman playing sport the righteous and fair way there would be no problems with the children and they will strive to be just like them.
Posted by: AnonymousAnonymus
No because it encourages people to take drugs, also it supposes threat on a persons health, and if the athlete stops taking the drug for any reason it could lead to bad long term side effects such as liver/kidney damage, or heart disease. it also could have other side effects such as hair loss, fainting etc. I also disagree because the athletes who do not use drugs have a lower chance of beating the athletes using the performance enhancing drugs which would be a unfair and would not be accurate due to the fact that the athlete who takes the drugs would have enhanced the speed that in which their brain and body reacts giving them a advantage. I also think that the aim in sport is to compete to try and put your effort and work into something you enjoy and it should not be allowed because it take the whole idea away from competing to win naturally.
Posted by: AnonymousNo drugs should be allowed
It's about hard work, determination and focus, not drugs. It's about having fun and enjoying yourself, not trying to kill yourself. It should be like the old days where you do your best not cheat, have fun and enjoy yourself. Compete with only your talent, not drugs. It's only fun with your natural talent.
Posted by: AnonymousNO
Sports aren't made to cheat in. They are made to accomplish for and win. Lyle Alzado got brain cancer a while ago and, in an article, he explained he thought it was from the steroids he took. If professional athletes take these, eventually kids will. Drugs undermine the central philosophy of sports. They make peer pressure on morally good athletes. WE need to protect the health of our athletes and our future athletes. We need to protect the young and vulnerable. Once someone starts, they can't stop. IT is simply cheating. THe athletes whole life will become a lie.
Posted by: AnonymousPerformance-enhancing drugs have no place in modern society.
Performance-enhancing drugs have a short-term benefit which costs the user's health in the long term. Laws, especially in sports, prohibiting these drugs is more for the safety of the people who play the sport, rather than keeping an even playing field. They are dangerous and people should not be allowed to liberally undertake using and abusing these drugs. There's no purpose for them.
Posted by: RayEarThese drugs make our players cheat in getting their stats when you are supposed to get them by skill and luck.
I think that no one should be able to use drugs. It isn't right for the players to use them because it isn't fair and it isn't natural. The early players of the game, they didn't cheat. They went out there and played and with their skills and luck, and were able to win games. They did not get juiced up on drugs to help you them hit the ball another 10 feet.
Posted by: AnonymousInfluences High school Students
High school students trying to make scholarships will be influenced. They might think that it is okay to use performance enhancement drugs if their favourite athlete is using them, but if it were legalized then athletes would be using drugs prescribed by physicians whereas a student using them would be getting the drugs off the street which could lead to more health risks of using shady drugs that someone doesn't know where they came from.
Posted by: AnonymousBe Fair
If you want to enhance your performance with drugs go head and do it because it is your life and you can do whatever you wish with it without hurting people around you. But when time comes for healthy sports or any other competition all the participants should be on the same level of fairness. If you use drugs it places you on a level I don't care higher or lower but different than the level of competition is. Therefore put your artificial muscles in your pocket and leave normal people compete as normal people should do.
Posted by: DebateIsRealDoping gives some an unfair advantage.
Many say that it will level the playing field because currently some are using them illegally. It will not level the playing field if everyone dopes because every person's body reacts differently to these drugs. "Some people are doing it anyways" clearly isn't a good enough reason to revoke a law. The people that dope need help. They are not only cheating, but they are harming their bodies in too many ways to mention. Instead of encouraging the honest and strong players to dope by legalizing these drugs, we should encourage those who dope to stop before it kills them.
Posted by: AnonymousIt should not be legalized
It should not be legalized because sports are based on what you can do with your abilities not your drugs abilities. It hurts you health and is bad for long term life.
Posted by: AnonymousNo because they are bad.
If performance enhancing drugs were to be allowed in sports it wouldn't be about the talents of the athletes, it would be a contest of who could afford the best drugs. Also, if drugs were legalized, young children would think drugs were okay because there athlete idols that use them.
Posted by: AnonymousI oppose the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports because it destroys fair competition.
Performance-enhancing drugs just feed into the overly competitive spirit that sports have devolved into. It creates a playing field where players are not judged by their natural athletic ability but rather who has been taking the best, and most drugs. I firmly believe that sports should be kept drug free, thus keeping the integrity of the sport at hand safe.
Posted by: MorrAuthenticProfessional sports are played to see who is the best in their sport.
Taking performance enhancing drugs doesn't show your skill rather they show the enhancement the drugs have on your body. I play sports and constantly want to get better, but not by cheating, essentially thats what taking ped are. Sure you still have to work out and practice but its not the same. I play sports for the personal satisfaction and the personal gain i get from them. I play to see how good I am and constantly practice to get better. Sure you can make the argument that its your body, your choice, but how is that fair? How is that ethical, moral? How can you say that you are the best in the world at what you do if you cheat? Because thats what this is, its not you that won, it wasn't even your body, modifying your genes and their capabilities, you cant even say thats your body.
Posted by: AnonymousI believe they would do more harm than good.
Yes, maybe it possibly could make the sport more entertaining, but I believe that all athletes should only compete to the best of their own abilities. If you started to introduce performance-enhancing drugs into sports, there wouldn't be any stand-out athletes and no favorites, as such, not to mention that the health of the athletes will deplete and they will quite often have a short life.
Posted by: Anonymouswhy take the risk; its stupid.
There are so many different risks depending on the type of performance enhancing drugs the athlete is taking, some may have more serious risks than others, but why risk it at all. In the end they will never catch everyone, but the ones who excel and gain popularity will always be caught, it just takes time.
Posted by: LAFI oppose performance enhancing drugs because it is not safe and causes medical problems down the road for the athlete.
Performance enhancing drugs do not provide a level playing field for the sport as a whole and the consequences of using PEDs can be detrimental to an athletes health. For example, steroids were prevalent in the early 1990s in professional wrestling. Many of the wrestlers we grew up idolizing are now dead because of steroids. Steroids can cause an inflammation around the heart and cause the heart to enlarge and cause the testicles to shrink. Steroids also cause violent mood swings and can cause depression and suicidal thoughts. Is this the type of role models we want our kids to have?
Posted by: R3ubHockeyYoung Kids
If these drugs become legalized, there is no stopping younger athletes (think junior high) from using them in order to keep up with the new demand of strength and endurance that give inhuman, alien abilities to their users. We don't even know the long term effects of these drugs, why would we want our kids using them?
Posted by: AnonymousPerformance enhancing drugs have proven long-term side effects, some of which are debilitating.
Drugging athletes to increase performance is reckless and irresponsible. The only reason any athlete's performance needs to be enhanced is, in the end, related to money: either money for the individual athlete or for their team, either directly through increased exposure that leads to increased funding, or indirectly, due to an increased fan base who spend to support indirectly.
Posted by: EweIICistNever
Drugs should never me be legalized. Sport is about the passion and belief of the competitors. Performers train hard enough to win a medal,or championship without having to beat the cheaters at the same time.
Posted by: AnonymousNo, what happened to fair play?
Whatever happened to fair play? In the old days, the only way athletes could win events was by hard work and determination. If we legalize the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport, then anybody can win an event without putting in the hard work which other athletes do. It is just not fair, as the playing field should be level so people can all have an equal chance of winning.
Posted by: AnonymousPerformance-enhancing drugs destroy any chance of a level playing field, and are also a potential health hazard.
Legalizing performance-enhancing drugs would destroy any chance of a level playing field for athletes. It would effectively make the drugs mandatory for any athlete hoping to keep up. Since these drugs have some very bad potential health hazards attached to them, effectively forcing athletes to take them would be irresponsible.
Posted by: KnownEvanNO!
Performance-enhancing drugs should be banned from professional sports because taking them is considered cheating. The players that take performance-enhancing are cheating because they are boosting performance to be the best. Telling who would be the best in that sport would no longer be judged by individual accomplishment and talent. But, rather by what combination of drugs allow the athlete to perform better than the others. Athletes spend most of their life practicing to be the best they can be, and other athletes ruin their experience by taking performance-enhancing drugs. Drugs provide unnatural results in athletes; therefore, performance-enhancing drugs take away from the competitive nature of sports.
Posted by: AnonymousHealthy role models; sports competition should not be even more industrialised or turned into a potentially life threatening experiment.
Role models should not use any drugs because our kids would ruin their own health.
Drug use could also become more and more rampant as all the athletes would be forced to start using them and using stronger and stronger ones.
Also competitions are already over-industrialised (e.g. techie swimsuits) that influence the outcome favouring richer countries. This way the richer countries would have advantage because they would have access to more powerful drugs.Posted by: AnonymousIt should be legalized
• It's the player's choice whether he/she wants to do the drug, it's their body, they know the side-effects, so why should we stop them?
• It would be more exciting for the viewers if all the players were using a certain drug, dependings on the sport, such as UFC.
• Guns are worse, they cause death, drugs don't regular, so why should guns be legal and not drugs?
• Majority of athletes are using some sort of PED, meaning the sports field will never be fair.
• Better and more fair competition for all those use PED's.
• People use EPO to increase red blood cell production, but it's illegal. High altitude training does the same thing, but this is legal, so it would be fair to make EPO legal.
• Caffeine and painkillers could also be classed as a form of PED, because it alters your mind, making you more awake, in less pain, which PED's also do, so what's the difference?
• If PED's are considered an unfair advantage, then genes should too.
• Banning drugs gives the government control over our body and mind, violating basic human rights.
• People will take drugs, no matter the law, so why stop them in sports?
• It doesn't affect as much of your body as people claim it does.
• Smoking is harmful and can permanently damage your organs, PED's don't always, cigarettes are still legal, PED's are still illegal.
• It should be legal to allow PED's, but only to a certain extent, so that everyone will be equal in playing. There's no unfair advantage if everyone's taking the same dose of drugs.
• It's just as unfair as a wealthy person with a better doctor on the opposing team to someone from a poor country, with less funds and worse doctors. The world isn't a level-playing field.
• If it helps their performance, it should be legal.
• The rules are defined by people, so if it were legal to use drugs in sport, it would no longer be illegal, making it fair.
• If they tested everyone after the Tour De France for PED's, and the first 20 positions were tested positive, then the 21st person would have been first, eliminating the winning racers, hypothetically speaking.
• Freedom of choice.
• Some people are unable to do sport for a certain period of time because of some burden, and others have been doing sport their whole life, and getting better and better, and it's not the other person's fault that they were unable to excel in their sport, so it should be legal to use PED's to make it fair for those naturally disadvantaged.
• Some natural performance enhancing substances are used for AFL, but they are legal because they are natural, but at a higher cost, and harder to get, so legalizing PED's would make it fair for those who can't afford the natural alternative.Posted by: AnonymousWhat's The Point?
PEDs are just a waste of money and time. The more you use it, the more of a chance you are going to get caught. That's like saying, "This is my favorite place. Lets break everything!" You know what that leads too? YOU'RE GONNA GET BANNED! But if you let them into the VIP section, that's a waste of their money because you will break the EXPENSIVE stuff. So steroids is pretty much just saying that you love to break the rules.
Posted by: originalname18Performance enhancing drugs have no place in the sports arena.
Performance enhancing drugs have been nothing but a scar on the sporting world. I feel that athletes should only use natural substances just as others did once upon a time. Using performance enhancing drugs sets the wrong example for children. Children should not grow up thinking that taking the easy way to greatness is the best way. If performance enhancing drugs were legalized, then it would not even be worth watching anymore.
Posted by: 5h4d0wWaIdIt kills
If you think that supporting performance enhancing drugs are okay than l want you to look up a sports tema. I guarente you that most sorts teams have had a player sometime that have died from sports enhancing durgs. Those guys/gals will never see their families again. Think of all the pain that those families went through because of those drugs. It also undermines the game itself. The people with true talent will be shoved aside in favor of the people with talent that relies in drugs. Those people who deserve the attention for their NATURAL talent will be forgotten.
Posted by: AnonymousIt completely destroys the spirit of what sport is.
We all thought that sports was about trying your hardest, showing good sportsmanship and just having fun. By legalizing performance enhancing drugs the only thing we can compare is who has the best pharmacist. Why should we lose what the true meaning of sport is when we can learn and benefit so much from these values?
Posted by: AnonymousWe should value health and safety over entertainment.
Since when did sports become so dangerous? Do you know how many people have died from drugs?
Athletes' bodies are suited to certain diets and weight channels. Do they really want to let go of their dreams by drugs? It will bring them up and strengthen them in the race, but what comes up must come. Is it really worth it to hurt all those people's friends, families and all those people whose supported them or were there for them? Do you really want to hurt them like this?Posted by: AnonymousLegalizing Drugs in Sport Would Completely Destroy the Spirit of What the Game Is.
I always thought that sport was about trying your hardest, showing good sportsmanship and just having fun. By legalizing performance-enhancing drugs, the only thing we can compare is who has the best pharmacist -- oh and not to mention the most money. What would our grandparents, great grand parents and so on think if they saw drugs being legalized in the game that they all loved? They would be outraged and ashamed as we should all be in ourselves for even considering legalizing these monstrosities into our sports!
Posted by: Tina_xoxoIts Not Fair
Why would performance enhancing drugs be legalized? The whole point of sport is that you need to put in a lot of hard work to become good at it. Performance Enhancing Drugs take this away and make it more about money. If you have enough money then you can buy PEDs and become very good at sport that you don';t deserve to be good at.
Posted by: AnonymousAtheletes will get caught eventually
for example lance armstrong
Posted by: AnonymousNever should steroids be legalized in sports or anywhere else.
Professional baseball in the 1990's is the perfect example of how performance-enhancing drugs can ruin the integrity of a sport. Baseball is America's game, and some of it's greatest legends had their records erased by cheaters. Using these things is cheating, and that is just the bottom line. I can settle for slower players, or less home runs, fewer dunks, as long as what I am watching is real.
Posted by: 5h035BowAthletes should be good role models
Elite athletes make up a large number of role models for children and even adults. Athletes should encourage people to play in the spirit of sport, work hard, and be the best they can, not the best drugs can make them. People admire sportsmen/women for their natural ability and hard work, not because they took the easy option. What sort of message is this sending junior athletes if their heroes take drugs? Not a good one.
Posted by: AnonymousPerformance-enhancing drugs are dangerous and should not be allowed in sports.
There are many dangerous side effects to performance-enhancing drugs. If they are legalized, it gives the impression that they are acceptable for use. They should not be used at all. Sports are meant to show the abilities of the natural athlete. The world's best athletes are not truly showcasing their abilities if they are relying on performance-enhancing drugs.
Posted by: VasilBuddyHurts you more than it does good!
PEDs may make you look big and good-looking but what's on the inside is what matters. You are killing yourself as well as younger generations, they are taking your advice and using it! The better it may seem the worse it will be. It is also unequal - if you're going against a person who is off any of that juice, that is an unfair advantage.
Posted by: Anonymousof COURSE not!!
okay, there are MYRIAD reasons to why the use of performance-enhancing drugs should NOT be legalized. Okay, so it's a matter of freedom (response to the first answerer in the stupid "YES" category)? Well then if one went to get a gun to shoot everyone just because one wanted to, it's completely acceptable because he has a RIGHT to freedom?? Reasonable freedom is what America is known for, but it can't be COMPLETELY allowed- only in certain contexts. I'm not even going to give more examples, because 1. most of them are already covered by others 2. you should already know and 3. I'm too lazy:P hehe
Posted by: AnonymousWhat about other athletes?
It's not so much about if an athlete wants to use the drug but if they are being indirectly forced into it.
If there are athletes that are fine with taking performance-enhancing drugs and thus as a edge over another athlete who has trained just as hard or harder, then all athletes must take drugs to stay competitive. What if a dedicated athlete doesn't want to use drugs? No matter what he can't get past a certain point without some sort of performance-enhancing drug. He can accept that he'll never be the best, change carriers, or start using performance-enhancing drugs.Posted by: NoWayWithWordsWinning is not everything
Ever since we were children we were taught that winning isn't everything. Why should we set such an example for our future children?? Sports players serve to be the biggest role models in the eyes of our youth. If we put the idea of using a shortcut in achieving your sporting goals, this will not promote respectable morals in our youth whom are already suffering in this area of life.
Posted by: AnonymousNegative norms outweigh the entertainment benefits.
Whether they like it or not, athletes are role models. A major segment of marketing for the Olympics, team sports and any other elite competition is based largely on making them role models. What do we gain by legalizing drugs in sport? A marginal increase in entertainment through slight improvement in performance until athletes reach the limits of what drugs can do for them. Then we are right back where we are now (or they start dying in the field). What does it cost us? The normalization of drug use and self-destruction to achieve relatively unimportant goals.
Posted by: AnonymousThink of the children.
Somebody please think of the children of the future. What example are we trying to set to these kids by allowing performance enhancing drugs to be legalized. All the years of teaching kids that drugs are bad goes straight out the window. They are unethical and immoral, and they jeopardize people's lives.
Posted by: AnonymousRidiculous
In a opinion voting yes they say “it is nonsensical to say that drug use in sport would be cheating.” that statement is ridiculous it’s called performance enhancing drugs because some drugs taken enhance the performance of an athlete yeah sure they may have talent but how do you know when there taken such drugs?.
Posted by: AnonymousNo, it is not proper or moral.
By doing so, the participants are unable to show their full potential in the competition. If that is so, what is the use of a competition, when everyone has started to do drugs and thus the competition's purpose is watered down to just "see who can consume more drugs"? Thus, such a statement should fall.
Posted by: AnonymousAccess to the drugs is unequal.
Not everybody can afford performance enhancers and especially the clubs and groups who don't have the money to afford the drugs. Some people might not even be able to physically handle the drugs so there is a disadvantage there. But also, have you forgotten about all the previous records that have been held in the history of sport? All the records from the past will be broken by cold hard cheaters if we let them be legalized, multiple times even. It's unfair to the people who have trained so hard to get those records. And now they will probably just be forgotten. Sportsmanship can be only be achieved if everyone is on the same level.
Posted by: yolo_thomasThe use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports should not be legalized for health considerations.
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports should not be legalized for two main reasons. The first reason such drugs should not be legalized is for health considerations. Drugs are illegal or not approved by the FDA for good reason. Athletes work out and, in some ways, tax their heart muscle. Imagine if performance-enhancing drugs were allowed, it could be a very dangerous combination for an athlete that is already working his or her heart. In addition, we don't know what the long-term effects of such drugs are. The second reason performance-enhancing drugs should not be legalized is for the simple idea behind sportsmanship and playing the game. With whatever sport one may be talking about, athletes are hailed as stars or achieve fans because of what they themselves have accomplished. What could an athlete say he or she truly accomplished if this individual was taking drugs?
Posted by: SandDariBad for sporting community
Some drugs can enhance the sport competitors strength and stamina when playing a sport. This makes it very unfair to those who are playing the game legitimately without the use of drugs. It is especially crucial in sports such as sprinting and swimming where each and every second makes a difference. Sportsmen and sportswomen are role models, and with them taking drugs will influence the next generation of sports players to think that taking drugs and cheating in the sport is something ok to do. Sport plays a very important part in the Australian way of life and Australian sports fans deserve nothing short of a total commitment from the players to ensure fair play and to preserve the integrity of our sporting contests.
Posted by: AnonymousPerformance-enhancing drugs in sports should not be legalized.
It is an unfair advantage to the ones using them. Yes the others would be able to do so as well if it were legal and that would just put everyone on a level playing field. So would abolishing its use. It is only a bad thing and down the road they will notice the negative side effects.
Posted by: dadude913Performance enhancing drugs should not be legalized in sports because it's against the spirit of sports.
Performance enhancing drugs should not be legalized in sports because it's against the spirit of sports. Natural talent and practice should be rewarded and celebrated, not steroids. And if we legalized what is known now, then someone would just come up with something new to give a select few an even further advantage.
Posted by: H0bi3Invaderdrugs like this would turn sports into meaningless battles of who could get bigger muscles
their would be no point in watching sports if all it was is people weighing 400 pounds and be the fastest. drugs are a waste of money and time for both people paying to watch and people playing the sport
Posted by: AnonymousNo because it speaks against the quality of sports and also true sportsmanship.
Sports are to test your athletic capabilities. When you just put what you got into it, you're the better player than if someone else used drugs to play better. Drugs are not necessary when you just play with your heart. To use drugs is entirely dishonesty and absolutely states that you are handicapped or skill-less. It states that you're dependent on this when there are really good players who are independent of it. They are true players, whereas those who use these drugs are dishonest and cheating. It should not be legalized at all because it affects human health big time, and little young fans just want to be like famous players, and if those famous players are taking drugs to play well, that fan will see that the only way to become as good as their role model is to take the drugs he or she took.
Posted by: AnonymousDrugs are cheating.
Sport is defined as an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others. Notice that the definition states that sport is physical exertion and skill, this does not mean the effort and skill to find the best chemist to supply you with the most effective drugs to help you cheat. In a nut shell that's what performance enhancing drugs are, cheating. Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat. To be a great athlete lack of sportsmanship is definitely frowned upon. Key principles of sport include that the result should not be predetermined, and that both sides should have equal opportunity to win. If drug use is legalised sport will no longer be sport, merely a test of wealth. What then happens to those who cannot afford these drugs? The users of these performance enhancing drugs then have an unfair advantage which is not the notion of sport.
Posted by: AnonymousYou should be judged on natural ability and hard work.
Sports are already exciting and it makes watching even more amazing to know the athletes are naturally talented and that they haven't used performance enhancing drugs to boost performance. Although everyone has a right to decide what to do to their body I just think that it is unnecessary to do this.
Posted by: rochaninRich countries will win everything.
Western countries and China will be the only one's scoring big time. They will win the majority of medals. Poor nations will have no shot in representing their country. The ability of the human body will never be truly tested to it's natural limits. Human beings will never again have hope in achieving athletic goals without the aid of performance enhancement drugs.
Posted by: AnonymousUnfair
No. you shouldn't cheat in sport. its unfair to the many other athlete who are dedicated and spend their whole life training to be the best they can be. If someone comes a long and win just because a drug has helped them then it isn't fair. they are damaging their body, career and the true meaning of good sportsman ship.
Posted by: AnonymousNo, because the harmful affects of performance-enhancing drugs are too great to make them legal.
If performance-enhancing drugs are legalized, then all athletes in that particular sport would be mandated to use them, as without the drugs, their performance would drop below their peers. By legalizing them, they would essentially become mandated. The long term harmful effects of steroid use are well understood. Other drugs are less well understood. By legalizing them, we would be submitting every competitor in that sport to these harmful effects, causing them all to be guinea pigs.
Posted by: SlyHymiePerformance enhancing drugs should not be legalized
It ruins the game and it ruins yourself. It ruins the fairness of the game. And in the long term your muscles are going to get screwed up. Performance enhancing drugs ruin the intensity and meaning of the game, because it wouldn't be as special to win anymore.
Posted by: AnonymousPEDs are physically harmful and create unfairness in the competition.
I had to write an essay for my English class on this. PEDs are completely wrong to use. There are many side effects that can occur and the body breaks down eventually. It gives the player an unfair advantage over other athletes. Take Lance Armstrong for instance: he "won" 7 Tour de Frances but he won none of them fairly. He admitted to using drugs to help him win. When that happens, athletes can have all their glory taken away from them and have nothing left. No life.
Posted by: AnonymousPerformance-enhancing drugs in sports should not be legalized.
Reason why I think it should not be legalized is because the athletes' health can be bad and might die because of the drugs like steroid. For example, a lot of athlete who had drugs like steroid are dead. Therefore I think it should not be legalized for the health of the athletes.
Posted by: AnonymousDrugs is cheating
Using drugs in sport is just a way for people to take the easy option. I strongly think that taking the easy way out in sport is slack. With people cheating VS the people who aren't cheating who do you think will win obviously the cheater will win because they have things in there body (sports like Athletics, Running, Body building) or things that help them go faster.
Posted by: AnonymousUnfair Advantage over those who deserve it.
Those who take performance enhancing drugs are gaining an upper hand over those of whom don't take these drugs, which are illegal. You shouldn't be a part of such sport where people train their ass off to be the best. Drugs ruin this concept of natural talent around other competitors.
Posted by: AnonymousNo, it shouldn't.
It shouldn't because it would ruin the competition of sports, a lot of teens would use them, the athletes wouldn't be good role models, and sooner or later it will kill them. Steroids are bad and if they are legalized they would go out of hand with them and use them too much.
Posted by: AnonymousIt is unfair for other athletes!
Other athletes who try to improve without the use of drugs will not be able to beat an athlete using performance enhancing drugs, thus making this very unfair. Drugs should not be allowed since it takes the fun out of the sport because the objective is to see people competing naturally.
Posted by: AnonymousWhat is the true reason for playing a sport?
Nowadays we only care about how many records an athlete has broken or how many wins a team has. We've forgotten the joy of playing a sport just to pass the time and have fun. If you have to get "help" in order to win a game, what's the point? It's not even you that's playing anymore.
Posted by: Anonymousits not fair
Its not right that people should have the need to take a drug that possibly isn't necessary. They are basically cheating and making themselves better than everyone else. If you are good at the sport then you should have no need to take a drug. Also by taking the drug your doing harm only to yourself.. So why destroy your own body when it doesn't need to be destroyed. There is no reason and therefore it is good they are banned.
Posted by: AnonymousWhat's the point?
PEDs are bad for your health and gives an unfair advantages to those who actually want to test their abilities to the max naturally. Also a sport completion is about your abilities not the drugs abilities so your really just playing to see who's got a better drug then who's got more skill.
Posted by: Anonymous