Performance Enhancing Drugs In Sports Essay

Athletes who use performance enhancing drugs damage the integrity of sportsmanship. Using performance enhancing drugs fundamentally change the spirit of sports. Sports are contests of character, but when you use drugs to get an unfair advantage, the integrity diminishes. Using performance enhancing drugs to gain an advantage violates the idea of “Spirits of Sports”. Using PED’s takes away the aspects of cooperation and teamwork. Sports are an extension of our personal ethics, and it brings out your true colors. In sports winning becomes such a priority that it overshadows your personal morals. When the pressure is on, it causes athletes to make drastic decision that risks everything. Richard Pound, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, remarked “The use of performance-enhancing drugs is not accidental; it is planned and deliberate with the sole objective of getting an unfair advantage. I don’t want my kids, or your kids, or anybody’s kids to have to turn themselves into chemical stockpiles just because there are cheaters out there who don’t care what they …show more content…
Today children all over the world look up to athletes, and try to mimic their success. When an athlete gets caught using performance enhancing drugs, it gives the child an impression that cheating is okay. Instead of competing to see who is physically the best, athletes are competing on who can afford the best performance enhancer. Knute Rockne, credited for being on the greatest college football coaches of all time, stated that, “One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.” Sportsmanship teaches lesson’s that help people become successful. The online article “Teaching Children Good Sportsmanship” acknowledges that “You can help children understand and value good sportsmanship while making sure they have a safe and fun sports experience.” When athletes are caught using PEDs they promote cheating, instead of