In modern society “a spectacular sports performance is met with as much suspicion as celebration by a cynical public, as drug use in sport becomes more prevalent.” But is this statement actually true? It is more so true in sports which have had a history of drug use such as cycling and athletics then sports like rugby and cricket. This is also be due to cricket and rugby being team, not individual sports and with the skill and technique being more important factors than a slight physical advantage. This is demonstrated as sports fans are more doubtful when someone comes from nowhere to win the Tour de France then a player making the Wallabies after starting off the bench in the first game of the Super Rugby competition. However, drugs have
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If an athlete were to break a record at the Olympics only to have it stripped because there subsequent drug test came back positive, it raises the suspicions of the public that there may other athletes who won due to the use of similar drugs. Winning in sport is very rewarding in modern day society due to the financial reward and the status boost in terms of fame they receive because they are a world champion. So it is easy to see why athletes would be tempted into using performance enhancing drugs. Within this group of society there are both sides of the argument for where the line should line. With an interview with BBC this year, former cyclist Lance Armstrong, talked about the use of drugs within cycling. When he was asked whether he would cheat again he stated “if you take me back to 1995, when it was completely and totally pervasive, I'd probably do it again.” He added that, “when I made the decision - when my team-mates made that decision, when the whole peloton made that decision - it was a bad decision and an imperfect time.” Whilst he believes that if almost all your competitors are doing it then it is acceptable he also stated that “if I was racing in 2015, no, I wouldn't do it again, because I don't think you have to.” This supports the view that they either should be disallowed (as …show more content…
If a relatively unknown sprinter was to at the 2016 Rio Olympics break the world record by a large margin people would be suspicious and question whether he had used PEDs to make his performance possible. On the other hand, no questions were raised about the possible use of drugs, when Japan produced a great upset and beat South Africa at this year’s Rugby World Cup. However, ultimately it depends on the history of the sport in relation to the use of performance enhancing drugs. While the issue of doping in sport has many different perspectives from many different interested parties I believe that it shouldn’t be allowed. Sports should be firstly for enjoyment whether as a player or a spectator and the winner of these sporting competitions should be the person with the best sporting abilities not the person with the best
If an athlete were to break a record at the Olympics only to have it stripped because there subsequent drug test came back positive, it raises the suspicions of the public that there may other athletes who won due to the use of similar drugs. Winning in sport is very rewarding in modern day society due to the financial reward and the status boost in terms of fame they receive because they are a world champion. So it is easy to see why athletes would be tempted into using performance enhancing drugs. Within this group of society there are both sides of the argument for where the line should line. With an interview with BBC this year, former cyclist Lance Armstrong, talked about the use of drugs within cycling. When he was asked whether he would cheat again he stated “if you take me back to 1995, when it was completely and totally pervasive, I'd probably do it again.” He added that, “when I made the decision - when my team-mates made that decision, when the whole peloton made that decision - it was a bad decision and an imperfect time.” Whilst he believes that if almost all your competitors are doing it then it is acceptable he also stated that “if I was racing in 2015, no, I wouldn't do it again, because I don't think you have to.” This supports the view that they either should be disallowed (as …show more content…
If a relatively unknown sprinter was to at the 2016 Rio Olympics break the world record by a large margin people would be suspicious and question whether he had used PEDs to make his performance possible. On the other hand, no questions were raised about the possible use of drugs, when Japan produced a great upset and beat South Africa at this year’s Rugby World Cup. However, ultimately it depends on the history of the sport in relation to the use of performance enhancing drugs. While the issue of doping in sport has many different perspectives from many different interested parties I believe that it shouldn’t be allowed. Sports should be firstly for enjoyment whether as a player or a spectator and the winner of these sporting competitions should be the person with the best sporting abilities not the person with the best