Steroids Should Be Illegal In Professional Sports

Superior Essays
Steroids should be illegal in professional sports. Steroids should be illegal because they provide an unfair advantage, tarnish a role model’s record, and lead to serious and even unknown health risks. Steroids are, “any of a group of usually synthetic hormones that are derivatives of testosterone, are used medically especially to promote tissue growth, and are sometimes abused by athletes to increase the size and strength of their muscles and improve endurance (Merriam-webster).”

Steroids provide an unfair advantage. Athletes don’t take these drugs to level the playing field they do it to get an advantage. As Timothy Noakes states, “Due to all the unfair advantages that steroids provide, the sport has come down to who is using steroids,
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As Greg Schwab once commented, “Anti steroid programs seek to preserve what is intrinsically valuable about the sport (Schwab).” Sportsmanship plays a big role in sports and steroids completely ruin the value of the sport. Teamwork, character, education, dedication and commitment, respect for the sport and others, are all part of a sporting event and if players are under the use of steroids you rarely see any of those qualities. In other words, athletes are role models and major influences because of their greatness without steroids. “For many male high school athletes, pro athletes are major influences. When a professional athlete admits to using steroids, the message that young athletes hear is not always the one intended (Greg Schwab).” Young athletes want to be just like their role model so they pick their number, copy how they train or celebrate, etc. So, when they find out their role model is using steroids it makes the young athletes believe they have permission to use them also, and that it cannot be that bad if their hero is using them. Other fans become disappointed in the athletes and sports teams that use steroids, and no longer support those teams. As Pro and Con states,” When public thinks that steroids are replacing talents and the natural ability the sport is likely to lose fans.” Even though skill, strategy, and effort would still have to be an important part, steroids destroys the …show more content…
Merriam-Webster. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
"David Wells Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.
"Do Athletes Gain an Unfair Advantage by Using Performance Enhancing Drugs? - Drug Use in Sports - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.
"Doping in Sports-BECKER." The Becker-Posner Blog. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
"Drug Use in Sports - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
"Greg Schwab - Drug Use in Sports - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.
"Is There an Ethical Difference Between Using Performance Enhancing Drugs and Using Performing Enhancing Technologies in Nutrition, Training, and Equipment? - Drug Use in Sports - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.
"Norman Fost, MD, MPH - Drug Use in Sports - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
"The Pros & Cons of Steroids." The Pros & Cons of Steroids. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.
"Should Performance Enhancing Drugs (Such as Steroids) Be Accepted in Sports? - Drug Use in Sports - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 13 Dec.

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