Readers Respond: Should Performance Enhancing Drugs Be Allowed in Sports?

The debate over drugs in sports generates strong feelings on both sides. Some argue that these drugs are dangerous and provide an unfair competitive advantage. Others argue that it's hypocritical to allow some supplements and ban others and this trend is a natural outcome of science and technology. They argue that we should just accept it as an inevitable part of sports and stop trying to regulate it.

What do you think? What Do You Think?

yes

they should allow it.. its not cheating there are already players using PED's as we speak. its their bodies, they will do what they want with them. so why not allow it in sports?? all they wanna do is be better at what they love to do. if you have a problem with it then so be it. but if you were in their shoes and you wanted to get better and win then im sure a lot of us will do the same thing.

—Guest ap

No.

Using steroids and other drugs will just cheat the athlete and their true talent. Nobody should enhance their performance with drugs. I love sports and I respect the players, and if I found out a player was using performance enhancing drugs, I would lose total respect for that player.

—Guest Ramsay11

No

I agree with G-d2d, if they need PEDS, they don't need the sport. Plus, how do you know if it is their REAL talent and not some other stupid thing like PEDS or other meds? And like G-ruby said, fans LOVE these people. What if they found out if they were idolizing some drug-addict? Oops! There goes your reputation! An athlete is paid millions to play, so if they're using drug, that means they are being paid to be a drug addict. PEDS have absolutely NO use for athletes or anyone else in sports.

—Guest Graystripe

Without medical indication

Not at all! I beleive that every drug has a medical - therapeutic indication as well as many adverse effects and using it as a performance enhancing drug poses in danger athlets' health.

—Guest Panagiotis Georgakopoulos

Consider the double standards

Well, we give injectable anabolic hormones/steroids to million dollar racehorses to aid their recovery, and it's all quite legal. The problem lies with using multiple drugs and excessive dosage. Regarding Armstrong, he has been the most frequently tested athlete in history with the French particularly out to get him, but to no avail. It just was not scientifically possible to escape detection when during the Tour de France, he was tested virtually every day, so, at least during that period he was clean.

—Guest Dr.K.Hall

NO

even though sports are a game it is dumb do drugs -- the drugs make you not yourself!

—Guest me

No

It's unfair to the those playing by the rules. And in in the end, if they all start to use (performance-enhancing drugs) sport won't be about who is the best, it will be about who uses the best drug.

—Guest LIz

Summary

The use of performance-enhancing drugs is widely seen as a unethical method of competition in sporting events. That's probably why they ban it in major sports. Yes, athletes have the freedom of doing anything with their bodies, however they should also take into consideration the future consequences and side effects of the drugs. It is a form of cheating, because they are not competing with their own skills, instead they participate with an "assistance" in order to maximize what they already have. Medically speaking, some steroids are used as treatment for certain diseases. To use this as an excuse if you are an athlete is low. First of all, athletes of unhealthy status are not allowed to participate. That's the general rule. But I don't control the opinion of the public. I just merely wrote here what I think.

—Guest missR

NO

People that use drugs are cheating themselves. Yes I agree that a sport is a competition for the best out there but you should try and just push yourself a lot harder and not going the easy way out. Teens these says are thinking it's okay to do but really they don't know what there getting into they have no clue that they could possibly die from it.

—Guest fball lover:)

no

anyone breaking the rules should be banned for life. They are stealing from the honest.

—Guest lyn

yes

drugs are not cheating, they are simply an advantage. if other athletes think that it's unfair, then they should use steroids too.

—Guest fancypants021

Steriods are not EVIL

Come one, you all put steroids up there with crack cocaine use. If one is educated on the proper use of anabolics, I see no harm in using. It is my body after all, not yours. Why not ban alcohol as well? Abuse occurs regardless of whatever it is. Oh and the article is full of alot of misinformation. But of course , no one will bother to mention that.

—Guest Dad3rdx

Excellent Subject

The subject is very far reaching. What must be considered are the motivating factors for somebody to engage in their use. In some, it is the need for recognition. In others, it might be financial. Whatever the motivator, the environment that a young person is exposed to growing up creates the root of the thinking that an athlete develops as an adult. Are high school age athletes taking substances to make their perfomances better? Will it land a scholarship? A career? Will these products heal the injury sustained that might end a blossoming career? There is not enough space to cover the littany of topics that evolve from the question. However, like one writer said above, cheating is cheating. Whether it is an exam in school or crossing the finish line at the Olympics. BIG MONEY drives the pharmaceutical industry. These products require much greater security and law enforcement agencies must focus on the root and not the outcomes to clean up sport. There is much to add.

—gcushing

No

Using performance enhancing drugs basically goes against one of the basic ethnics we were taught in school: don't cheat. Sports are all about testing how far you can push yourself and what you're capable of. Using steroids to win a marathon is like using a cheat sheet to pass a test.

—Guest procrastinator

Yes, sort of

Sports are games, and that means that it is a competition where all participants agree to play by the same rules. when someone violates a rule to gain a competitive edge, that is cheating. One sport (of sorts) that until recently did not regulate doping was the WWE. After several heart attacks and a tragic murder/suicide the WWE reluctantly began doing so. Games of the modern era are not intended to be lethal, and many rules exist purely for the safety of the athletes and those around them. however, there is no reason to not allow performance doping for moral reasons, since, should rules be changed, the rules would still apply to all the participants equally. Players with a propensity to cheat would continue look for ways to do so, but were doping allowed for all athletes, cheaters would lose a major advantage. In professional baseball for instance, nearly ever major star during the 80's and 90's has been discovered to be a cheater. This fosters the attitude that cheating is okay.

—Guest JJ