Charles Etter
Etter 1
Dr. Knoll
Writing 1
11 December 2022
PED’s: Why and How they harm you.
When it comes to organized sports, performance enhancing drugs are the one major thing
that is disrespectful to the athletic community, and they not only harm athletes but others as well.
The two academic journal articles “Steroids a boon or bane in sports” and “The Cardiac Effects
of Performance Enhancing Medicine,” the book Steroid Abuse and Body Image, and the website
“Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments”, give an overview of how PED’s can negatively impact an
athlete overall. These readings teach us how PED’s may seem like a miracle at first, but actually
they will negatively affect others long term. Although some may disagree, throughout the world
of sports PED’s are a negative staple because they can cause: unfair advantages in the games,
severe health issues, the decline of the passion for the game in general, and lack of individuality.
One controversial topic in the sports world at the present time is how performance
enhancing drugs cause unfair advantages in the world of athletics. In the article “Steroids a boom
or bane in sports”, the author reveals “This anabolic tendency is used by athletes to enhance
muscle bulk and strength” (Samuel 506). This is considered by many an unfair advantage in the
athletic community because the person is taking a drug that is increasing their overall strength
and power and that is causing them to dominate in a biased way. By using drugs rather than
putting in the time and effort to improve naturally as players, these people have an unfair
advantage over common athletes who are playing their sports normally. Also, the athlete is just
taking these PEDs recklessly for their own personal benefit and taking steroids just to win and
prove they are superior to all others competing against them. Moreover, steroids are scientifically
proven to cause unfair advantages in the games, and the athlete does not seem to care that he or
she is getting the upperhand in an unjust way.
People debate on whether or not PEDs can harm sports. PED’s can harm sports in a
negative way. One in particular is taking all the fun out of the game as a whole. For example,
famous biker Lance Armstrong openly admitted on national television to cheating and revealed
that his whole career was built off of false information and that he hadn’t told everyone what he
did and why he really did it. “I viewed it as very simple,” he said. “My cocktail, so to speak, was
EPO - but not a lot - transfusions and testosterone”. Lance had his memorable titles, awards and
all he’d ever known taken away from him because he took a steroid that made him SEEM more
talented than his competitors. This took the energy and emotion out of the sporting event because
Lance Armstrong is a hero and is a profound global biker, and seeing him admit regrettable
information to the world made people doubt on whether every single athlete they had ever
known was keeping hidden secrets from them. This abruptly caused people to doubt whether
Lance did this for his own personal gain or for some other reason he wasn’t willing to share with
us. It is understandable why this would take the fun and enjoyment out of sports in general
because you see a legend reveal that he has been keeping secrets and it will disappoint people
who looked up to that said person. Also, it will cause people to not give as much attention to
sports in general and push it out of the way like it is not worth their time. Lance deserved this
punishment because he took a substance that would no doubt make him superior to his
competitors and that ruins all of what sports stand for: fair play, honest work and putting in the
time and effort when needed. Overall, Lance’s actions gave us all a clear indication of what
PED’s can do to a famous athlete and how we can ruin sports for everyone if we take these
disastrous drugs.
Unfair advantages are only one major cause when it comes to PED’s having a negative
affect on your body, they can also cause severe health issues as well. The second academic
journal states that, “athletes may have to take certain prescribed medications for the treatment of
chronic or acute medical problems. (Chronic problems are those that continue for an extended
period of time, such as cancer)” (Newton 81). This is something that should be worrisome to
athletes because they can not only impact your bodily health, but your mental health as well.
Also, it can force your mind to think that this steroid is necessary for your body and you will
become hypnotized by its effects and not worry about the long term issues until it's too late.
Thirdly, it will give athletes more to worry about later in life after they have taken PED’s
because one moment they will feel fine and perform the way they are supposed to but along that
road, is a world of heart, mind and bodily troubles. Although health problems are a main
concern for an athlete’s overall performance, it is one that should be taken seriously because you
never know what the outcomes will be.
Thirdly, PED’s can affect your overall passion for the sport. What I mean by that is it can
make you think the game is not worth playing anymore. For example, the book reveals that, “the
advancements disadvantage athletes who refuse to dope, and that tech moves sport too far away
from the accomplishments of the human body”. This is a somewhat obvious topic because with
all the technological advancements we have, it can prevent the athlete from working out to
achieve that high status we expect to see from them. Also, the athlete can become too reliant on
the technology to learn from and will not be able to perform as effectively because they will get
lazy and just let technology do all the exercise for them. Thirdly, the technology will attempt to
convince the athlete that working out is not necessary anymore and that there is no need to put in
the time and energy to vigorously work out and perform some real athletic training. Moreover,
the lack of passion for the sport is something that needs to be taken notice of because passion for
the game is what makes a sport worth enjoying and without it, it just goes downhill.
The final topic that PED’s negatively influence is an athlete’s overall: lack of
individuality. For example, sports drinks with a high amount of caffeine in it could cause athletes
to overdose on the substance. For example, this academic journal article states that, “Its use has
been a particular concern amongst the younger athletes, where case reports of sudden cardiac
death were in part attributed to the consumption of energy drinks”. This may seem like it does
not relate to the overall theme, but it does. The athlete’s that all consume the same energy drink
that has a high caffeine dosage are all similar because they all use the same drink. Also, this
causes a lack of individuality because no one is using a different energy drink and stand out
amongst all the others who are having this deadly drink. Thirdly, it also causes the athlete to not
show everyone what he or she can do because everyone else can do what they can and no one
will be different. In simpler terms, caffeine IN SPORTS DRINKS prevents players from actively
showing us their overall skills and potential.
Although PED’s have a negative effect on the body as a whole, some people believe they
can also impact the body in a positive way as well. The side supporting PED’s in organized
sports clearly stated that all PED’s are supportive to the body, but according to the article “Use
of doping agents, particularly anabolic steroids, in sports and society” it states, “(irritability,
mood swings, violent feelings and hostility)” are some highly probable symptoms to take notice
of in people who use PED’s. This reveals PED’s do have some negative side effects and that not
all of them tend to be good as the other side claims. Also, PED’s are negative substances when
they are used to cheat one’s way into being a successful professional athlete so that the user only
relies on using harmful injections to satisfy their own goals. Overall, PED’s do not serve a clear
and definite positive purpose to help people as some may claim but really destroys them from the
inside.
In the athletic community, unfair advantages, deadly health concerns, loss of passion for
the game, and lack of individuality are all contributing factors that all contribute to PED’s being
negative, even though some people may believe that not all of them are bad. The negative impact
about PED’s is that they make you feel worse about yourself after you’ve taken them because the
whole point of being an athlete is to play fair, hard and work one’s ass off, but now that rule of
honesty and fair play has been broken because you took something to cheat your way into being
the best athlete without putting in any work. The reader should leave with the idea that they
decide what to do with their bodies and what goes into it and what does not. The best choice is to
avoid using those products that cause the body natural harm and one will be better off for it.