Rachelle Workman
English IV
Mrs. Hoffman
January 21st, 2014
Drugs and Athletes Over time, athletes using drugs has became a big problem. "Just because you're tested doesn't mean your clean we know that" (Aschwanden). That is how its viewed today. If the rules were stricter, they would work better. We need to get a single organization for all sports and nations to get everyone on one page, and we also need to fix the drug testing and be more strict to eleminate the use of drugs by athletes. The original intent of anti-doping rules was to prevent athletes from dropping dead of overdose, but over they years the rules have come to focus just as intently on protecting the integrity of the game (Aschwanden). There are different things that influence players to use drugs. They are influenced by coaches, trainers, agents, and many more. Athletes are convienced that they must dope to be competitive (Aschwanden). They have so much pressure to be the best that they will do whatever it takes to get there. The way people see you means a lot to some people, so they will do whatever it takes to make others think they are good. Professional sports have become much more sensitive to it's public image in relation to the enforcement of all rules regarding prohibited substances (Lerner p. 550-552). There are recreational drugs and performance-enhancing drugs. Both have many different kinds which make it hard to keep up with them all. Athletes that use drugs just see the good they are doing right now, but not how it will affect them in the long run. Short-term gains have long term detrimental consequences (Troxler). There are many different effects that could happen from taking drugs for an amount of time that will be bad for their health. Such as, increase aggression and competitiveness. May inhibit bone growth and make males develop female characteristics such as breasts and a high voice (Drugs and Athletes). There are many different orginizations that deal with athletes doing drugs. One of them is the WADA. The WADA provides testing, education, research, and results management in the hope of preventing athletes from using banned substances and methods (Troxler). THey also develop and enact the regulations to be followed (Lerner p. 550-552). With all the different organizations it is hard to know all the rules amd what is okay and what is not. There are so many different organizations because there is no current universal agreement on which substances and methods can and cannot improve performance (Troxler). If every sport and nation had just one organization and were on the same page everything would be more organized and work more efficently. Now, since there are so many different rules for each sport people can get away with different things. Drug testing is a big issue. There are many things that make them not so effective. There is some debate over wheather America's drug prohibition laws are fair and effective (Drugs and Athletes). People think that if they want to do drugs to try and get better. They should be aloud to and that it is not anyones business. However, one question is whether using performance-enhancing drugs should be considered a form of cheating (Drugs and Athletes). Yes it should, if you have to take drugs to try and get better just to win when others are doing good without drugs that is not fair. Another problem with the drug tests are the testers and sites. Testers target athletes during times they are most likely to dope (Aschwanden). If you caught them off guard and tested them when they didnt exect it you could catch a lot more players. Another problem with the testers are that they are not always honest. Also, you never know what to expect from the testing site. Testing ability is also widely variable from test site to test site (Troxler). FIanlly, since ther are so many different kinds and types of drugs it is hard to get a test that will catch everything. People come up with new