Why Performance-Enhancing Drugs Are Ruining Sports Essay

Words: 1192
Pages: 5

Introduction
Sports are something that everyone in the world, regardless of age, sex, or nationality, can enjoy. Whether it's a child playing in his first t-ball game or a professional athlete swimming in the Olympics and everyone in between, sports can connect almost everyone. Fan support and overall devotion for athletic competition has raised professional athletes to superstars and national icons; Super Bowl Sunday is a national holiday to some, and sports are one of the largest moneymakers in the economy.
Because sports are very important to many people, and have been since the days of the Romans, there is much pride and honor in sports; however, there is something that has tainted the image of sports and athletes alike:

An event that would otherwise have the entire nation watching every Giants game with Barry has been turned into a feud among purists and others who won't ever honor Barry as the record holder because of one thing: performance-enhancing drugs. It is been widely rumored that Barry Bonds has taken these types of drugs, and the evidence is very convincing. And though he has not been even charged yet, most people believe he has used these drugs. It is their point that the current record holder, Henry "Hank" Aaron, did not use steroids, and because Barry did, he is breaking the record by cheating.
The same goes for all other sports. Since Major League Baseball has adopted a steroid policy, they have suspended many players on charges of using these drugs, tarnishing the name of the player and the team. The Olympics have banned many competitors because of doping, and their records and medals have been wiped from history. These drugs are allowing athletes to compete at a level they wouldn't normally compete at, and this is unfair to the sanctity of sport because it was never a part of it before. All these new records that have been set and amazing physical performances by athletes can all be destroyed by performance-enhancing drugs, because it is in fact cheating: it would not have been done without these drugs.

Equal Competition
Equal competition is probably the