Final Draft Cause and Affect Essay: Performance Enhancing Drugs

Sports today are becoming increasingly competitive. Some athletes will do whatever it takes to move up the ranks. Although athletes’ today use performance enhancing drugs to gain a competitive advantage, it is not a smart idea in the long run because of the long term effects on the body, possible sanctions from sport organizations, criminal charges, and the negative image shined on the athlete’s sport.
Athlete’s today use performance enhancing drugs to both recover faster from injuries sustained while playing the sport, and also to help muscles recover faster after they have been fatigued (weight lifting). Anabolic steroids are one of the most common drugs used to help build muscle and by increasing the levels of testosterone in the body. Steroids can have serious side effects including; heart and kidney problems, serious mood swings leading to depression, testicular shrinkage in men, and sterility. One of the most famous users of steroids to publicly disclose his drug abuse was Lyle Alzado, an all-pro NFL defensive lineman. He played on various teams throughout the 1970-80s and when he finished, admitted to using anabolic steroids. While he was using, he said he encountered giant mood swings, which led to various off the field incidents. He also blamed the brain tumor that took his life on his use of steroids.
Another type of performance enhancing product is Ephedra, a weight loss drug. It is a drug that athletes use to cut down on weight. Most athletes stay in phenomenal shape, with low body fat percentages, but for some athletes loosing weight can be difficult. Ephedra provides a quick and easy way to shed weight; however it can be potentially deadly. The side effects include; heart attacks, strokes, and seizures. Steve Belcher, a pitching prospect for the Baltimore Orioles used Ephedra. After his death during 2003 spring training from heat stroke the coroner stated the cause of death was extreme dehydration caused by high body temperature and the use of the weight loss drug.
The world of sports has begun to aggressively test for performance enhancing drugs and have suspended, revoked, and sometimes banned athletes from continued participation. The NFL, NHL, and NBA have all created strict random testing in hopes of deterring the usage of performance enhancing drugs. MLB was the last major sport in the United States to start testing their players, after harsh criticism from the media. All four leagues have the same basic three strike policy; first time offenders get suspended without pay for a period of time or number of games, second offenders receive a lengthier suspension without pay and fine, and the third time offenders receive a lifetime ban from the sport. Although athletes are still testing positive, they are doing so at a lower rate than before the policies were initiated. Most sports do not have guaranteed contracts so if a player tests positive a team may release them without question, leaving the athlete without a paycheck or job. . The commissioners throughout the United States believe they are cleaning up their prospective sports and creating an even the playing field for true competition.
The negative press the sport of cycling has received in recent years is saddening. Over the last 10 years cycling has been swept up in controversy by another form of performance enhancer, blood doping and the use of EPA. The Tour de France is the sports biggest event, the super bowl of cycling. In the summer of 2006, the year after the immortal Lance Armstrong retired (won 7 consecutive tours), another American racer, Floyd Landis, won the event. After the race it was discovered that his “B” sample confirmed a positive doping test and the presence of synthetic testosterone. He was stripped of his title and banned from entering the event in the future. Various other world class cyclists have been caught using various performance enhancing drugs, giving the sport a black eye and leading many critics in the media to question if anyone is clean in the sport. Even Lance Armstrong has been accused by the regulatory body of doping in earlier races. This crisis in the sport of cycling has led many sporting organizations such as the Olympic Committee and numerous other athletic regulatory bodies to take a look at their current standards in hopes of combating this growing problem facing the world’s athletes.
In the highly competitive world of professional sports, athletes search for any opportunity to increase their performance. Even with the knowledge of the long term negative physical effects, possible criminal charges and banishment from the sports they love, athletes still continue to use performance enhancing drugs. The reasons most given by athletes to justify their use of these drugs, is to get an edge on the competition or to maintain their competitiveness if their colleagues are also using performance enhancing drugs. Until testing identifies all drug users and the penalty outweighs the gain some athletes will continue to risk both their health careers to improve their short term performance. Improved, real time, testing technology is probably the future solution to the problem.