How Athletes Can Compete On A Level Playing Field

Michael Bonfiglio Mr. Husar, Teofil English-111-26 6 December 2015 Doping in Sports â€Å"It s important that athletes can compete on a level playing field. And youngsters coming into the sport can know that if they are working hard and training hard, they ll see a true reflection of where they stand and what they can achieve worldwide and not be swayed by people who are cheating.† This was said by Paula Jane Radcliffe, English long-distance runner and Olympian. Cheating is and never has been a good thing. In sports there are many different forms of cheating. Whether is comes through illegal taping, bribes, or foul play, it is never the way to go. Undoubtedly the most extreme and controversial form of cheating is through the use of PEDs,†¦show more content†¦The use of PED’s is unscrupulous mainly because of two reasons. The first being that it is immoral and unfair. Athletes in this day and age make enough money from their multimillion dollar contracts to afford the best trainers, as well at practice facilities that money can buy. Also sports are not solely about winning. â€Å"It’s not about whether you win or lose, it’s how you played the game,† once meant something. Nowadays fair play seems to be a dying trade and playing with the advantage of PEDs isn’t right. The second reason as to why the uses of PEDs is not good is the health complications they can cause for the user. The use of steroids can have serious threats to the user’s health, including liver damage, crippled reproductive functions, tumors in the liver as well as kidneys, heart conditions, and even psychiatric symptoms. Steroid abuse can also disrupt the body’s production of hormones, causing both some reversible and permanent changes. Reversible changes include reduced sperm count as well as shrinking of the testicles. Some of the reversible changes include male-pattern baldness and even breast development in men. Steroid abuse has also been associated with cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and str okes, even in athletes younger than 30. Even with all of these threats to their health athletes