Should performance enhancing drugs be legalized?

Performance Enhancing Drugs / Wordonfire.org

Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are very prevalent in sports, but only a small majority of players are caught using them. PEDs are considered to be unsportsmanlike in their use because of the unfair advantage that they offer. In addition, there are many risks in taking them, like psychological issues and permanent nerve damage. Knowing the risks, multiple players still use these drugs to gain an upper hand.

With so many players getting caught using PEDs, some have come to the conclusion that PEDs should be allowed in professional sports. In Major League Baseball alone, 31 athletes have been caught doping and in the National Football League over 20 athletes have also been caught doping. On a global scale, the Olympics and the Tour de France potentially face a great doping problem.

“Eighty percent of the Tour de France medalists between 1996 and 2010 have been similarly tainted by doping',” according to a 2013 USADA report on Lance Armstrong.

By legalizing PEDs and allowing all players to use them, the drugs could be monitored and regulated. This would allow players to take the drugs in safer and more knowledgeable conditions, leveling the playing field for all players. By doping, players could hit harder, run and react faster, putting the game on a higher level.

Extreme records could be achieved and this is shown through top athletes who have taken PEDs, like seven consecutive winner of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong. Even though legalizing these drugs seem like it would make the game better, it wouldn't fix all of the issues that already exist. In addition, it would bring forth new problems.

If PEDs become regulated, they are still dangerous and can injure players. After seeing their heroes take drugs, it may influence children to take drugs as well. There are many side effects to taking drugs like heart and circulatory problems. Knowing these severe risks, it is hard to justify the legalization of these drugs

Allowing PEDs to be available to all athletes may not even level the playing field, since some players have a moral code against using drugs or are scared of the risks it presents. Sports are considered to be so sacred because they showcase the pinnacle of human skill. By taking drugs, it would no longer be about how far a human can push himself, but on well we can create them.

“We want humans to do superhuman things -- but only in a very human way. Yes, you can try to make steroids legal. That doesn't mean they will ever seem OK,” Michael Rosenberg wrote in a 2010 Sports Illustrated article.

Written by Justin Wu and Kofi Odame 

The world of sports endorsements

Athletic endorsements have an allure that other industries don’t have; fans feel connected to players and their successes through their endorsed products. This makes the field extremely lucrative, raking in millions of dollars for athletes and even more for endorsing companies.

Lebron James / Serenity Forbes / Flikr.com

Adding an athlete's name to a product instantly draws fans to buy it. Fans look up to these athletes in one way or another, so these products make them feel connected to their heroes. Consider the popularity of Lebron James’ basketball shoes; not only is he a great player on the court, but he’s also a role model to many aspiring athletes. In 2012 Lebron's shoes earned Nike $300 million which was a 50% increase from 2011.

“There’s an emotional connection that fans make when they see their sport heroes endorsing a line of shoes,” Robert Passikoff said in a 2013 Forbes article. “It’s something that they both physically and emotionally identify with. Maybe they even think in their heart of hearts that the equipment will help them play a bit better.”

Both the brand and athlete benefit from these endorsements. When professional athletes are endorsed they increase the brand equity, or how well known the brand is. Popular athletes can expand the prestige of a brand because of how idolized and highly valued they are, in return athletes get to remain in the center of attention on and off the court.

Not only can athletes increase the brand’s equity, but they also get endorsed when their public image aligns with the values of a company. When athletes mess up their public image, they often lose lucrative endorsement deals. One example is Michael Phelps losing Kellogg’s endorsement. They cut ties with him after he was caught smoking an illegal substance.

"We decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and hero," the Kellogg's organization said in a 2009 NYTimes.com article.  

 Brands ride on the skill and image of popular players to make millions. It seems that this trend will continue due to the ever present reverence for athletes; however, some think with the influx of social media, athletes will become even more popular. In the future, athletic endorsements may increase dramatically because of greater fan to player connectivity.

By: Daniella Smith & Austin Carvey

Social media beneficial?

In a time where social media is a necessity for players to get in touch with the public, athletes rely on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to get in touch with family, friends, and fans. The social media is viewed in many different ways and can be either used for benefit or destruction of a player.

Most athletes rely on social media sites for their boost their careers with sponsorships, teams, and fans. For example Orlando Magic’s All-Star center Dwight Howard has 2 million Facebook likes and more than 2.5 million followers on Twitter even though he does not have an NBA championship ring.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson was fined $213,000 for making homophobic remarks on Twitter.

The practice of using social media to bring fame and popularity has spread all over the world and is used now more than ever. The problem is that athletes do not know how to leverage the social media. For some players this is a very hard task because it has developed into a habit. Social media sites are easy to use and fast which tempts athletes to use them. If players don’t find some self-control with social media we may see many more fines.

Athletes tweet away

Credit to Morpurgo

There are plenty of examples of athletes getting into trouble on social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. Most of the time, an artificial, insincere apology follows. Then, the story fades away into the bellows of the past within the next couple of days. As more athletes get into trouble over what they say, more coaches and agents are banning their players from Twitter or filtering what they post.
 

Athletes have said stupid things on Twitter since it first became popular, and they will continue to say such things on Twitter until it fades away (if it ever does). A lot of the time, they do not realize that seconds after they post something on Twitter, thousands of fans can see it and it could be damaging to their reputation or image.

Stupid or insulting things posted on Twitter rarely damage a professional athlete’s image permanently. When an athlete posts something offensive on a social media site, all they have to do is say “Sorry” with an explanation afterward which mostly consist of something like “I wasn’t thinking” or “I realize now that what I said could have been offensive”. After that happens, most of the time the story is over and everyone is forgiven.


With all the players who have gotten fined for what they tweet, there has only been one well-known instance of someone losing their job. That person is Larry Johnson, former Pro-Bowl running back for the Kansas City Chiefs. After lashing out at one of his coaches and insulting one of his fans with a gay slur, he was released from the team after 32,000 fans signed a petition asking the Chiefs to fire him. No amount of apologies could have gotten him out of that situation.


Social media rarely has a permanent, negative effect on an athlete’s image. If anything, it draws more publicity to them and makes them have even more followers because everyone wants to see their post.