Drug Use and Professional Athletics
...he side of being an elite athlete and would know they would probably make money in their sport. On the other hand, if the utilitarian would choose the athlete who wanted pleasure, he/she would see that the athlete wanted to be just an athlete in their sport without the help of drugs. I think the main sticking point of our debate was that if an athlete wanted to use drugs to enhance their performance they would find a way to get by the testing. There is a movie, The Program, which shows the extremes of what an athlete will do to get past the drug tests. In this movie the athlete has someone else who had not taken any drugs place a sample in the locker room so he can pass the test. Anti doping in athletics has become an issue for a long time. There have been star athletes who have failed drug tests. An example is that of Ben Johnson in the 1988 Olympics. He was stripped of his gold medal after failing a drug test. Because of this one argument is how athletes in major competitions are seen around the world and have very little privacy. Another argument is that testing is ineffective as a deterrent. There are some drugs that have been placed on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s ban list that were removed. Caffeine was removed as well as a common over-the-counter drug called Sudafed. There are many drugs that are used everyday by millions of Americans that are on the ban list for athletes. Why do athletes have to be restricted from using a cold medicine or caffeine? Drug testing is something that has been done for a long time. It sets the standards for athletes and makes the playing field equal. If one athlete fails a drug test then it show that another athlete cannot get away with using drugs to enhance their performance. Drug testing helps control the health risk that athletes may take in order to be the best. Whe...