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Kyle Komendat
Rhetorical Analysis Rough Draft
English 112
11 September 2014
Dr. Douglas
What does it take to lose integrity?
Integrity, what is your definition of integrity? Well it can be defined in two simple words,
moral soundness. Doping Undermines the Integrity of Competition was written by Tim Burns,
while An Athlete Must Have Personal Integrity was written by R Cort Kirkwood. Burns is
from Greenhaven Press in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and from Harrisionburg, Virginia,
Kirkwood is with The Daily-News-Record. Kirkwood explains why an athlete on any level of
competition, should have plenty, if not the most integrity in society. Burns article is mainly
about how doping reduces athletic competition to a scientific competition. The articles are trying
to catch the attention of parents, fans, coaches, and especially athletes to educate them on the
negatives of integrity and doping in athletics. By using Lou Gehrig as an example, Kirkwood got
the attention of his readers by stating, Gehrig was one of the best baseball players off all time,
yet it was his integrity, humility, and class, not his statistics that made him a real man and a
hero (Kirkwood 1) while Burns started off with the quote, If doping starts to make you
question greatness when you see it, they are losing a fan (Burns 1).
In Burns article, his spiel is doping in sports, demoralizes the integrity of competition.
While agreeing with him, he makes some valid points in his argument, saying, doping reduces

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athletic competition to a scientific competition (Burns 1). Burns gives statistics and facts to
back up what he is saying, for example, naming off other athletes in different sports who have
used PEDs (Performance-enhancing drugs). At the beginning of the article, Burns lists three
questions to consider while reading, just to get his readers thinking how he wants them to think.
Then continuing to use facts and real life examples to help convey his message. Burns uses the
Tour De France to help explain using PEDs and why they undermine the integrity of
competition. Using examples like Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis back in the 2006 Tour De
France event, saying since they used banned substances, they made a mockery in competition
and sports in general. Burns did an excellent job setting up his article, grabbing the attention of
readers in the beginning, and then continuing to use statistics and examples throughout the whole
editorial. A weak spot in the article, some may argue that Burns did not give enough information,
but he seemed to be short and straight to the point in his argument about the subject. On the other
hand, his strong points, again, were his use of statistical numbers and real life examples to help
explain and back up his quarrel. Burns explains that even with all the campaigns, penalties,
crackdowns, and rhetoric, PEDs use in the sporting world is still extensive, asking why, and how
it is still such a popular entity with everything the way that it is.
Kirkwood has some valid points in his article, stating how athletes in sports, no matter
what level of play, should be humble and have integrity. Kirkwood uses Lou Gehrig as his main
example in conveying his sides when dealing with integrity. Also using some stats, Kirkwood
gave background on Gehrig and how he lived life to the fullest and was the classiest guy you
would ever meet. Starting off the article stating when and where Gehrig was born, how he grew
up, so on and so on. Then straying off from that, he started talking about Gehrigs baseball career
and his ultimatum when he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease). Kirkwood assorted

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his article in this fashion to get the audience familiar with Gehrig and give an understanding the
type of person he actually was. Gehrig is an excellent example of personal integrity, but
Kirkwood could have had a couple other real life examples to help prove his argument. All the
information on Gehrig was a bright spot in his article, it is always better to give plenty of
information so the reader can grasp everything possible to understand the portraying article.
Kirkwood stated in the beginning, Gehrig faced any challenge that came his way with integrity,
which is no longer the case with most modern athletes (Kirkwood 1). Lou Gehrig was a superb
real life example for Kirkwood to choose.
Tim Burns did an excellent job in using multiple real life examples while giving his two
cents on the integrity in sports. He also did a good job in describing the outcome and side effects
of doping and undermining the integrity in sports. Kirkwood used Lou Gehrig and went in depth
about how he lived his life with the upmost integrity and humbleness. By going in depth with his
argument, it gave the audience more to work with and more to look at. Both articles say how
society claims to be working on fixing doping in sports and athletes having personal integrity,
but nothing has yet to be done. Soon, we will see if any changes are done.

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Works Cited
Burns, Tim. "Doping Undermines the Integrity of Competition." Doping. Ed. Margaret
Haerens. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from
"Doping: A Fan's Lament." The Yarn. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Sept.
2014.
Kirkwood, R. Cort. "An Athlete Must Have Personal Integrity." Are Athletes Good Role
Models? Ed. Geoff Griffin. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Rpt. from "Batting a
Thousand at Being a Man." The New American (7 Aug. 2006): 34-38. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 9 Sept. 2014.