Palmer

1
Claire Palmer
Professor Pamela Reed
Composition 1
8 November 2015
Really nice opening sentences, but where is your claim? This paper fits into
the genre of an informational report, all be it good information, it needs to be
rearranged to meet the requirements of the argue a position genre. State a
claim and then build your reasons and evidence to support your claim. See
my notes in the margins.
Obtaining the Edge
The important thing in the games is not winning but taking part. The
essential thing is not conquering, but fighting well, (Creed of Olympics
States). Modern society has ultimately diminished this honorable goal when
Iit comes to athletes essentially being awarded for winning at every
competitive level. A coachs success is based off their athletes success. In
order to obtain the competitive edge and excel at a consistently high level of
performance these performers and advisors look to performance enhancing
drugs to help their success. The use of these performance enhancement
drugs in the Olympic and professional sport world has caused medical,
ethical, and legal problems from these rising high profile athletes.

Palmer
2
Its all about timing and patience; however, with athletes that is not
always the case. Athletes want the quickest way to excel at their sport in the
shortest period of time and this is why they turn to performance enhancing
drugs. What they dont realize, is how medically harmful the effects of using
performance enhancing drugs can have on their developing bodies. Just as
there are a myriad of different performance enhancing drugs, there are also
a myriad of diverse health effects that can stem from the use of these
drugs, (Performance Enhancing Drugs: History, Medical Effects & Policy).
These short-term and long-term effects, ranging from physiological to
psychological, can also increase these athletes chance of death if overused.
While athletes think performance enhancing drugs will help their
performance, the reality of it is that it will only hurt their wellbeing.
Some commonly used performance enhancing drugs are anabolic
steroids, human growth hormone, and erythropoietin. Even though these
drugs can only be released through medical prescription, they are found all
over the black market. Anabolic steroids are artificial modifications of the
male sex hormone testosterone. Most doctors legally prescribe this drug, to
treat conditions resulting from steroid hormone deficiency, such as delayed
puberty, as well as diseases that result in loss of lean muscle mass, such as
cancer and AIDs, (DrugFacts: Anabolic Steroids), but this particular drug
intensifies an athletes muscle mass and strength production from fat stored
in the body when used as a stimulant. Unfortunately, athletes fail to
recognize the consequences of using this drug. Some side effects include:

Palmer
3
prominent breasts, baldness, shrunken testicles, infertility, impotence,
deeper voice, and increases body hair production.
Human growth hormone, or HGH, which is also known to most as
gonadotropin, is manipulated by athletes to improve their performance by
accelerating the creation of new protein tissue which helps to fabricate
energy. The body's HGH levels naturally decrease with age, some so-called
anti-aging experts have speculated and claimed that HGH products could
reverse age-related bodily deterioration, (HGH Uses and Abuses), which can
help the bodies of professional athletes feel like they felt when they played
ten years ago. Even though it makes athletes feel younger, its side effects
can cause high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, cardiomyopathy
(abnormal heart muscle), and carpal tunnel syndrome which progressively
speeds up their age.
Another commonly used performance enhancing drug is erythropoietin,
which is usually prescribed for severe kidney disease, but can also be
utilized by athletes to amplify their construction of red blood cells and
hemoglobin to heighten the oxygen development in the muscles
(Erythropoietin and the Athlete). This will allow them to complete at a high
level for a longer period of time. Although it has its benefits athletes dont
see that it side effects include irregular heartbeat, potassium deficiency, and
dehydration which can be not only damaging, but fatal.

Palmer
4
Jonathan Vaughters, a former professional cyclist, wrote in Cycling
Weekly, If every sportsperson takes legal safe drugs, sport will be decided
by drugs, not human ability. When athletes use performance enhancing
drugs to simulate their level of play they are not only cheating themselves,
but they are cheating the other athletes they are competing with and the
game itself. Cheating for victory compromises the morals of sports and
causes athletes to value glory over actual achievement. It is not fair to the
other athletes, who are trying to stay true to hard work by refraining from
drugs, when another competitor cheats the system to achieve success.
Ethics play a huge role in the choices an athlete makes and what they see as
right or wrong in the situations they are challenged with from a day to day
basis.
To this day, athletes continue to not only use performance enhancing
drugs, but also risk everything they have to get their hands on them in order
to get that extra boost. Michael Ormsbee and Matt Vukovich report in,
Performance-Enhancing Drugs: Who's Taking Them, and What Are the
Benefits and Risks?, that the black market sales of steroids exceed $100
million per year. The average cost of a performance enhancing drug is
between 160 to 180 dollars and if that is how much one drug cost that
means over six thousand people are purchasing black market performance
enhancing drugs each year. The possible reward for athletes in their mind
justifies the risk they are willing to take, but in reality, by usinge these drugs,

Palmer
5
they are putting their reputation on the line that could later have critical
consequences.
Olympic and professional athletes dont realize the medical, ethical
and legal difficulties they will face when using performance enhancing drugs
in the sports world today. They are not only sacrificing their reputation, but
they are also damaging their bodies without thinking of the consequences
that come along with using these drugs. The outcome of using these drugs
has negatives that out weigh the positive, so not only are these athletes
cheating the system and themselves and setting a bad example for young
athletes, but they are also setting themselves up for future failure.

Palmer
6
Work Cited
"Anabolic Steroids." DrugFacts:. NIDA, July 2012. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
Foddy, Bennett, and Julian Savulescu. "Ethics of Performance Enhancement in
Sport: Drugs and Gene Doping." Principles of Health Care Ethics (2006): 51119. Ethics of Performance Enhancement in Sport: Drugs and Gene Doping.
BENNETT FODDY and JULIAN SAVULESCU. Web. 6 Nov. 2015.
"General Anesthesia Causes No Cognitive Deficit in Infants." Scientific American
Global RSS. Division of Natural America Inc., 2015. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.
"HGH (Human Growth Hormone): Uses and Side Effects." WebMD. WebMD, 2005.
Web. 15 Sept. 2015.
"Performance-Enhancing Drug." Chapter 9 Performance Enhancing Drug. Cengage
Learning, 2015. Web. 6 Nov. 2015.
Performance Enhancing Drugs: History, Medical Effects & Policy (2006 Third Year
Paper)
"Steroid Use Among High School Athletes - Global Sports Development." Global
Sports Development. Olympic Committee, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.

Palmer
7