That steroid use should be legal in professional sports Affirmative Case

Characterisation: Steroid use is rampant despite heavy disincentives (bans, loss of reputation, loss of
awards, etc.) and will remain so as long as millions of dollars and fame are up for grabs. Weve tried
and failed to fix the system. If we cant stamp out steroid use, there are very good arguments for
legalising it.
Filter: Were also happy to extend this to things like blood doping, gene transfer, hormone
replacement therapy, etc.
Tactical concession: More athletes will take steroids under this model (previously having wanted to,
but being unable to for whatever reason). This concession makes it important to win the
characterisation that it will be safer use.
Arguments:
1. Removing the prohibition improves health and safety of players
a. Improves steroid use
i. People take steroids under the status quo. How?
1. They buy from black market dealers.
2. They take the steroids in secret.
3. They rely on information from the dealers or found online.
4. They control their own dosages.
5. They self-diagnose and attempt to fix problems.
ii. What happens under our model?
1. They attain steroids through medical professionals.
2. They take the steroids under strict supervision by their club.
3. They can talk to doctors, coaches, players, and regulators openly.
4. Their dosages may be controlled by their doctor or club.
5. They can see doctors when they have side effects or dependencies
or medical emergencies without fear of losing their livelihoods.
iii. This greatly improves the health and safety of players already taking
steroids.
b. Allows more people to take steroids
i. Steroids help:
1. Muscular growth
2. Ensure lean body mass
3. Bone marrow growth
ii. This helps:
1. Prevent injury
2. Heal from injuries faster
iii. Preemptive / Rebuttal: Yes, if other people are taking steroids, they will be
able to run faster and tackle harder. However, most injuries (especially in
non-contact sports like tennis or cycling) dont occur from sheer force
applied; they stem from bad leverage like landing on your neck or using an
arm to break your fall. Increased steroid use wont affect players tackling
technique or make these injuries worse, but it will help players mitigate their
damage and recover faster.
2. Improves access of the socioeconomically disadvantaged to sport
a. Allowing legal purchase makes steroids cheaper

i. A problem with black markets is that people:

1. Dont have information about many dealers
2. Dont have access to many dealers
3. Cant trust all the dealers they have access to to keep secrets
ii. This means very few drug dealers are realistically available to athletes, and
are able to:
1. Price hike
2. Blackmail
3. Sell counterfeit goods
iii. These issues make steroids far more available to athletes who:
1. Stem from a socioeconomically advantaged background
2. Have already become wealthy through their sport
iv. Under our model, people:
1. Have information about many doctors or medical sources
2. Can access many more doctors or medical sources
3. Can freely switch supplier without risking being caught out
v. This forces steroid suppliers to compete more, and one of the ways of doing
so will be to compete on price. This means there will be cheaper steroids,
which allows poorer athletes to attain the same advantages as wealthier
athletes.
vi. Preemptive / Rebuttal: Even if wealthier athletes still have access to the
*best* steroids, the difference between good / bad steroids isnt as great as
the difference between steroids / no steroids.
b. Allows steroid purchase from clubs or sponsors
i. Clubs and sponsors have an incentive to make sure their players perform
well:
1. Financial gains
2. Reputational / branding gains
ii. Accordingly, clubs and sponsors will seek to provide funding to players to
fund a steroid program
iii. Preemptive / Rebuttal: Clubs and sponsors also have an incentive to make
sure their players dont have medical side effects, roid rage, etc. and will
insist on a safe and disciplined program.
iv. This allows poorer athletes to get access to steroids even if they couldnt
afford them themselves, provided they have the raw talent to make a club
or sponsor believe they could perform at the required level with the
addition of steroids
c. Eliminates financial penalties that disproportionately affect poor players
i. Under the status quo, penalties for drug use may include:
1. Outright fines
2. Suspension from play and pay
3. Being cut out of merchandise contracts
4. Being forced to accept lower paying contracts
5. Being fired entirely
ii. All these penalties effectively take money away from the players. This
means the risk of taking steroids is far lower for players from wealthy
backgrounds, or who have already made it in their sport.

iii. Removing financial risk of being caught allows poorer athletes to take
steroids as well and compete at the top level, without having to risk more.
3. Gives good sportsmen an even playing field and makes it about talent / skill
a. Under the status quo, the people who take steroids are:
i. Willing to break the rules
ii. Willing to gain an unfair advantage over other players
iii. Sometimes willing to lie about their drug use
b. These athletes are able to reach the top of their sport, and be rewarded most, for
having poor character.
c. Under our model, athletes would be able to take steroids and compete solely on
differences in talent and skill without:
i. Having to break the rules
ii. Having to disadvantage other players
iii. Having to lie
d. This means it is far more likely that you get athletes with good character and
sportsmanship at the top of the sport. This is good because:
i. They deserve a reward for playing fairly
ii. It promotes a sporting culture of fairness and honesty
iii. It eases tensions and suspicions between players
iv. It mitigates the problem of players with poor character being too good to
fire or punish
4. Sport becomes more entertaining
a. Under this model, more athletes use steroids. This means:
i. They are able to perform at a higher level
ii. They are able to play more games per season without burnout
iii. They are able to recover from injuries faster and start playing again
b. This makes sport vastly more entertaining, which:
i. Inspires more people and youth into sport
1. Encourages fitness
2. Encourages social interaction
a. This has flow-on effects for entire neighbourhoods or
regions tightly knit communities are less likely to
experience crime, etc.
3. Encourages teamwork and leadership
4. Instils discipline and regular training
5. Is just plain fun
ii. Benefits the fans
iii. Makes sport more lucrative, rewarding players
5. Better research for wider medical community that uses steroids
a. In many sports, athletes are an ideal (and massive) sample for medical research:
i. Young
ii. Healthy
iii. Active
iv. Disciplined
v. Under consistent, controlled diet and training
b. Doctors and clubs prescribing steroids to athletes will monitor their dosage,
progress, side effects, attitude, and recovery from injury. This can be turned into
medical research on steroids and their effects on the human body.

c. This has carryover benefits for people who currently use (or now be able to use)
steroids for treatment of other medical conditions, including but not limited to:
i. Osteoporosis
ii. Arthritis
iii. Multiple Sclerosis
iv. Skin conditions
v. Asthma
vi. Some cancers
d. It also makes steroid research and pharmaceutical training more profitable in
general, which incentivises more people into the industry, bolstering medical
research and expertise as a whole.