The Human Athlete 1

The Human Athlete: A Look Into Performance Enhancing Drugs in Football

Clement P. ENOKA III

Axia college of University of Phoenix

 The Human Athlete 2

The “Evolution of American Football”, or the “Football Phenomenon”. Call it

what it is, but behind the stardom, franchise labels, hi-tech equipment, training

techniques, fancy defensive football coverages, and the newest hybrid offensive schemes,

there lies a constant factor that will never change. The “HUMAN” Athlete. And therein

lies the true measurement of success or failure. Not in the measurement of monetary gain,

societal notoriety, or even sexual prowess, but success or failure in its purest form of

making good, honest, moral, and ethical decisions.

The “Human” athlete is pushed to the limit, studied and analyzed, prepared and

farmed, taught and re-taught, to become the “BEST”. These stresses can come to a head,

leaving the Athlete searching for new and improved methods to become bigger, stronger,

and faster. With a lack of direction, misinformation, and legends of miracle potions that

make average athletes excel beyond their wildest dreams, performance enhancing drugs

become the ultimate enticement. In the competitive world of American Football,

performance enhancing drugs are an ever-present danger to youngsters and adults alike

unless it is battled by reinforced ethical and moral standards within families, modern

society, and the sport of Football. Only then will there be a noticeable downward trend of

“Human Error” and poor conduct with today’s Athletes.

Coaches, trainers, scouts, and other athletes view athletic ability the same, to

some degree, but depending on one’s role in the athlete’s growth or maturity one may

view certain traits more outstanding than others. A clinical and physiological explanation

of some of the basic determining factors of one’s athletic ability and prowess can give

insight into reasons for the continual lust or enticement for using performance-enhancing

drugs.
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A large focus in sports and the sport athlete is one’s athletic ability, consisting of

strength, speed, stamina, muscle size, and nerve contraction. In most amateur and

professional sports, the athletes who win are those with the greatest strength, speed, or

endurance. Consistently performing with extraordinary strength, speed or endurance is

the mark of an elite player.

In various stages of an athlete’s growth, there are many variables that contribute

to the creation of misguided athletes. Take for example, a teenage athlete. Of course

along with the glorified television ads, the mall window displays of shoes and athletic

wear, and the “in-your-face” example of seeing the “Big Men On Campus” during school

time, and how they get all the attention. A teenage athlete would have to be blind not to

see or feel these variables on a daily basis.

The Mayo Clinic Staff (2007) says that “Teens deal with numerous societal issues

such as frustration, curiosity, and peer pressure that push them into seeking additional

avenues of being better athletes.”. According to the Mayo Clinic Staff (2007), the

following are some of the reasons that teenage athletes seek out these avenues:

1. Steroids and other performance enhancing drugs might help an athlete that

has become stagnant in training, and even when making good progress,

curiosity may drive an athlete to test the waters and experiment.

2. Since the uses of many performance-enhancing substances are accepted by

a significant number of athletes, teen athletes may feel they would need an

edge to compete in sports.

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3. In other aspects of usage, even some parents, coaches, or trainers may give

“implicit approval” and ignore telltale signs of performance enhancing

drugs involved with elite-level teen athletes.

A look into the world of Performance Enhancing Drugs would not be complete

without an up-close look at what exactly are Performance Enhancing Drugs. What are

they? What do they do? And basically, how do they work? An article from the British

Medical Journal, MacAuley (1996) explained the various classes of banned substances as

prohibited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which is the governing body

overseeing the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in the International Sports arena.

The substances are further explained in detail within the following Table 1.

Table 1

A Description of the Various Banned Performance Enhancing Drugs and Substances as

Prohibited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

SUBSTANCE DESCRIPTION
Stimulants Amphetamines; Used by athletes to increase aggression and
competitiveness and to reduce tiredness and fatigue and have a long
history of abuse, particularly in cycling.
Narcotic Reduce pain sensitivity and enable an athlete to continue despite
Analgesics injury
Anabolic Probably the best known drugs of abuse, most often used for their
Steroids anabolic or muscle building effect, and affect mood and aggression
which enables people to train harder. Classically taken by power
athletes, body builders, and recreational weight trainers. Reputedly
used as a training aid by endurance athletes to improve recovery
from training loads.
[beta] [beta]BLOCKERS are used both to control effects of anxiety and in
BLOCKERS some sports—notably shooting(13) and archery—to produce
 The Human Athlete 5

bradycardia. In these sports in which accuracy and control are

important, there is terrific potential effect, but clearly of little use in
physically active sports.
Diuretics Abused in those sports in which athletes compete at weight limits and
are used to shed weight quickly. Additionally used to increase urine
volume and dilution to make detection of small quantities of banned
substances more difficult.
Peptide The so-called sports designer drugs, may be sued for several reasons.
Hormones Their main attraction from an athlete’s viewpoint is the difficulty of
detection. Human growth hormone is used for its anabolic, or muscle
building effect.
Blood Doping Many endurance sport athletes train at high altitude knowing the
possible benefit of improving oxygen carrying capacity. More
recently athletes have used blood doping—in which blood is taken off,
stored, and later reinfused, thereby boosting the packed cell volume
in the blood. Blood doping is effective (14) and banned, but
exceptionally difficult to detect.

Note. From the British Medical Journal(Drugs in Sports), by D. MacAuley, p. 211(5).

Retrieved May 6, 2007, from Info Trac database.

As shown, the diversity and sophistication of various performance enhancing

drugs that are always evolving pose a large concern for officials overseeing many athletic

organizations, agencies, and associations in a multitude of sports. Drug testing has now

become the focus of much debate regarding its validity, accuracy, or deterrent factor.

Many strides have been made within athletic regulatory agencies in the United

States as well as in many International venues to deal with this problem by conducting

random, scheduled, and unscheduled drug testing with many athletes. Officials have

concurred that in many instances the testing processes and methods are obsolete,

inadequate, and insufficient as a deterrent. This attitude is not only amongst officials but

other conforming athletes as well.

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A number of surveys were conducted as reported by MacAuley in the British

Medical Journal (1996) pertaining to performance enhancing drugs in sports. The article

states that:

In February 1995 the Sports Council surveyed senior competitors from 26 winter

and summer sports. There was a 60% response rate. Though 74% had been tested

at some point in their career and 66% thought it likely that they would be tested in

the next 12 months, 34% expressed dissatisfaction at the range of competitors

selected for testing and 41% expressed dissatisfaction about the frequency of

testing. Many thought that testing should be more widespread and more often.

(MacAuley, 1996, p. 211)

This demonstrates that even compliant athletes have frustrations with the

involvement of performance enhancing drugs in sports. Officials and Athletes agree that

the only true way of avoiding any banned substances is to not take any drugs or

performance enhancing substances.

This brings us to the sport of “American Football”, not “International” Football,

or more commonly known as “soccer”, but the nation’s favorite past time, next to

baseball, FOOTBALL. In today’s society, it is seen through year round advertising in

every form of media for the sport of FOOTBALL as well as the FOOTBALL PLAYERS.

Television shows, commercials, books, magazines, video games, all have some sort of

reference to FOOTBALL in some way, shape, or form. Following are a few brief article

headlines from BRANDWEEK showing advertising in connection with FOOTBALL.

 The Human Athlete 7

A brief article from BRANDWEEK (November 2006) “Athletic apparel marketer

Under Armour……signed a multi year deal to title sponsor college football’s

SENIOR BOWL”;

A brief article from BRANDWEEK (April 2007) “New York giants (football)

quarterback Eli Manning signed a three-year deal to serve as an endorser and

consultant with Schutt SPORTS, a maker of football helmets and faceguards.”;

A brief article from BRANDWEEK (April 2007) “NFL (National Football

League) prospects Brady Quinn (Notre Dame University) and Adrian Peterson

(Oklahoma University) have signed deals to promote Sprint’s exclusive wireless

coverage of the NFL draft…..”

On top of the marketing ploys and advertising involved in the FOOTBALL

market, research shows that being a “PROFESSIONAL” FOOTBALL player can be

lucrative. An article in the Amusement Business (2005), Barnes illustrates average player

payrolls for various National Football League Teams and organizations.

Barnes (2005) states that in 2004, the NFL team with the 3rd highest player payroll

was the Houston Texans with $97.4 million dollars. The 2nd highest player payroll in

2004 was the Philadelphia Eagles with $105 million dollars, and the team with the

highest player payroll in 2004 was the Washington Redskins with $118 million dollars.

There is no doubt that the player payrolls have risen since 2004 and seeing these

staggering amounts of monies flowing through only one facet of the sport, not to mention
 The Human Athlete 8

ticket sales, stadium revenues, and other revenue producing aspects of these FOOTBALL

organizations, it is evident that the lure, attraction, and enticement to become a

“Professional” FOOTBALL player is enormous. These factors can fuel the fire in

determined athletes to be better than the rest, and make it to the top, any way possible.

As I explained earlier, the “HUMAN” Athlete, in the realm of FOOTBALL, is the

basis and main factor in the equation of the presence of performance enhancing drugs in

the sport of FOOTBALL. They are just that, “HUMAN”, which also includes “HUMAN

ERROR”. Basically making poor and unwise decisions are included in this process, and

as a “HUMAN”, these traits are, to some degree, taught or instilled within the person. I

believe that there are some important dynamics that can help instill a logical and ethical

personality base for athletes, young or old alike. We need to create a stable environment

for athletes to learn these traits and it starts from childhood.

In raising young athletes, fatherhood and strategic masculinity are proven

methods to create positive pathways for young athletes. In an excerpt from Fatherless

America, Blankenhorn (1997) states;

Contrary to past beliefs, a man is built for raising children. Scientific studies show

that men are biologically structured for fatherhood. In recent times, modern

fathers are becoming homebodies to improve outcomes for children…..In short,

the key for men is to be fathers. The key for children is to have fathers. The key

for society is to create fathers. (Blankenhorn, 1997)

 The Human Athlete 9

Furthermore, as reported in an article by Psychology Today, Abrams (2002)

states, “According to census figures, one in four dads takes care of his preschooler during

the time the mother is working. The number of children who are raised by a primary-care

father is now more than 2 million and counting. ……According to the Families and Work

Institute in New York City, fathers now provide three-fourths of the child care mothers

do, up from on-half 30 years ago.”

Following this same ideology, author Jeffrey MARX published the book “Season

of Life: a football star, a boy, a journey to manhood” (Simon & Schuster, 2004), in which

Mr. MARX followed a professional football player, Joe EHRMANN. In the book,

EHRMANN identifies that he was taught “false masculinity” which in his terms

describes masculinity, or being a real man, by measuring one’s “athletic ability”, “sexual

conquest”, and “economic success”. In an article written by Marx, Parade Magazine

(2004), MARX related that EHRMANN best explains this fallacy with this passage;

"As a young boy, I'm going to compare my athletic ability to yours and compete

for whatever attention that brings. When I get older, I'm going to compare my

girlfriend to yours and compete for whatever status I can acquire by being with

the prettiest or the coolest or the best girl I can get. Ultimately, as adults, we

compare bank accounts and job titles, houses and cars, and we compete for the

amount of security and power that those represent.”

As a resolution to this ever-present fallacy of “false masculinity”, EHRMANN

submits a profound contrasting theory to destroy and redefine “masculinity”. Simply put,
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EHRMANN rephrases and redefines the term as “strategic masculinity” which he directly

connects to “relationships” and “having a cause beyond yourself”. EHRMANN delves

deeper into this philosophy to become a better man with the following;

Recognize the "three lies of false masculinity."

Athletic ability, sexual conquest and economic success are not the best measurements of

manhood.

Allow yourself to love and be loved.

Build and value relationships.

Accept responsibility, lead courageously and enact justice on behalf of others.

Practice the concepts of empathy, inclusion and integrity.

Learn the importance of serving others.

Base one’s thoughts and actions on "What can I do for you?"

Develop a cause beyond yourself.

Try to leave the world a better place because of one’s presence.

Performance enhancing Drugs in Football is a degradation to football, athletics in

general, and divergent to the practice of “fair play” in competitive sports. The belief of a

“level playing field” has been jaded and marred to the point that if an athlete is
 The Human Athlete 11

exceptional, questions will still rise as to his athletic ability, even if he was totally clean.

As a former football player, current football coach, avid football fan, and competitive

sport buff, there is no room in football or any other athletic competition for the unethical

and immoral use of Performance Enhancing Drugs.

In my opinion, we as a society must outwardly oppose any and all use of

Performance Enhancing substances in every facet of Athletics. Parents, Coaches, and fans

alike must re-affirm this position in every aspect by speaking out to Athletic Directors,

Organizers, Leaders, and Athletes to rid humanity of this issue.

Most important, those of us who are teachers, coaches, and parents who have a

direct influence on the “HUMAN” Athlete should recognize this fallacy and educate.

Educate for the sole purpose of the creation of an athlete with strong, ethical, and moral

internal devices that instill good solid decision-making skills. In that respect, we can

equip our athletes with the tools to recognize bad elements, embrace prosperity, and

strive to not only be the best “Athlete”, but truly to become the best “HUMAN

ATHLETE”.

MacAuley, D. (1996). Drugs in sports. British Medical Journal, v313, n7051, p211(5).

Retrieved May 6, 2007, from Info Trac database.

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The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). (2006). Taking

performance-enhancing drugs: Are you risking your health?. Retrieved May 12,

2007, from

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105

The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). (2007).

Performance-enhancing drugs and your teen athlete. Retrieved May 12, 2007,

from

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancing-drugs/SM00045

Blankenhorn, D. (1997). Fatherless society. Quadrant, 41, 9(7). Retrieved May 15, 2007,

from Thomson Gale Powersearch database.

Abram, D.C. (2002). Father nature: the making of a modern dad; it takes a lot more than

testosterone to make a father out of a man. New research shows that hormonal

changes in both sexes help shape men into devoted dads. If testosterone is the

defining hormone of masculinity, it’s time to redefine manhood. Psychology

Today, v35, i2, 38(8). Retrived May 6, 2007, from Info Trac database.

Marx, J. (2004). Joe Ehrmann; He Turns Boys Into Men. Retrieved May 12, 2007, from

http://www.racematters.org/joeehrmann.htm

Barnes, M. (2005). The payroll pinch.(National Football League pays its players.)

Amusement Business, 117.9, 3(1). Retrieved May 15, 2007, from Info Trac

OneFile database.

Athletic apparel marketer Under Armour, based in Baltimore, signed a multiyear deal to

title sponsor college football’s Senior Bowl. (2006). Brandweek, 47.43, 12(1).

Retrieved May 15, 2007, from Info Trac OneFile database.

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New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning signed a three-year deal to serve as an endorser

and consultant with Schutt Sports, Litchfield, Ill. (2007). Brandweek, 48.16,

12(1). Retrieved May 15, 2007, from Info Trac OneFile database.

Extra innings. (Brady Quinn and Adrian Peterson to promote wireless coverage by Sprint

Corp.). (2007). Brandweek,48.14, 18(1). Retrieved May 15, 2007, from Info Trac

OneFile database.

Marx, J. (2003). Season of Life: a football star, a boy, a journey to manhood. New York,

NY: Simon & Schuster.