Performance Enhancing Drugs Essay -- sports, athletes, drug addiction

Fourth quarter, three seconds left, tie game. Bodies exhausted and sweat all over. Ball in hand and the shot goes up. Swoosh, and the crowd goes wild! The intensity in the arena is insane and the fans all cheer out. This is what all athletes dream of. Playing the sport that they love and getting paid to do it, but how can a professional perform at the top of their game and have supporting fans if they waste everything away on drugs. They have people who look up to them as role models and they get paid to perform. The sport is their life and also supports others. Non-professional athletes are not held to this standard however and should be allowed to do as they please. Although some drugs can be seen as damaging to the health of individuals, especially athletes, some drugs can be used in other ways. However the main problem of drugs isn’t the use of the drug but the abuse. People become addicted to the substance and tend to rely on it rather than occasional use. Someone such as an athlete should not be addicted to something so life consuming as a drug. The lack of self-control with athletes towards the drugs has become a concerning social problem. Those who watch sports or look up to athletes have noticed the great disappointment when the drugs affect their body in many ways so professionals should be held to a higher standard than high school athletes. â€Å"High school athletes are not under contract, they do not get paid, and they don’t have social expectations. Professional athletes are expected to treat their bodies a certain way and drugs interfere with that. A high school player is without expectations and they should be able to decide for themselves what they do. Whether drugs cause enough harm to interfere with an athlete’s fu... ...Top List Of NBA's Most Valuable Teams." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. dollar-knicks-and-lakers-top-list-of-nbas-most-valuable-teams/>. "Drug Abuse & Addiction." Drug Abuse and Addiction: Signs, Symptoms, and Help for Drug Problems and Substance Abuse. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. nt.htm>. "Opinion L.A." Student Drug Testing Doesn't Work [Blowback]. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. . "Parents, Experts Divided on School Drug Testing." Msnbc.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. childrens_health/t/parents-experts-divided-school-drug-testing/>.