To whom it may concern,

College sports are a big part of today’s society, Why? They are exciting, people liked to be involved, sit down on Saturdays and watch the big game or watch the final four in March or watch the College World Series. It’s exciting because people are passionate about one team, and they will defend them to the death. Now what if I told you one simple thing could destroy these fun times.  That one thing is Performance Enhancing Drugs. They should never be allowed in college sports and if we let this slip through the cracks, these games will be changed forever. PED’s have many health risks to these athletes, they give them an unfair advantage to other players that have earned their success, and finally the integrity of sports or the spirit of sports. It goes along with the idea “Nothing worth having comes easy."

It is obvious that if an athlete uses a Performance Enhancing Drug, they are going to have an athletic advantage compared to a player that did not use PEDs. This takes away the competitive fairness of college sports. College sports are about natural talent, what is the point in going to a game knowing that every player is a “science project." High school players look up to these college athletes hoping to become one of them someday and when they see them on steroids or human growth hormones, they are going to end up possibly doing the same thing.  This could result in not only college sports being ruined but also high school. Paul C. McCaffrey states that “the concept of fair play is central to both the ‘spirit of the sport’ and due process. The use of illicit substances to enhance athletic performance is offensive to this concept." Meaning that the fairness of sports comes from the spirit of the game and the process into naturally making you into that athlete to compete.

PEDs in college sports are health risks to athletes that should stay away from the games. Take a look at steroids - they have health risks like tumors and high blood pressure. Also they can cause acne and breast development in men and if steroids were allowed, it would be a common thing to see an athlete with these health problem.  The Mayo Clinical staff states that, “The idea of allowing them in sports could lead to a situation whereby sportsmen and women are used as guinea pigs for a constant flow of new unregulated substances.” There are so many health risks when it comes to Human Growth Hormones like chronic kidney insufficiency and can have impacts on future children. Also carpal tunnel and swelling in the arms and legs are side effects. These are all possible health effects that can happen to these college athletes.  Money isn’t in the picture, all the money being made in the big leagues like the NFL, MLB, and NBA  ... what is the point in ruining one’s body with these substances to not have a future.

Integrity and the spirit of sports is what is going to be killed by these PEDs. We see now in sports new rules being developed for player safety and with “super athletes” because of the help of PEDs, new rules will be developed. The love of the games is why people should play, and PEDs take away the idea of “Nothing worth having comes easy." Targeting in football can get you kicked out of the game and eventually a tackle in football will be a penalty if substances like steroids are allowed. Those exciting Saturdays when football is on or March Madness or the College World Series become nothing but boring and pointless. Sports will be changed forever! The World Doping Industry calls it “the intrinsic value is often referred to ask the ‘spirit of the sport’, it is the essence of Olympism; it is how we play true."  Statistics about college athletes using PEDs are not existent. The statistics are not existent because it is an issue that doesn’t wanted to be brought up. In an ESPN article it says “In at least 11 instances, players that AP identified as packing on a significant weight in college went on to fail NFL drug tests."  This proves that PED’ are being used in college sports and something has to be done about that. Players packing on so much weight in college could not be done with just nutrition and weights but by Performance Enhancing Drugs.

PEDs will flat out ruin sports and the enjoyment of the games. The health of athletes has to be known too; these athletes have the potential of playing a professional sport and PEDs can cut that short. Athletes should have respect for the rules of the game and even their own health. Becoming a better athlete and winning games is the idea of hard work, a term that is thrown around in modern society and it is cliche, but it is true. Those long hours in the weight room, the extra time on the gridiron or the baseball diamond or the basketball court is where success is earned not taking pills or injecting steroids into one’s system.

Sincerely,

Matt

Work Cited

Oliver, John

http://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001200

Mayo Clinical Staff

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/performance-enhancing-drugs/art-20046134

National Institute of Drug Abuse, “What are the health consequences of steroid abuse?”

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/anabolic-steroid-abuse/what-are-health-consequences-steroid-abuse

Steroids Loom Large Over Programs

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/8765531/steroids-loom-major-college-football-report-says

Kirkup, James

http://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001200