Clements 1

Jackson Clements
EN 102-020
Dr. Whitener
3/8/2020

Just Let Them Play

policy. People love free, whether that comes in the from of the basic rights protected by the

constitution or in the form of a buy one get one free deal at the grocery store on a couple of

canned goods. Regardless of the situation, being regulated and controlled by an authority has

never been fun and in fact, wars have been waged over the infringement of freedom. The

authorities in charge of professional sports control the athletes they profit off of in every aspect

including their choice of chemicals they would choose to inject into their body to help them

perform. I’m talking about Performance Enhancing Drugs. They should be allowed in all

professional sports without a shadow of a doubt. PED’s are the future and if the leagues in place,

like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and many more, don’t realize that; then they are destined to be

replaced by an organization that does and allows the use of substances to help athletes. This

being said, Performance Enhancing Drugs should be allowed in professional sports because of

the fact that athletes will use them to their advantage anyways regardless of what the rules say,

there are numerous health benefits to many of the banned drugs, and simply because they make

sports more fun for everyone involved.

Every professional athlete would take performance enhancing drugs if there were no

consequences from the league they play in. Even with rules in place to prevent athletes

enhancing their performance many still take PED’s regardless; they know the benefits of the
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drugs and believe that their justified in their action. One of the most well known athletes that got

caught doping is Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist, he had to give up seven of his titles;

and ironically enough, every other cyclist, that came right behind him in the races he had to

forfeit, had doping scandals of their own (Scocca). In the MLB, it’s been a joke for years that

there’s players who dope and then there’s liars. Implying that everyone uses modern medicine to

their potential despite the rules. Obviously not everyone uses PED’s because of their inclination

to follow the rules but, if the rules change then they would no longer be at a disadvantage

because of their moral compass and would be free to compete and reach their full athletic

potential. The reason that they aren’t allowed currently is because the people who occupy

positions of authority in professional sport leagues want to have complete control over the

players that compete within their organization and their bodies. This is oppression by not

allowing these athletes to train freely as long as they aren’t putting themselves or others health at

risk.

I’ll conceit to the argument that PED’s can be dangerous when abused; but when used

safely and facilitated by a doctor they are perfectly fine and only help the overall health of a

person. This being said I believe drugs should be banned, not because of how much they help

performance but rather, how much harm they can do to a person. Many banned substances help

far more than harm when used correctly; for example, when men take extra testosterone.

Increased testosterone levels can lead to many health benefits that no reasonable person would

turn down. These benefits can be seen in decreased risks for strokes and heart attacks (healthline)

which is something beneficial for any person; especially an athlete, far beyond the end of their

athletic career. In addition to those decreased risks, taking extra testosterone helps strengthen

bones which ultimately helps prevent injuries and leads to a longer career. Though a longer,
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more consistent career for their athletes would bring the managers of professional sports more

money and business they still refuse to allow it. The goal of professional sports is the same as

any business: to make money. So any reasonable person can easily see the stupidity in not

allowing performance enhancing drugs that would make more money by just making sports

better as a whole. In addition to the quantity of a career, testosterone adds to the quality as well.

Studies have shown that extra, “T,” increases competitiveness and a man’s competitive spirit

(Brett). And competition is the thing that drives athletes to want to win and want to perform to

the best of their ability. The reason people love watching sports is for the competitive spirit that

the athletes carry and for the display of human physicality fans wish they could posses. With this

increased level of competition, players and observers will enjoy it even more. This only makes

sports overall so much better for everyone everywhere.

Finally, some say Performance Enhancing Drugs would, and are, ruining the integrity of

sports but I say just the opposite. PED’s allow people to reach their full potential and nearly

perfect human physicality because these drugs don’t just do the work for the athletes but only

allow them to train harder and longer than they were originally capable of doing. If anything,

they only make an athlete work harder because, with the help of these substances, they

physically can now. In all, PED’s only make sports better. Their correct use make athletes

bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter; the four things that can make any athlete undeniably better.

Imagine the best parts of your favorite games being even more exciting. For example, if MLB

players were allowed to use drugs then there would be even more pitchers throwing over

100mph as well as some setting new records and pushing the sport further than ever thought

possible. The same is true on the other side of the ball, on offense, there would be even more

home runs and simply, everyone loves a home run. With higher velocity and bigger hits, regular
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season attendance would skyrocket which is only beneficial to everyone besides people who hate

to have fun. In the National Football League, where everything is about strength and speed,

PED’s would have an enormous impact. The legalization of PED’s would mean more touch

downs and more explosive, electric plays that forces everyone in the stadium on their feet. The

NFL would be positively affected all-around, similar to that of the MLB that I described earlier.

Not only would the popular sports be made better but so would the ones that nobody cares about.

Relatively unpopular contact sports like rugby and lacrosse would more than likely gain more

and more fans as their athletes became undeniably more impressive. In all, performance

enhancing drugs do nothing but make sports more interesting and enjoyable.

In conclusion, performance enhancing drugs aren’t the evil that the media portrays them

to be. They are merely a tool that can be used to maximize an athlete’s potential. To not allow a

person to train for their profession as they wish is gross infringement upon a person’s natural

freedom and any business that denies that shouldn’t be in charge of anyone. To sum it all up,

performance enhancing drugs should be used safely and with medical supervision in order to get

the most out of their use. And they should be allowed in professional sports because of the fact

that people will use them anyways, their benefits to a persons health, and the way that sports

would be more enjoyable for everyone.

Works cited:

Scocca, Tom. “All Seven Of Lance Armstrong's Tour De France Wins Would Now Go

To Cyclists With Doping Scandals Of Their Own.” Deadspin.com. August 24, 2012.

https://deadspin.com/all-seven-of-lance-armstrongs-tour-de-france-wins-would-5937591

Brett. “Testosterone Week: The Benefits of Optimal Testosterone.” Art of Manliness.

January 14, 2013. https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/testosterone-benefits/

Healthline. “What is testosterone?” healthline.com.

https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-testosterone