Lying to win the
race
Introduction
All the pressure
of the whole world watching you anticipating another title and waiting on your
victory speech, you know you’ve fooled them for over a decade already so why
stop now. I mean who’s actually going to win a Tour De France title without
banned drugs anyway right? Wrong. Typically we look at athletes as clean
competitors but however dated back to the 1968 doping cases have taken over the
professional world of sports. (Dilger) Some
of the largest names in sports have been tried and caught for cheating with
banned drugs including Lance Armstrong. He used banned drugs for many years and
got away with it for the majority of time. Just because athletes have gotten
away with it before does not make it right. No matter how you look at it, it’s
a form of cheating.
These
athletes are looked up to by people around the world as heroes and competitors
when in reality some of them turn out to just be liars. The pressure for
athletes to succeed should be a reason to push yourself harder not to take the
easy way and use drugs that will help you to win. Doping in sports is an urgent
issue because it affects not only athletes themselves but agencies and fans
that stand behind these sports. Drug agencies are working on a way to prevent
it but there are still debates about sufficient ways to end doping in sports
all together. Lance was stripped of all 7 of his Tour De France titles but
should it have to get to that point? We need to put an end to doping before the
truthful athletes get second place.
History
of doping
In 2004 there were 26 reported
cases of doping in the summer Olympics alone. (Rosenberg) Doping in sports has
been around for many years and is only getting worse. As sports began to grow
larger so did the need to succeed. As time went on athletes realized using
certain performance enhancing drugs would increase their chances of winning. The
more winning meant the more sponsors, endorsements, and of course, fans. As I
hear these excuses or lack thereof it doesn’t make sense to me. Being an
athlete myself I know that the pressure always fueled me. Just the fact that
these athletes went years lying is astonishing, winning would not be the same
knowing you cheated.
The earliest
records of doping in sport come from the Ancient Olympics games when athletes
are reported to have taken figs to improve their performance. (Williams) As
agencies grew more aware of the issue they decided to start testing athletes
and put a ban of drugs. In the early 19th century athletes started
experimenting with drugs to enhance strength and overcome fatigue. (Holt) Since
it was not yet illegal there was no telling the extent of what these athletes
would do to win. Now that there are rules set in place it makes it harder on
athletes, but not impossible yet, for them to cheat.
Athlete’s
stand point
In 1949 Fausto Coppi, an Italian
cyclist, admitted to using amphetamines to win races. He also said he had to
use them to remain competitive in the sport. (Holt) Most professional athletes
that are caught doping today claim to only use drugs cause without them no one
would be able to do such things like the Tour De France race. Athletes don’t
plan on getting caught and see it as an aid to win the title. No matter how
pressured you are that’s not an excuse. Using banned drugs should not be an
option. One of the most recent doping cases of doping in sports is Lance
Armstrong. After he admitted he was stripped of his 7 Tour De France titles and
had to pay back all of his endorsement money. He would’ve never guessed he
would be banned from the sport for life. Since there is no real consequences
and most athletes get there bans shortened anyway more athletes are cheating. Without
using banned drugs, Armstrong would not have won the Tour de France and without
those titles, he would not be famous. Without all his career titles, he would
not be have made millions in endorsements. Lance Armstrong would have been
nobody without the help of doping. (Rosenberg)
Agencies
stand point
For
every sport there are agencies that stand behind the athletes. Along with these
agencies there are also anti-doping agencies which work to put an end to doping
and deal with athletes that have been caught. Macur of the New York Times said
that after Lance was caught the United States Anti-Doping Agency set an
appointment to meet with him and give him the chance to come completely clean
but lance refused. By lance meeting with the agency he would be “part of the
solution.” (Macur) By lancing attending the meeting he could give the agency
names of any coaches, officials, or team mates that helped cover up or hide his
doping which would help them to clear the industry of cheating.
Catching
the athletes that are using banned drugs is very important to these agencies. Whether
it’s considered a high ranking sport or not the cheating isn’t okay and needs
to be put to an end. The Canadian government has renewed its 957,729
contribution to the World Anti-Doping Agency for 2012. (Kondro) The more
athletes that are willing to give information the easier it will be to come up
with a better solution for this problem. These agencies are committed to
finding a solution for this issue and holding those athletes responsible for
their actions.
