Perfectionism In Sports Essay

All of the publicity that is attained by success, and the possibility of this success, places a great deal of pressure and stress on these young single-sport athletes. This stress and pressure takes the fun out of some sports. Youth sports are becoming serious and based more on winning than on having a great time and learning good sportsmanship. Adu points out the winning mindset of athletes in this day and age when he says, “Teams will do anything to win the game. My coach told me to expect that going in and that is exactly how it was. . .I felt like everybody was out to get me” (Goodall, 2003). This

In “We, the Public, Place the Best Athletes on Pedestals,” William Moller strongly criticizes the “. . . self-righteous media types who make a living by drumming up indignation from the masses” (Moller 548). In addition to criticizing the media, Moller also condemns the general public for demonizing professional athletes because “. . . the reason [insert name of professional athlete] did [or does] steroids is you and me” (Moller 547). In other words, he claims that society is to blame for athletes’ usage of performance enhancing drugs because “[w]e, the public, place the best athletes on pedestals, gods on high” (Moller 547-48). Therefore, Moller argues that you and I are hypocrites because at some point in our lives, we all cheat and do wrong, yet we expect athletes to be superhuman without the aid of banned substances. While I agree with Moller’s assertions, his explanations as to why athletes use PED’s are limited, thus lacking the oomph necessary to propel his argument to a new dimension. Ultimately, fame and fortune, pressure from fans, and the human nature to perform as best you can are all factors that cause athletes to use illegal stimulants.

Many athletes are particularly trusting with regards to performance enhancers because many of them are eager to be the best in their respective sport. At the professional level, where athletes are expected to perform at high levels, many who are desperate to keep their jobs will do whatever they can to match the standard. In their book Death in the Locker Room, authors Bob Goldman, Patricia Bush, and Ronald Klatz discuss this immense pressure athletes feel to use PEDs. The authors explain how players often place this pressure on themselves because of an overwhelming desire to become famous, adored athletes.

It is unethical for a “role-model” to display negative habits to children or fans who look up to them. For example, children and teens tend to do what they see. If a parent is an alcoholic and that is all they do; their children have a higher risk of becoming an alcoholic as well because that is what they learned. In the article titled “Performance-Enhancing Drugs Tarnish Athletics” from the European Commission, it states that “It cannot be right, though, to treat doping as respectable just because it is a common practice in the society we live in” (8). Simply put, this is saying that just because the social-norm of many professional athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs, does not mean it should be accepted. By engaging in PEDs, it gives a wrong impression to younger kids and teenagers. Also, it might crush children’s dreams knowing that the only reason their “role-models” are incredibly talented, it factors that do not involve their work ethic. Due to the fact of the negative influence to others and it is unethical, PEDs should not be allowed in

For example, body builders know that the stereotype is to be strong and built big. Hence they use drugs to try and fill that stereotype. Likewise, some athletes may need these drugs to feel like they are doing something more. This is because they want to perform at a level their mind desires, as they may feel like what they are capable of on their own is not good enough. On the other hand, athletes may feel like they have reached top capabilities on their own, and want more so they turn to drugs. In addition, athletes may turn to drugs because of pressure from peers and to fit in with the crowd. If one sees an athlete strive while consuming drugs, then the athlete may want that same performance outcome so they take part in taking drugs as well. All in all, performance-enhancing drugs have many side effects on the athletes and overall they damage the sport due to unfairness (Howe, 2004,

Most children and teens have strive to be the best they can be and often look up at their inspiration, who they aspire to be. And while most teen athletes decide to reach their goal through hard work, time, and dedication, some decide to take a sort of “easy way” and turn to “performance enhancing drugs”.

Young people are not good at making decisions for themselves and don’t think of the consequences of the decisions they make. They are easily tempted and it can turn out to be deadly. The youth is now even tempted by performance enhancing drugs, which is one of the most worrying problems facing today's generation. In the article “Drugs in Sports: Temptation and Danger are Everywhere” the author, Mike Szostak, explains “the median age of new steroid users is 15.” This stat is very alarming and is raising questions about why this is happening and why these kids are being tempted. It started at the pro level when a few players started taking them, but then trickled down to young athletes, where many thousands have been tempted by these drugs. It shows how the youth is so easily tempted by performance enhancing drugs. These drugs can be used by adolescents to help become stronger and better at a sport, or they can be used to help kids fit in. Many young people feel self-conscious about their body image and try to find ways to fit in. These kids are very easily tempted by these drugs to try to find a way to fit in. In the article “ Performance-Enhancing Drugs and Teen Athletes” the author states “as many as 1 in 20 teenagers reports using steroids to increase muscle mass.” This shows how many kids are tempted by these drugs and how

They also found that the athletes perceived that more than half of their competitors used PEDs to improve their performance. The experiment also showed that social desirability was negatively but significantly correlated with doping intentions (Lazarus et al., 2013). Results also showed that age, gender, past and current behavior, attitudes, subjective norms, descriptive norms, perceived behavior control and situational temptation all contributed to the increase of predicted intentions to use PEDs. The most significant influence was situational influence, which increased the variance by thirteen percent (Lazarus et al., 2013).

Patricia Neal once said, “A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug” (Neal). However, many teenagers of this era, large part athletes, seem to think differently and they constantly use illegal drugs. To help fight this problem, many colleges have taken strong actions in trying to stop drug abuse by athletes. High schools throughout the country have considered taking these same actions for various reasons as well. Some people believe that high school athletes ought to be given a routine drug test because it will help prevent them from abusing illegal substances. Such actions will also help detect cheaters who use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to get an edge over their opponents. On the other hand,

Opponents of steroid prohibition argued that steroids will enhance their performance in competitions (Linnaeus, 2015). It is understandable that all the athletes want to make their performances as great as possible. Also, they all want to attain better-levels of performances, to increase their strength with perfection and to make themselves noticed and shimmer in long-term using (Linnaeus, 2015). However, proponent of argue that People who have spirit of sport they can use their own motivation to gain

Many scholars are certain that the decision to dope comes from an internal battle between the desire to win and the ethical decision to stay true to the rules of good, clean sport. Most athletes let their desire for glory outweigh their moral obligations. To those athletes, doping is determined by individual mental factors. Other athletes dope for reasons such as quicker recovery, pain management, career longevity, and so on. According to the article, why we should allow performance enhancing drugs in sport, the author Julian Savulescu explains how doping is now an everyday part of sports due to the rise of risks and recompenses in Olympic sports. Savulescu expounds, “Elite athletes can earn tens of millions of dollars every year from prize money alone, and millions more in endorsements” (Savulescu 2004). With the temptation of success growing, and the consequences of cheating being miniscule, it is understandable why doping is

“I want to be like Alex Rodriguez when I grow up. I want to play for the New York Yankees and be able to hit the baseball like him. I want to like A-Rod,” says a young six-year-old boy. As children grow up they look to professional athletes as role models, they dream about being like them, but what image are these athletes setting if in order to perform, there injecting and popping drugs into there body? Performance enhancement drugs are, drugs used by athletes to enhance their abilities in the performance of their sport. Often the drugs mean illegal or unethical use of these substances (Medical Dictionary). Performance enhancement drugs have been a major topic of sports over the past decade. Many athletes over the history of performance enhancement drugs have been caught with the illegal substances within their system, in which some athlete’s stories were more public then others. The health effects of doping, which is an act or instance of giving a narcotic, usually a steroid, to an athlete to unfairly boost performance in a competition (Dictionary), are very negative and can have major impact on the athlete not only during performance, but also later on in life (Allan Stensballe 368). Athletes of all ages are turning to performance enhancing drugs as a way of improving their performance by giving them that little extra edge. This isn’t only unethical, but it’s a form of cheating and a form in which is harmful to the human body.

Next, many children and teenagers often look up to professional athletes as role models. For many high school athletes, professional athletes are major influences. High school athletes choose the jersey numbers of their favorite professional players. They emulate their training regimens. They imitate their style of play, and they are influenced by their drug use. Young athletes often believe that steroid use by their role models gives them permission to use. If a young athlete, who is easily influenced, sees his role model attaining success through the use of performance-enhancing drugs, he's going to perceive that as the only way to attain success. “Among students in grades 8 through 12 who admitted to using anabolic steroids in a confidential

This is a material world promoting material values, thus meaning that it should not be surprising to see individuals being willing to do everything in their power in order to make profits. Or should it? The sports community today is troubled by a series of athletes who have yielded to society's pressures and abandoned their principles with the purpose of taking performance enhancing drugs. It is difficult to determine if it would be normal for the masses to judge these individuals, concerning that they are actually one of the reasons for which these people have come to consider taking performance enhancing drugs in the first place. However, the only ones who can judge them are other hard-working sportspersons who have stood by their principles and who respect the idea of sport in general.

The current issue in sport particularly athletics is the use of performance enhancing drugs popularly known as doping. Spectacular doping cases have risen in the sporting arena that has caused unexpected situations and annoyed the public who are the fans. People have limited knowledge regarding doping though it is an ancient time issue. As a result, some people believe that all professional athletes have always been doped to achieve the standards of good performance and even compete and win in most of the great tournaments (Anderson, 2013). However, the number of athletes that have been positively tested has been small and almost non-representative thus raising suspension that only a few athletes are the influence of drugs. This is not therefore enough to make a generalized conclusion concerning the world of sports.