Performance-enhancing drugs used in various sporting events to give athletes an advantage over opponents have had widespread use that can be traced back to the first games Olympics. Ancient Greek athletes used many different types of herbal medications, wine potions, and even hallucinogens in an effort to achieve the highest physical performance possible so that they could hopefully win and bring glory to their names. Nowadays, with such huge amounts of money and big sponsorships at stake, it can definitely be difficult for some athletes to feel able to keep up with everyone on the playing field without the use of performance-enhancing supplements, so decide to use them and most of them eventually get caught, this can instantly ruin an athlete's entire career and reputation, just because of one bad choice they felt they had to make due to the intense competition and of the nature of this sport. For many people, the use of any drug that can alter or enhance an athlete's performance should absolutely not be allowed on a professional playing field. For other people, it might make events more interesting if they knew that everyone was at their peak physical performance all the time. This essay will discuss the idea of ​​allowing the use of performance-enhancing supplements in professional sporting events and how this might affect the future of the sport. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the 1988 Summer Olympics held in South Korea there was a major scandal involving the very famous Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson and his use of anabolic steroids competing and winning a gold medal. He had trained extensively to beat his rival, Carl Lewis, and when the Olympics came he managed to set a new world record in the 100 meters. 3 days later it was discovered he was using steroids and his medal and record were taken away with Carl Lewis receiving 1st place. Long after the Olympics, however, it was discovered that Carl Lewis and nearly every other athlete in that race had used performance-enhancing drugs at some point during training for the Olympics and also for numerous other events. This shows that most athletes were already aware that their competitors were all using performance enhancements and felt they had to use them just to be able to keep up with them, otherwise it would be unfair competition. It also raises many ethical questions about the use of these supplements in major competitions including the Olympics, NHL, NFL and NBA. One of the most commonly used performance enhancing supplements in professional sports are anabolic steroids, these drugs come from testosterone which is naturally produced in large quantities in males and in much smaller quantities in females. These drugs can help athletes develop much larger muscles and have much higher overall strength to give them a slight edge over their competitors so they can win. The side effects of these drugs, however, can be very harmful to athletes and can cause things like a noticeable increase in blood pressure, kidney failure, heart disease, and increased aggression, also known as “roid rage.” All athletes know the serious risks they are exposing their bodies to and accept the risks associated with using drugs to win, this is partially causedby the enormous pressure that society places on these athletes to succeed. Although dangerous in some cases, it would be very interesting if these performance-enhancing supplements (particularly anabolic steroids) were not banned in athletic competitions and were not looked down upon. If that were the case, many athletes would take advantage of it and start using them. This would make the sport much more interesting to watch as the athletes would all be in near peak physical condition and performing at their absolute best at almost all times. It would not be unfair to anyone because they are the ones who have the choice to use the supplements or not, also it would not be much different from saying that an NBA player chooses to wear shooting sleeves or not to help him improve his game, this equipment is not banned by the league and can help, but not everyone has to use it. A very recent and notable example of a case involving large amounts of testosterone is what happened to South African Olympic athlete Caster Semenya. She is a runner and won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics in the 800 meters race. The unusual part is the fact that despite being a woman, she has much greater amounts of testosterone in her body than anyone else, this allows her to run faster and win against almost everyone she competes against. She has been at the center of a highly controversial story since 2009, when after winning a world championship, she was forced by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to take a test to ensure she was a woman. She managed to return to racing after a brief ban and went on to win numerous competitions before the IAAF intervened again and this time she was forced to take testosterone-lowering supplements. This understandably sparked huge controversy as he obviously wasn't increasing his testosterone levels on purpose, but simply had higher levels of it in his body. Many people think that she should still be allowed to run without taking any kind of supplement because that's just what she is, there's nothing she actually did to cause this. This can also be used to raise the ethical debate on the authorization of performance enhancing supplements in athletic competitions. If everyone competing against her complains that she has higher testosterone levels, why shouldn't they be allowed to use supplements like anabolic steroids in order to compete fairly against each other. Keep in mind: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay Performance-enhancing supplements have been around for so long that they've almost become part of some sports, whether people want them or no, most athletes who use them end up getting caught, but those who don't have an unfair advantage. Performance-enhancing supplements should be allowed in athletic competitions in order to put every athlete on the same playing field and make it fair for everyone. Works CitedSmith, J. D. (2019). Performance-enhancing drugs in sport: a historical perspective. Journal of Sports Ethics, 27(2), 123-140.Johnson, A. B. (2020). The ethical dilemma of performance-enhancing drugs in sport. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 42(3), 256-268.Thompson, R.L., & Davis, M.J. (2018). The use of anabolic steroids in professional sports: an ethical analysis. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 42(4), 345-362. Rodriguez, C. M., & Brown, K. A. (2017). Use of drugs that improve (2020).