Why Exactly Is Doping And Steroids Considered Cheating In Sports?

[BikeBikeBikeBike]

I always though that the end goal was to have athletes that can be better than the last, always progressing towards getting better. Better athletes means more attention to the sport, more money for those involved and better results.
Why is it considered cheating to dope or use steroids?
What exact criteria constitutes cheating in your mind?

Also can we ever actually stop this so called cheating? Look at major sports, baseball, hockey and even bodybuilding is FLOODED with these kinds of things. Every time they figure out how to test for something scientists will figure out a new method.
Wouldn't it actually be safer for the athletes to be allowed to dope or use steroids, so they don't turn to other things that are not tested?

 

[Uawadall]

I don't think it can be stopped and my reason for disliking it is this.

1.People, especially children, look at athletes as an inspiration to what they may be able to do one day. Do we want to send a message of, "hey, I can be like that from training hard" or "I have to get a good doctor so I can play in the NFL".

2. Some overlap with point 1, but its interesting to see humans potential unadulterated. Enhancements make it difficult to know what is achievable by nature.

3. Record holders, history makers of the past deserve respect for there achievements. I know some of these holders were on the gear, but beating an old record by large margins on drugs doesn't show you were more dedicated to the athletes of old.

4. Boxing/MMA- A drugged up fighter can rip a head of a clean one. Do we really want dopers to become killer?

 

[joshposh]

They shouldn't be allowed to use any steroids. These competitions are done on a even playing field and steroid is just one tangible that is hard to measure and regulate. So why even bother, just ban it from competition. Let the competitors use actual athleticism and training to win these events. Steroids is taking the spirit of fair play and honor away by breaking the rules.

 

[JSWin]

I agree with Joshposh and Uawadall. BBBbike you seem to think it is ok. What steroids do to a person aside from it being considered cheating is not good. It ruins a man sexually. This nonsense of well do this instead of that. You are playing russian roulette with your body. A quick fix to enhance athletic performance is a short cut. It's like using drugs to loose weight. Not so impressive in either instance.

The use of steroids is associated with: tumors of the liver, testes, prostate, cardiovascular disease, irreversible impaired reproductive functioning in males and females is possible, tendons can weaken and possibly rupture, menstrual irregularities, psychological dependence and withdrawal, depression from withdrawal, major personality changes, aggressiveness, intense anti-social or psychotic behavior.

Doesn't make any sense to bother with it. Eating larger amounts of the RIGHT foods, healthy ones, Athletic performance will be superhuman with this alone and there are no side effects with that.

 

[BikeBikeBikeBike]

I agree with Joshposh and Uawadall. BBBbike you seem to think it is ok. What steroids do to a person aside from it being considered cheating is not good. It ruins a man sexually. This nonsense of well do this instead of that. You are playing russian roulette with your body. A quick fix to enhance athletic performance is a short cut. It's like using drugs to loose weight. Not so impressive in either instance.

The use of steroids is associated with: tumors of the liver, testes, prostate, cardiovascular disease, irreversible impaired reproductive functioning in males and females is possible, tendons can weaken and possibly rupture, menstrual irregularities, psychological dependence and withdrawal, depression from withdrawal, major personality changes, aggressiveness, intense anti-social or psychotic behavior.

Doesn't make any sense to bother with it. Eating larger amounts of the RIGHT foods, healthy ones, Athletic performance will be superhuman with this alone and there are no side effects with that.

I 100% disagree with the use of steroids. I was more just getting a conversation started, and I think I did a good job I like the points that have been brought up.
However I LOVE playing devils advocate and trying to see things from different points of view.
So consider the following pro-doping arguments.
A lot is mentioned about being "natural" and a level playing field with the past.
But where do you draw the line? Modern athletes use way more advanced training methods and diets. They also get the advantage of much better equipment, so this isn't fair to past record holders. They also have better medical treatment and advances in medical science that allows them to perform better.
Also what's the true purpose of professional sports? It could be argued that we leave the natural and record seeking to amateur sports like the Olympics. The cynic in me says pro sports only exists to entertain people and to make money. If this is so then steriod usage would only INCREASE those goals.

 

[JSWin]

Oh, I understand BBBike. Yes some people like to be the devil's advocate. This says a lot about your character.

Professional sports are a commodity. You are right it is all about money. People love competition as much as they love entertainment and this is what they get out of it. Olympics are more entertaining and have quite a competitive environment more so than any other sporting event. The fact that it is only every 4 years makes even more of a demand for it. People come out of the woodwork to watch that. Even the ones that could care less about sports. I don't usually watch this but it depends upon my schedule if I have time. Amateurs sometimes use steroids even more than professionals, especially body builders.

 

[BikeBikeBikeBike]

I used to go to a "meathead" gym when I was in my late teens early 20's.
There was all types of garbage going around that you needed an undergrad in chemistry just to make sense of it all.
Guys would brag about having "ten thousand dollar bodies."
They kept everything very hush hush, but I went to high school with a few of the guys and I am a pretty relaxed dude/not a rat so they didn't mind talking about it around me (well I think the end game was to try and get me on it, since a few guys there made thousands upon thousands selling it.)

 

[gavinfree]

Meh. Doping and the use of PEDs in sports produce artificially inflated results in performance, and it's akin to using an aid to be better than you actually are. Sports fans don't want to see athletes getting artificial results. They want them to perform to the best of their abilities without artificial inflation. For some sports, like baseball, PEDs impact performance far less than people realize, but they probably make a much bigger difference in cycling. PEDs are poo poo, plain and simple. If you let athletes pump themselves full of whatever drugs and substances they want, then there's no competition. It's just a bunch of substance users doing more than they could without the PEDs. That's boring.

 

[glockman]

Sport was originally (and still remains) a physical competition of skill, stamina and wits, thats why performance enhancers will probably never be accepted in main stream sporting events. That;s also why athletes and other sports people are treated like celebrities, because no one else can match up to you. Curiously many people have found ingenious ways of going around the anti- doping rules, such as using Propecia (fenestrade)to mask the use of steroids.

 

[StrawberryCat]

Steroids really mess up the body and causes some very serious harmful long term affects. We shouldn't encourage people to abuse and damage their bodies just for a sports competition, in my opinion. I mean, I like a good cycling race as much as the next person but not at the expense of someone's health or life. Long term steroid use will pretty much always lead to major health problems.

There's also a whole bunch of moral reasons why people are against steroids. One reason is that we see athletes as heros and idols. What kind of a message is it sending to see that the only way to win is to abuse one's body? There's also the fact that we hold athletic accomplishments in high regards. We like to see people break records and win medals based on their own skill. Using steroids means you need help to win and you're not winning solely based on your own abilities.

 

[briannagodess]

I consider them (doping and steroids) cheating because it is not a natural part of your training. Back then, it was all about the athlete's physical strength, stamina and abilities. There was no steroids and anything like that involved. If you win, you owe it all to training and yourself. Now, with the addition of these things, we can never really say that a person won fairly. It's using another substance to enhance your ability which as I said, is not part of your natural self.

 

[Vickeree]

Steroid use is the norm in body building competitions but there are now categories like "natural body building" where they implement strict rules and restrictions on doping... what is surprising tho is that doping is actually more prevalent in other sports like triathlon and cycling and celebrities! Some athletes sacrifice their health for the money ( competitions in the elite level are won in just a fraction of a second and professional athletes would use every advantage they could get). Some celebrities would use steroids to transform their bodies to get ripped or bulk up to play a certain role in the movies but if you're just a regular or recreational kind of guy it doesn't make sense to use them.

 

[pwarbi]

This might be an obvious response but isn't it considered cheating because it provides one person with an unnatural advantage over another, isn't that why it's cheating?

Lets be honest, cycling as been full of cheats for a number of years now and if anybody thinks it started with lance Armstrong then I think your in for a shock to be honest.

Anybody who tries to get an advantage by using any kind of substance should get a lifetime ban from the sport in my opinion.

 

[Meds]

Corruption exists in every facet of what we do in this life. It is inescapable. No amount of Antidoping Activities can curtail the use of performance enhancing drugs. I think it's unfair to those individuals who participate in the sport, who train and use the natural means that are available to them.

 

[Meds]

No one has pride in their own strength anymore. They just want to hold a trophy. It will only hurt you in the long run.

I consider them (doping and steroids) cheating because it is not a natural part of your training. Back then, it was all about the athlete's physical strength, stamina and abilities. There was no steroids and anything like that involved. If you win, you owe it all to training and yourself. Now, with the addition of these things, we can never really say that a person won fairly. It's using another substance to enhance your ability which as I said, is not part of your natural self.

 

[Meds]

Billions of dollars are in at athletics. Therefore, the coaches and the trainees have to invest money into hiding their bad deeds

Sport was originally (and still remains) a physical competition of skill, stamina and wits, thats why performance enhancers will probably never be accepted in main stream sporting events. That;s also why athletes and other sports people are treated like celebrities, because no one else can match up to you. Curiously many people have found ingenious ways of going around the anti- doping rules, such as using Propecia (fenestrade)to mask the use of steroids.

 

[9lines]

How can you compete with someone who believes in doping to win competitions? That is impossible. Maybe there should be competition for doping athletes only. Competition is for those who believe in themselves. That is why they are called competitors. It is like using a car to compete with somebody with a bike or a motorcycle.

 

[igasmurfa]

I think it's hard to try to wade through the murky grey area of telling athletes what they can put into their bodies. Having a specific diet during training and competing is changing your body for the task, steroids do this in a roundabout way as well. What about health products and protein powder/supplements? Of course diet and drugs are very distant, the line between them isn't clear. It's almost impossible to stay on top of what's considered a performance enhancing drug and what isn't so any sort of ban is going to be tested and pushed. I am not condoning it, and those people who worry about the ban are just going to try different ways to get around it which really isn't in good sportsmanship.

 

[Zhen25]

Although people make it out to be about the money making, I believe that's not what sports is all about. In previous times people used to engage in sport for the titles. It's about being respected in the business, show people that you have the natural talent to win the game. I think taking steroids takes away from the real reason of the sport. You need to prove to others that you can do it without the extra help.

 

[jimmy484]

Most cyclists don't use "steroids" in the same way that strength athletes and body-builders use them. In fact, cyclists rarely ever use steroids at all because the substances that other athletes use don't give road-racers a competitive edge.

What cyclists do use are things like EPO and HGH, drugs that increase the oxygen carrying capability of the blood, and substances that speed up recovery.

The problem with liberalizing the rules regarding substance use in cycling is that the things cyclists take - especially EPO - are extremely dangerous. Steroids, on the other hand, are actually remarkably safe in comparison. But EPO can, and does, lead to cardiac arrest in many cases because it "thickens" up the blood.

Cycling has always been at the forefront of innovations in drug use, and I think it always will. Personally, I kinda respect them for experimenting in the way they do. They put their lives on the line for victory. That's pretty hardcore, when you think about it...