There is hardly anything that angers me more than a cheater. I cannot wrap my head around the idea that someone can go out of their way to do something so morally wrong and disrespectful, especially when it involves something near and dear to my heart – sports. There is no hiding the fact that the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) have been a major problem in the sports world and have seemed to become an even bigger problem in the last few years.
Names like Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Lance Armstrong and Arnold Schwarzenegger are a few athletes who come to mind. What bothers me the most about them, and others who have used PEDs, is that they have an amazing opportunity to be a role model with the amount of attention on them. Instead, they try taking the easy way out and ruin a great opportunity because of the stupid decision to put something harmful into their body. They not only risk destroying their reputation, but their career as well.
118 of Russia’s 389 members for the 2016 Olympics were banned from competition in doping scandal
Adding to my frustration around this issue is that it is no longer confined to the world of professional sports. It now also impacts collegiate sports. I believe this problem is occurring because of the lack of severe consequences in the professional field.
The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Commissioner Angie Morenz explained the possible consequences if a Division III athlete is caught using PEDs. “If a DIII student-athlete has a positive drug test in a category other than ‘street drugs’ [they’re] rendered ineligible for the remainder of the season and post-season…[and] be charged a season of …If there were a second offense of a positive drug test in a category other than “street drugs” the student-athlete would lose all eligibility.”
Morenz believes “the penalties are just right. A student-athlete’s decision has impact so they receive discipline for breaking the rules but have a chance to do the right thing, learn from mistakes, and remain an athlete if they choose. If they continue to break the rules then their opportunity to play is revoked. Collegiate athletics is a privilege, not a right.”
I completely agree with Morenz about the consequences of using PEDs as a college athlete but professional athletes must face stricter penalties. In some cases there have been severe actions taken. Alex Rodriguez faced the longest suspension in Major League Baseball history and Lance Armstrong was banned for life and stripped of his titles and sponsorships. I think that college is the place where most people and athletes really grow up because we have no other option because for the first time in our lives, we are responsible for ourselves. At the professional level however, athletes should be aware that their choices have consequences. Cheating is cheating and there is no room for that in sports. If you cheat, especially through the use of PEDs, you should automatically be ineligible to participate for the remainder of the season. After the season is over you may be reinstated but if you are caught a second time, I believe you should be banned for life. We must take a stand and show the younger generations that cheating is not acceptable and there will be consequences just like in any other part of life.