Politics, News & Issues >
Sports News & Opinion (Other)
Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedShould drug use get a professional sports athlete banned for life?
Results so far:
| Yes | 54% | 319 votes | Total: 595 votes | |
| No | 46% | 276 votes |
Yes
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesWhy does anyone go into professional sports? The two most basic answers are that they really love playing the game and they really love the big bucks it offers. Love of the game is what propels them into professional sports, but once they get a taste of all that money there is just "no keeping them down on the farm".
In order to make the most they have to be the best. Developing star qualities isn't easy. Hence the use of drugs to enhance whatever natural ability they have. And, the use of drugs, illegal or otherwise, is the beginning of a downward spiral in their health, thinking ability and ability to stay at the top of their game. And, in addition to all of this, illegal drugs puts them on the wrong side of the law.
What kind of message is that to our children or to the world in general, for that matter? Stars in professional sports are role models to our children and teens, whether they want to be or not. When anyone chooses a career that puts them in the spotlight and makes children want to be just like them, then they should be willing to shoulder the responsibility that goes with it, not just to the game but to the fans that buy all those tickets and keep them making all that big money. And, a good part of that responsibility is to keep the sport clean and themselves above reproach. If they want to be admired they should make sure they are living a life that can be admired.
Steroids and other drugs have been shown to have devastating effects in the long term. Suicides and murder have been committed while using them. The recent case of the wrestler who killed his wife and son and then killed himself was apparently the tragic result of steroid use. Occurrences such as this should be a warning to anyone, athlete or not, to avoid the use of such drugs.
So, the question is should athletes who use drugs be banned from the sport? There is really no way to straddle the fence in this. Standards should be clear and decisive. If you take drugs you will be banned for life from the sport. It's time to clean up professional sports and enforcing severe consequences for taking drugs is a good place to start.
Learn more about this author, Melba Dagan.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
No
Professional athletes should not be treated any differently than other professionals. In no other profession does a person face an automatic lifetime ban for drug use. Professionals such as doctors , lawyers, and politicians all have ethical codes that prohibit illegal drug use and provide prohibitions for violations. Yet, a lifetime ban in the form of a license revocation that is an extraordinary penalty only used in the worse cases after the professional has been given opportunities and help to change their behavior.
Critics will charge that professional athletes have an added responsibility because they are in public view more than other professionals. While this may be true, it does not justify such a stark disparity in approach to illicit drug use.
There are many other professions where drug use can have an immediate negative impact on the general public. Doctors, lawyers, police, and psychologists, to name a few. In these professions, drug use by the professional can cost their client dearly, perhaps even their life. Clearly, the stakes are much higher than in a baseball game, even to an adoring fan.
Despite the great societal importance and impact of these other professions, these professionals would not face a lifetime ban should their drug use be discovered. Instead, they will pay fines, be forced to undergo treatment, face suspensions, and the like. Only after they have received such chances and failed to "step up to the plate" (pun intended) will these professionals face penalties akin to a lifetime ban (such as losing their license to practice law or medicine).
On the other hand, baseball players are entertainers. No one's freedom (as with an attorney) or health (as with a doctor) is in their hands. Why treat the doctor different than the baseball player. You don't. It is fundamentally unfair and counterproductive.
Wh at's more, beyond the issue of fairness, automatic bans simply don't work, if your goal is to create a better society (what else would it be?). You might remove the baseball player from the game (or the doctor from the operating room), but you haven't solved the underlying drug problem. And you lose a wonderful opportunity that would reach out beyond the individual player.
A far greater message is sent if the public sees the baseball player fall from grace, then rise again. We want to send messages to our children that everyone makes mistakes (and we all have and will), but that you can overcome them and make something better of your life in the end. That's far better than the message "one strike and you're out", as a lifetime ban imparts.
A lifetime ban for professional athletes is unfair and counterproductive. It should only be used as a last resort when all other courses of action have failed.
Learn more about this author, Joseph Hazelbaker.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- Sports News & Opinion (Other)
- Should disabled athletes with prosthetic limbs be allowed to compete in sports with able-bodied athletes?
- Should player violence against coaches be a league matter or criminal?
- Is it time to retire the professional sports asterisk?
- Rugby: Should England drop legendary player Johnny Wilkinson?
- Should coaches face criticism when a team loses?
