The competitive nature of athletes is the necessary driving force to be better than everyone else at the specific sport they play, steering the athlete on the road to a successful career. Hoping to reach their final destination, the promise land, to be the best in the whole world as the previous legendary sports figures.
Fair play in sports is nothing more than a folkloric myth that has always been around since the very beginning of the first-ever sport that was played. Doping is in its many forms, has too, existed since the times of the ancient period.
"Doping in sport has always existed. Even ancient Greek athletes used stimulating potions to fortify themselves." David Howman, the director general of World Anti-Doping Agency said.
However, in being the best, athletes exceed the normal physical threshold for bettering their personal performance in trying to upstage other athletes to be the superstar. Thus, many athletes, at one point in their lives may elect to use steroids or growth hormones to achieve the status of a top-level athlete.
By taking these sports drugs, the athlete taints the purity of sports and when exposed as cheaters, they disgrace themselves, discrediting the past legends who got to where they are with honest training of body and skill. The sports-loving fans, their organization, the profession itself, their hometown, and nation unfairly treated and betrayed by their beloved athletes. That is why athletes who use doping should definitely be banished from sport they specialize in.
"The temptation is too great and players need to be protected against themselves." Dr. John F. Murray, a widely-known sports psychologist said. You can get more information on him and his past work from his personal site JohnFMurray.com
Athletes instill superherolike qualities: speed, strength, and jumping just to name a few that are vital for an athlete to excel in his or her sport. The better trained, along with the help of doping, an athlete focuses on these three key attributes determines how one's lifestyle will unfold. Can there be a decade or century where doping in sports will no longer be an issue?
"The fight against doping in sports will never stop." Howman said "Doping in sports will never be completely eradicated, as criminality in society."
"Doping poses a serious threat to public health." It is not limited to the elite-level athletes it encompasses the public in general, the kids in the gym and the local competitions, who are very much affected by this insidious disease."
"In this day of specialization, athletes are pushing the envelope to the absolute maximum in terms of training technique, enhancing nutrition, improving strength training" Murray said "As training leads to improvements in performance, gaining an edge in any way possible safe or not, legal or not when performance improves or muscle mass or recovery time increases, the reward is very hard to discontinue."
It is the most extraordinary thing to witness in life when an athlete achieves impossible feats of strength or set records or even be a record-breaker, to one day be honored as one of sports' greatest players. But, this all depends on whether the athlete chooses to do it honestly through healthy dieting and food supplements or risk his or her health with steroids and growth hormones.
Essentially, it all comes down to the athlete whether they are a rookie who is trying to be a part of the world-class players or already a top-level athlete in any sport respectively trying to stay as the best in the sport. As well as how the athlete wants to be remembered as a cheater or not.