Drug abuse in sports has been occurring for many years now. Today’s athletes are not the first to abuse drugs, and they surely won’t be the last. Most athletes that have confessed to drug abuse, claim they used them to have a better performance while playing their sport. Some say when recruiters look for those really good players, that they believe they will be one to get picked. Others, claim that it helps them and their team as well, “win the game.”
Using drugs to gain strength and energy started thousands of years ago with the Greeks. Drugs have been illegal since they were first introduced. Although they were illegal that did not stop some athletes from using them for their own benefit. In 1928 was when the first use of drugs in sports was banned and it was known worldwide. This was banned in the track and field corporation Some drugs, relating to those that aren’t illegal, are taken in by athletes from time to time. There is a difference in using drugs when you are sick, rather than just to help boost your energy and give you strength.
Once the use of drugs began to become a big part of the sports confederation, drug testing athletes followed. Now, many have failed, but not all. Some, even have tested positive, while others tested negative, with the exact same drug in both systems. The intakes of the drugs were different, and that could of had a slight effect on the results. Maybe a higher dosage is what caused both parties to come out with different test results. Or even, the way one’s body reacts vs. the other. People are still experimenting in today’s world on how to take in strengthening drugs, without them testing positive. Will the ever succeed? We may never know until the time comes.
https://www.morningsiderecovery.com/addiction-blog/drug-abuse-in-sports/
Gender pay rates have a huge gap between what female athletes make, and what male athletes make. Today women seem to be getting paid way less than the males, and some have complained about it. Should this even be an issue dealing with today’s sports? Some may answer to think that it is fair, but on the other side there are those who disagree. Personally, I disagree.
Women put in the same amount of hours just as the men, maybe even more at times. Yes, the audience watching rate may be different but the work ethic for both groups are there. The amount of fans out there who are not able to pay for tickets to the game, still exist and they are apart of that rate. There is a ranking of the top 100 highest paid athletes, and out of all one hundred, only one is a female. Serena Williams has been practicing tennis since the age 3. She is now 36 years old, but has been playing professional tennis going on 20 years. That may seem good for her, since she is the only female in the world getting paid a high rate of money. But what about all of the other professional female athletes who have been playing for even longer? Are their skills not good enough? Then how did they make it to the pros?
“A recent study by Women on Boards highlighted that not only did the US women’s team received prize money that is a fraction of the amount the men’s game gets, female US footballers also received four times less than their fellow nationals in the male version of the tournament, even though the men lost in their first knockout match.” This was stated by the Women on Boards Association. From their point of view, the gap is just way to big of a different between pay rates. They even came up with a graph so show the amount of money given to the males and females in each sport they are both allowed to participate in.
Biggest gaps in prize money
The gap is just way too big, but some think that over time it will began to become smaller and smaller, as long as the complaints continue to come in. Will the women’s side be brought up? Or will the male side be brought down? The answer to that is just for us to sit back and continue to watch as the world goes on.
Pain management is also a big issue dealing with the sports of today. Like at games for instance, an athlete could get hurt, and if they are on of the ones who help the team most, the medical assistant that’s at the game may try and say nothing major is wrong. Instead of looking out for the athletes health, he or she may be trying to do what is best for the team and not the athlete. The athlete may even be sent back out to play and finish out the games, then receive the medical attention he or she really needs once the game is over and done with.
Now, I am not saying this happens all of the time every time and athlete gets hurt, but some times things like this may occur depending on the situation and which team it is that the athlete is apart of. But this does happen in some situation and it is not okay.
Concussions are also being discussed in some parts of sports pain management. Some say that athletes should not be out for as long as required, and others who think about the athletes’ health, think they are not out for long enough time to where the athlete is fully healed.
Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson told
ESPN’s Michael Smith that painkillers were handed out “like candy” early in his NFL career (h/t
Des Bieler of the
Washington Post).
Now one trainer claimed that this is false, while players have argued that it is true. We outsiders may not ever know what goes on with the pain killers, but Calvin Johnson has given us a simple inside view of how he feels. Maybe he has experienced something like I said before, or maybe he was told to say this. Reports have looked into this, but there is still not an absolute statement on how the pain killers are used to give to the athletes when needed. Will they make a change on how the athletes are taken care of and watch what they are given? Some athletes do get upset in todays’ sports, regarding the honorable mention award that some athletes receive. Most of the time it is the player who has helped the team most, or some say even behind closed doors that athletes pay to get it. Now from our understanding it is who the press and the people vote on.
The athletes who do not receive the award are sometimes upset because they claim to have done the same amount for the team as every other one of their teammates who are apart of the team. Most of the time, the players who have been playing for years and those who are well known are the ones to the honorable mention award is given to. But that is not every single time that the honorable mention award is handed out. Some new-be players have received this award, but not as many as the ones who have been playing for multiple years.
When the award is handed out, it is to those who have put in a lot of their time and effort to become what they have. What they have become for their team, their fans, their families (if they have one) , and those around them. It is given to the ones who show that they care and support others no matter if they are on the same team or not, win or lose. Those who are always lifting others up in every circumstance or situation they are put in. The ones who lead their fan, by getting sponsored using certain products, or even coming out with their own shoe style or whatever the case may be.
The honorable mention should be given out to those who deserve it. It should not matter how much money you have or how many fans you have. No what should matter is how much time and effort you put in and how well you perform. Attitude and effort should be the two main keys in the honorable mention award when it is given out.
The last issue I want to talk about in todays sports is, the decisions in which every athlete makes. Now that could be referring to the good ones, or the bad. No matter which it may be, it is all in the responsibility of the athletes hands. Every person has the choice whether to make the right decision or the wrong one. Each athlete has their own mind and should not be a follower but a leader for themselves and their fans.
Todays athletes need to think about what they are going to do, because whether or not they want someone to know, it will get out and everyone will hear about it. News travels fast in today’s world and it is always all over the news on worldwide television for the whole world to see. The whole world will hear about it and some will react different than others. Their fans, the press, and even their teammates are watching and will even sometimes get a different point of view of each situation. It is not hard to make the right decision, but it is just as hard to make a bad one.
Making the right decision is not only good for the athlete itself, but also for the fans and their peers, and even just the world as being the world. I am not saying that everyone is perfect because we all make mistakes, but when have such a big impact on the world it is better for you to think before you act. We all as people should think before we act, but if you are a role model, especially to the younger generation, you should be more caution in the decisions you decide to make.
Being a positive role model should always be a goal of an athlete as an individual. Setting team goals as a team, with your peers, is always good, but when an athlete has goals set individually he or she is more likely to accomplish those goals.
Antaveya Kyle 