Sports can be a divisive topic. From tactics to off-field banter and everything in between, there is always something for people to talk about. However, not all of it focuses on the positives.
It seems that lately, there is one thing that is always on the mind of a sports fan: the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
This is a topic that came back into the forefront fairly recently, as cyclist Lance Armstrong finally admitted to doping during his otherwise brilliant career, one which saw him win a record seven Tour de France titles.
It is widely believed that many cyclists engage in similar practices. Indeed, Alberto Contador and Floyd Landis, also former Tour de France champions, had titles stripped due to PED-related offenses.
But doping is not strictly limited to cycling. Outside of the cycling world, PED usage is best known for its prevalence in baseball over the last two decades.
Home run kings Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro, among others, have been strongly linked to PED usage, and as such, are held in a negative light among many fans — despite their awe-inspiring achievements on the field.
Former ace pitcher Roger Clemens was also cast into the spotlight due to his former trainer’s accusations of doping, but he was acquitted last year after being charged with perjury when he testified against the allegations.
The takeaway from all of this is that the presence of performance-enhancing drugs in sports is casting a bad aura over the entire sports world.
For one thing, it gives young sports fans a series of false idols. Aspiring athletes look up to the top players in the world, only to see them come crashing down after their methods are exposed.
Not having a new generation of people as clearly turned into sports — even if the younger ones don’t truly understand what is being done and how wrong it may be — will be detrimental for sports in the long run.
And, really, that encompasses the main issue with PED usage being so prominent in today’s sporting world. The controversy surrounding it takes the spotlight away from the rest of the athletes who are going out there and doing what they love to do, free of outside “help.”
These players have worked their whole lives to do what they do, and proudly wear the colors of the teams they represent. They represent not just themselves, but a team and its history, along with, in most cases, a city or region.
Being implicated in PED use tarnishes all of that, and can ruin the perception of players around him or her who may not be involved in such activity. There’s nothing that can really be done about it either.
Players will often take any chances to get to the top. But they fail to realize the implications their actions will have on not just themselves, but on everyone who looks to them as friends, relatives, employees or idols.
