Is society the problem?

Our society emphasizes and rewards individuals for speed, strength size, aggression, and winning. Pointing athletes in a position to always strive to become better than the next, sometimes even at the risk of their health and future. Drugs in sport, specifically at the Olympic level, has become more evident over the years, especially with the advancements in technology and drug testing. More athletes are being caught with drugs in their system due to these technologies and agencies that enforce these anti-doping rules and regulations. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is an independent international organization that is responsible for monitoring the global issue of doping in sport. It was founded on the beliefs that athletes have a fundamental right to participate in a doping-free sport and that doping endangers athlete health and the integrity of the sport.

Competition is a natural phenomenon that occurs among humans in all areas of life, and is especially evident in sport. It is expected that athletes will seek out ways to improve their performance but some athletes have taken that entirely too far and have indulged in activities such as doping. Most recently, in November, Russia’s track and field program was caught by the WADA that revealed evidence of cheating. Due to the doping offenses they have accepted an indefinite ban from international athletic competitions.

There are many questions that must be considered when dealing with doping issues in order to attack and conquer the problem head on. Why do elite athletes feel they must dope to succeed? Athletes feel the pressure to succeed at all cost. Another question to considering is what makes one athlete more likely to take performance-enhancing drugs than another? Other issues to be confronted is the amount of pressure society puts on athletes, the WADA and other government entities to take doping more seriously and to educate athletes about the dangerous, both physically and mentally of doping.

As a society, we need to lift up our athletes and be proud of the accomplishments they have made. Pushing them to become better, but not at any extent. We need to let them know that drugs are not the way to become the best, it takes away the integrity for the sport. Accomplishments reached and records broken will only matter to us, as a society, if they are done by an athlete who has just continued to work hard, day in and day out, not by an athlete who has found a short cut to an easier method.