The Future Of Sports

Term Paper # 109045

Sociology > Theory
Sport > Medicine and Drugs
Sport > Players

This paper looks at the future of sports and discusses whether athletes are going too far in order to reach their goals.

1,535 words () | 8 sources | MLA | 2007 Australia

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that sports have always been a positive for society in many different ways. They are a great way to stay healthy, they provide an outlet for stress and aggression and they teach important life skills such as teamwork and fair play, just to name a few. Modern day sports still encompass all of these positives but as salaries for athletes skyrocket, so does the motivation to be the best. The writer discusses that this increased motivation is not a negative but the means by which athletes try and improve themselves can sometimes be questionable. The writer notes that the main problem is undoubtedly steroids; however, there are other issues such as using an agency to 'sell' an athlete to a college, which by many is considered going too far. The writer concludes that the only way to turn the direction sports is taking is to be more vigilant in efforts to catch drug cheats and to discourage athletes from using underhanded tactics in order to succeed in the sporting arena.

From the Paper:

"This reaction is understandable because if other players are using then the athlete is left with the question of how they are going to be able to compete against the many other players that have an edge over them. This band wagon type effect could easily be stopped if the initial users were either caught or discontinued their use. The moral side of the story is another factor to do with the willingness of athletes to do whatever it takes.
"As sports have attracted greater media attention, athletes have been turned into not only super starts but also role models. What kid didn't look at their favorite athlete and want to be just like them? This creates a moral obligation for athletes. By taking any means necessary to advance in their chosen sport athletes are also giving that message to the public. This can send a dangerous message to children because when they find out their favorite athlete and hero is cheating. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Boisvert , Dan. "Is Steroid Use in Sports Morally Permissible?." 24, April 2005. 03, April 2007 <http://peasoup.typepad.com/peasoup/2005/04/is_steroid_use_.html>.
Hoch, Bryan. "A-Rod discusses friendship with Jeter." 4 Apr 2007 <http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070219&content_id=1807513&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb>.
J.Stout, S.Catanese, "There ... I Said It: Are steroids good for sports?." 3/30/07 . 3/4/07 <http://media.www.thepenn.org/media/storage/paper930/news/2007/03/30/Sports/There.I.Said.It.Are.Steroids.Good.For.Sports-2815077.shtml>.
King, Kelley. Elements of Argument. Eighth ed. Boston: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. 632-633
"Major League Baseball." 4 Apr 2007 <http://www1.ncaa.org/membership/enforcement/amateurism/player_contacts/mlb_info/mlb_gen_info?ObjectID=25544&ViewMode=0&PreviewState=0>.