Ethical Influences: PEDs (Inc. Blood Doping) and Sportsmanship and Gamesmanship GapFill

Despite the known consequences, elite performers (and some amateur performers) are willing to push the boundaries of sport and their bodies to compete at the highest level. There are many reasons why athletes may take Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs).

Performers can increase their chance of  successlosinghealth risksmaking enemies if they take PEDs, due to the physiological benefits that enhance performance. Success from using PEDs can lead to the increased awareness and  cheatingfriendshipsmedia scrutinypopularity of some performers, which can bring them financial reward from sponsors and allow some amateurs to train full-time, due to the increased support. Continued successful performances can also lead to increased wealth (e.g. sponsorship and financial winnings) and increased  finesfamesuccessbans as a result of success, which can lead to future work (e.g. TV appearances). A common reason for performers taking PEDs is down to the view that other performers are using PEDs, and, therefore, they feel that they need to keep up with the competition by making it a level playing field.

Despite the benefits that can be gained for athletes, there are many disadvantages of using PEDs. Using PEDs is considered  verbalfraudcheatingsafe and immoral. The athlete can be disqualified and stripped of their medals/trophies/titles if they are proven to have taken illegal substances to aid their performance. They may also incur heavy  popularityboxersfinescares if they are caught, or may even be  happybannedscarredupset from taking part in competitions for a certain amount of time (short-term or lifetime). This in turn can damage the  healthweaknessreputationperformance of the performer and lead to public humiliation, and also a loss of income if a sponsor breaks off a deal to save their own reputation. The most important disadvantage is that while PEDs have physiological benefits, they also have serious  sponsorwealthhearthealth implications which could impact the performer. The use of PEDs also leads to spectators questioning the  implausibilitycredibilityalertnessweakness of the sport and other competitors. Drug scandals in a sport can completely ruin the reputation of that sport, which could again see sponsors removing financial support.

Organising bodies such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have a role to play in preventing the use of PEDs in their sport. One way they do this is through the Whereabouts rule. This is where an elite athlete must give a location of where they will be one hour each day, so that if they are selected for random drugs testing, they must complete the test there and then. A nearby doping control officer is appointed to conduct the test, which may be a blood, hair, nail or  urineskinlactatestool sample. Another role of organising bodies is to constantly review the process of banning drugs. A drug is deemed performance-enhancing if it satisfies any two of the following criteria:

1. It has the potential to enhance performance
2. It represents a potential health risk to the performer
3. It violates the  rulesfinancesregulationsspirit of the sport