Performance enhancing drugs have been a big controversy in sports for years. It is used in many sports for example, Lance Armstrong (cycling) and Alex Rodriguez (baseball) were both athletes who used performance enhancing drugs and they were both punished by the sport. Some people think performance enhancing drugs should be legal throughout sports and others think it should be illegal. Performance enhancing drugs are cheating and give the athlete  an unfair edge over their opponent.

If a player uses performance enhancing drugs in sports then it puts them at an unfair advantage over their opponent. In a Forbes article written by Brian Mazique it says “Fighters agree to face another human being in battle within a specific weight range… They do not sign up to face a chemically enhanced version of the other person.” In sports if a player uses a drug to make himself better than they could be putting their opponent in danger by having an unfair advantage over them.“They are not using their natural ability they are using foreign products to enhance their performance and make them play better and that not fair to the other players because then one player in superior” (Advantages of PED’s). Athletes at a professional level are used to playing at a specific skill level, if someone uses performance enhancing drugs to improve their game it could catch the opposing team or player off guard and can get them hurt. If a player takes performance enhancements drugs it not only puts them at an unfair advantage but also puts the opposing team or player in danger.

When a player uses a performance enhancing drug it takes away the need for the player to work hard. In an article from Blue ridge outdoors written by Devan Boyle it says “If excellence in sport is the intersection of talent and dedication, as I believe, then drugs distort and distract”. Players become good from working hard, if they use performance enhancing drugs then it makes the sport easier for them and lets them not work as hard to improve their skills. Performance enhancement drugs take away the personal skill of sports, in an article it said, “If competitive sport is meant to be a test of natural physical talent, then one might think that performance enhancement is against the spirit of sport” (spirit of sport). People in sports all have different physical talents that they have acquired from hardwork and dedication to the sport, when a player takes a performance enhancement drug it they don't have to work hard to enhance their physical skill. Performance enhancing drug don't just make the game unfair, they allow the players using it to not work as hard.

If players use Performance enhancement drugs it takes away their individuality in the sport. Players in sports have different skills and qualities that makes them different from everyone else, if all players take performance enhancement drugs then they will become successful in the sport and that takes away the player's individuality in the sport. In the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand there is a society where people are not allowed to do what they wish, one quote is “We strive to be like our brother men, for all men must be alike” (Rand 19). In Anthem everybody is equal and that wasn’t successful. If all players in sports use performance enhancement drugs then it takes away their individual talent and makes them just as skilled as everyone else. In Anthem being too big is frowned upon, one quote showing this is “There is evil in your bones, Equality-2521, for your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers” (Rand 18). In Anthem if you are big enough that you look different then people say you are evil, in sports if you take a performance enhancement drug and are bigger than everyone else you are looked at as a cheater and a bad person. If you take a performance enhancement drug in sports than it takes away your individuality and makes you look like a bad person.

Some people think that performance enhancement drugs make sports more competitive and make the players more skillful. They think if a player uses a performance enhancement drug then it will make the playing field more even. One quote from an article on Forbes written by Chris Smith is “ Not only would the playing field suddenly be even for all players, it would be at a higher level.” Although this could be true part of the fun of watching sports is the individuality of each of the players and if everyone is the same skill then sports could get boring. Other people think that performance enhancement drugs should be allowed if they are being used for players to recover faster in sports. This is also unfair because the players can still recover without the drugs so why should you be able to take something that will unfairly make you better than you were before. Although some people have arguments that performance enhancement drugs should be legal none of them are strong enough arguments to change anything.

Some people thing performance enhancement drugs should be illegal, others think it should be legal. They should be illegal because when a player uses a performance enhancing drug it puts them at an unfair advantage over their opponent. Also when a player takes a performance enhancing drug it eliminates the need for that player to work hard. Sports are a big part of society right now and if there are cheaters ruining the sport then it takes away the individuality of players and the fun of the sport.