Hugs Not Drugs

Hugs not Drugs

Saurabh Agrawal
Sunday   June 7, 2009

      For many better forgotten years, the alluring aroma of drugs has stalked and shattered many athletes all across this “clean” civilized planet. Former athlete, Ronald Laura said “a philosophy of sport which motivates play for its own sake - for the love of the game and which sees sporting interaction as an activity which serves to enhance human integrity rather than just human performance” (Galas 14). Abusing drugs can make you win by cheating, it can also ruin your career and finally abusing drugs sends out an unethical and disappointing message to all the fans out there that look up to you and are inspired by you. An analysis of these crucial factors will give you an in-depth idea of how a bad decision can crack your life. Cheating leads to destruction, hard work earns respect.
Many things in life are captivating, but winning an event in the Olympics and major events internationally is the ultimate dream of an athlete. To achieve this dream, people can go to extreme lengths and push their bodies to the limits. Cheating does bring you fame, wealth and confidence but also shows that you’re just a lazy, no good person that demolishes other athlete’s confidence who work day and night trying to cross their own near- impossible limits. Let’s take the example of Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, two celebrated athletes. They had a hot, controversial rivalry for the 100m dash over 4 years. The same year as the Olympics, Carl’s dad passed away and he buried his gold medal from the 1984 Olympics with him, promising to bring another. In the 1988 Olympics, Carl lost to Ben Johnson by a heartbreaking 0.13 of a second (Galas 31). In the blink of an eye, Carl Lewis lost what would have been an exotic performance dedicated to his father. But three days later Ben Johnson tested positive for anabolic steroids (White 45): Carl had lost a most important event of his life to someone who abused...