Should Performance Enhacing Drugs be allowed to athletes?

This is my side of the debate on Friday. We cam 2nd. Still don't know whether to be happy or depressed at that.


Disclaimer- This is SO not what I believe. It was just a debate.

From Romans to footballers, from war to sports, one statement has always been the thread of commonality between them. When the odds are against you, a little help is always welcome.

Good morning everyone, my name is Abhilasha Pawar and I really do believe that performance enhancing drugs should be allowed. You see, I believe that all’s fair in love, war and competitive sports is akin to war.

We live in a cutthroat world, where competition is the name of the game among people. Especially for sportsmen. Not everybody in the world has the God given gift of running like Usain Bolt or swimming like Michael Phelps, we have to make do with whatever fate has handed to us and work extra hard on it. Yet, most of us fail because sometimes even that much hard work is not enough. Our dreams of seeing our country’s flag raised and touching that coveted medal with our hands have disappeared because quite simply someone was naturally faster than you.

We are all so quick to condemn those who have been caught taking performance enhancing drugs. We all scornfully say that they did out of a sense of personal glory. Has anyone considered that the reason could be more altruistic? They did it out of a sense of desperate want to make their country proud. To put their country on the map for that particular sport.

And how many of us seated here don’t think of personal glory? How many of us won’t go to any lengths to gain it? If you serve your country along with it it’s a double bonus! Who doesn’t want that feeling to be hailed as one of the country’s greatest? Who doesn’t want to be a hero? Not all of us here are Mother Teresa.

There have been great athletes over time and again who have been tested positive for performance enhancing steroids.  But that never took away their legendary status. It never diminished their natural talent and skill at their game.  Lance Armstrong is still considered the greatest cyclist of all time despite the scandal. Diego Maradona was tested positive for ephedrine in 1994 which effectively ended his career yet he is still one of the greatest footballers in the world and he was the manager of the Argentine football team in 2010.

Plus, the rules for forbidden drugs are different in every country. Some country has a certain drug in every medical store yet in another country it is forbidden. The rules for performance enhancing drugs are conflicting and confusing for the players. In one country the drugs are one man’s meat and in another a man’s poison.

I would like to conclude with quoting Bill Shankly about the importance of a sport “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”