Mark Canner Steroids is only the tip of the iceberg

Mark Canner
KIN 577
LT 22
M.C
Article title: Steroids, Sports, and the Ethics of Winning
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/ethicalperspectives/steriods-ethics.html

Steroids is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cheating

     In an analysis of an article written at Santa Clara University entitled Steroids, Sports and the Ethics of winning; I have come up with the main problems in sports today. The main issue being referenced to in this article is steroids in baseball but that idea stems to so much more. The real problem in today’s society is the focus on winning not as a form of success but more as a form of survival. Winning used to be just about a team preparing well and having a good day or a bad day but that doesn't cut it anymore. Today if you don't win it could mean losing your job, scholarship, or even the one thing that brings joy the ability to play a sport. This analysis will examine the slippery slope of competitive sports and why things have gotten so out of control.

     In my first year coaching Div 3 sports my team did well but not great and my dad asked me if I was worried about losing my job because ten college football coaches had been fired just that week. I explained to him that Div 3 is about enjoyment of the sport and academics first but I realized just how cutthroat the sports world is. It came to my attention that as a young experienced coach I was in a world where my job was not in jeopardy but if I wanted to move up the ranks or excel at the higher Div 1 level I needed to do one thing, win. This changed my mind set from not just making coaching a job that I got out of college but a fierce competition between my colleagues. This is the pure side of sports where we feel pressure to win so we work harder but at some point hard work just isn't enough you must do more. In the world of water polo a way to make my team better was to start coaching club and national teams similar to AAU in basketball. From this I gained relationships with the top young talent which ultimately lead to them playing on my team. This is very similar to John Calipari at Kentucky who is the most sought after coach but also the most controversial because of his connections with AAU. Although it is not illegal to work with young players it is illegal to recruit a player before his junior year so where is the line drawn? This gray area in sports is what happens in all problem areas. 

       Coaches want baseball players to get bigger because that’s what professional scouts want and the quickest way is steroids. As it is referenced to in the article steroids are illegal but they have benefits

             

Because steroids enable heavy lifting, tendon tears and osteoarthritis are common ailments. I could tell you about guys who do what their bodies weren't designed to do—such as benching 400 pounds—and by the time they are 35, they cannot lift their arms. So, why do people use them? The answer to that question is also straightforward. They make you bigger, faster, and stronger. And they work perfectly well in anybody who's training heavily. Should athletes be allowed to make this trade-off? Many say, "It hurts only me, so why does society care?"

So ideally they would like the player to use steroids to get bigger then quit to stay within the rules. A professional football coach rewards big hits by putting stars on a player’s helmet but it is illegal to have a bounty program to hurt players. The line between success and penalty is so thin that really the backbone of sport is built on integrity and doing these three sports scenarios the right way. 

       We may never reach the day when players or coaches have integrity but we can start working towards finding people that do. I believe the secret to sports starts at the top with athletic directors and owners. Big business is about making money but it has been shown that when you mix integrity into the equation like Google and Jet Blue do with stock options on other rewards things can get better. Sports are run in a prehistoric capitalistic society that needs to change and when it does integrity will become the relief that is needed. 

M.C