Social and Psychological Reasons for Doping
Doping means the use of banned performance-enhancing substances by competitors in sport. Reasons behind it are both social (the performer's environment) and psychological (the mental effect chased).
- Social reasons: the win-at-all-costs mentality; the scale of extrinsic rewards on offer; pressure from coaches, family and media; weak deterrents and confidence that detection can be avoided; and poor role models in certain sports normalising doping
- Psychological reasons: beta-blockers to settle nerves where fine motor control decides the outcome (e.g. snooker); anabolic steroids to raise aggression for heavy-contact sports (e.g. rugby); stimulants to counter a loss of self-belief and boost confidence at events such as the Olympics
- Exam distinction: physiological reasons concern the body's function; psychological reasons concern the mind
Physiological Effects of Drugs on the Performer
- Anabolic steroids – artificially manufactured hormones (e.g. THG) that assist protein storage and stimulate muscle growth, producing greater strength, power and leaner body composition; used by power athletes, particularly sprinters; side-effects include liver, heart and immune system damage, acne, and aggression/mood swings
- Beta-blockers – calm the performer by blocking adrenaline, steadying nerves and improving accuracy; used in high-precision sports (archery, snooker, golf); side-effects include tiredness from lowered blood pressure and reduced aerobic capacity
- EPO (erythropoietin) – a naturally occurring hormone, also made artificially, that raises haemoglobin levels and oxygen-carrying capacity, improving endurance and delaying fatigue; used by endurance performers; side-effects include blood clotting, stroke and, rarely, death – e.g. Lance Armstrong's stripped Tour de France titles, and the BALCO scandal involving THG
Implications of Drug Taking for the Sport
- Doping damages a sport's reputation and public interest, linking sports firmly to individual cheats, e.g. Justin Gatlin with athletics, Lance Armstrong with cycling – the 2007 'Tour de Farce' is a key example
- Suspicion clouds the achievements of clean athletes (e.g. Chris Froome, Mo Farah), and doping supplies negative role models to developing athletes
Implications of Drug Taking for the Performer
- Positive: performance genuinely improves, and undetected users can gain fame and fortune
- Negatives: serious health risks (steroids linked to high blood pressure, EPO to heart disease and stroke); reputational damage and social isolation; lost income and sponsorship; legal consequences such as bans, stripped medals or imprisonment (e.g. Marion Jones); and accidental use is still punished, e.g. Alain Baxter losing his Olympic medal after an unknowing positive test
Strategies for Eliminating Performance-Enhancing Drugs
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) protects UK sport from doping across more than 40 sports; WADA is the international foundation (est. 1999) that promotes, co-ordinates and monitors the global fight against drugs in sport.
- Strategies can be remembered via DOPING: Drug-free culture via education (e.g. UKAD's '100% Me' programme); Organisations working together (UKAD, WADA, NGBs); Punishments made harsher; Investment in testing technology; Name and shame negative role models; Guilty performers lose funding and sponsorship
- Stricter procedures include random testing, out-of-competition testing and the 'whereabouts system', and positive role models such as Sir Chris Hoy are used to promote clean sport
Ongoing Problems in the Fight Against Doping
- Testers struggle to gain immediate access to athletes training overseas; new drugs and masking agents are continually developed; drugs can be taken accidentally; and regulations and testing procedures differ between countries and sports, making a unified approach hard to achieve
Arguments For and Against Legalising Drugs in Sport
- For legalisation: the battle against doping is expensive and time-consuming; drugs are easy to access and hard to eliminate; detection is not always effective; defining a 'drug' against a legal supplement is difficult; drugs are sometimes taken accidentally; it is a matter of personal choice; and if everyone doped it would level the playing field
- Against legalisation: serious health risks; negative role models for young people; a negative image for particular sports; increased pressure to dope; sporting success should rest on hard work and natural talent; drugs confer an unfair, immoral advantage and are cheating; only wealthier countries could afford them; and it is illegal