182 Unit 4 Applied critical thinking
Using some of the methods discussed in
this chapter, as well as those you studied in
Chapters 2.4 and 2.5, map out the structure
of the following argument.End-of-chapter assignment
The governing bodies who
control international sport
are right to prohibit the use
of performance-enhancing
drugs and to operate their
policy of zero tolerance
against athletes who break
the rules. There is more than
enough medical evidence to
establish that many of the
substances that sports stars
are tempted to use to
increase their strength and
stamina are extremely
harmful to their health.
Permitting their use, or
turning a blind eye to it, can
have tragic long-term
consequences, as many
former athletes have
discovered to their cost.
Young people are natural
risk-takers and are often
reckless about their own
futures. That, coupled with
the huge rewards that can be
won by reaching the top in
their chosen sport, will often
drive them to disregard
medical advice and think
only of the gold medal, or the
big sponsorship deal, or theglory of competing for their
country. Those who regulate
the sports have a duty of
care over these men and
women. To stand by whilst
they harm themselves would
be grossly irresponsible.
But there is another reason
why the use of drugs in sport
cannot be tolerated. The
purpose of sport is to
discover who is the best. The
only way to achieve that is to
start with a level playing field
and for every competitor to
have an equal chance of
winning. You can’t say who is
best if some competitors are
cheating by stealing an
advantage. Therefore, if
drugs can be driven out of
sport, we will once again
know who the real
champions are.
It is sometimes argued that
drugs give no more of an
advantage than other
perfectly legitimate practices,
such as following special
diets and taking dietary
supplements, which can also
boost an athlete’sperformance. So can the
latest hi-tech equipment and
clothing, computerised
training programmes,
physio- and psychotherapies,
and so on. Is that not
cheating?
No. There is all the
difference in the world
between eating certain foods
and taking drugs because
drugs, unlike foods, are
banned substances. Any
athlete who wants to can
take advantage of a special
diet or the latest equipment
and training techniques. But
only those who are willing to
break the rules can benefit
from taking drugs. Anyway, if
you start saying that drug-
taking is fine because it is
no different from energy-
giving food you would end up
having to allow athletes to
run races with jet engines
strapped to their backs.
One more thing: if the top
athletes get away with taking
drugs, the young people for
whom they are role models
are far more likely to do the
same. For their sake too, the
pressure on the cheats must
never be relaxed.SAY NO TO CHEATS