Can We Blame Athlete's For Using Performance Enhancing Drugs?

By: Dale Leavitt

Let's start out by saying I am a huge fan of the UFC, Dana White and all of the hard work fighters have endured just to try and compete at the level they are on. I am not a writer, nor a member of the media. I am just simply put, a fan, voicing his thoughts and opinions. All contributing info and stats were generated from the website links below this article.

I happened to be reading about the recent failed drug test of UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem and Champion Junior Dos Santos's reaction. Basically, Junior said if you are cheating, you are disrespecting the sport you are in and the other fighters you are competing against. With all that I have read, Sadly, I do believe there are a lot of competitors out there that think that they have to cheat nowadays just to be equal to their opposition.

I then visited a site in which a man stated 99% of all fighters are using steroids. I considered that to be rubbish. There is no way, or is there? On the same site Dana White was quoted as saying that the UFC athletes are already held to the highest testing standards in all of sports and athletic commissions and will not upgrade nor hire outside testing agencies. Well I see that it does already enforce more than what the law requires, so how can I expect them to change if other sports are not changing?

I wound up on another site stating they have a long list of fighter's that have been caught doping. My first reaction was that I can't believe this to be true. Could there be this many people out there cheating and using performance enhancing drugs or PED's?

These same site's and writers seem to think that there are alternate methods other than just randomly testing athlete's. Like VADA Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency and Carbon Isotope Ratio Testing, CIR has the ability to test Testosterone levels in urine.

I have also read (Not UFC Opinion) that the UFC would never do this because it is still in a fragile state and would most likely lose a lot of fighters due to the tests and it would be crippled. I think that is ludicrous, It would only open the gates to more honest and hard working fighters.

Has playing sports, fighting or just plain ole competition turned into a who can use more drugs battle? Deep down I think all of this really shouldn't be blamed on the individuals trying to make themselves better. I know when I was playing sports many years ago. I would do or try anything to win or make myself better than the other players or teams. The only reason I did not try steroids is because I believed all the people back then that said it would make your ____ smaller. I truly think that it's not the athletes but the sports, promoters, fans, commissions and government that have all failed at making sure that all men (or women) are created equal.

I believe the only way this problem can or will be fixed is to not just randomly but constantly check each and every athlete out there, no matter the sport. To add to more tests if you are caught taking these illegal PED's you must be banned from competing. From college into the professional atmosphere.

What do you think sports should do to ensure an equal playing field for all athletes?
Information generated from these links
Link to Junior's reaction on failed drug test by Alistair Overeem
Link to list of fighters caught using steroids
Link to 99% of all fighters use steroids

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