Drug testing organizations can bring more harm than good.
To ensure that every team is playing by the rules, every athlete has to take a drug test. Such tests are necessary for every sport because gaining an undeserved advantage is cheating. Although drug tests have been proven helpful in convicting many elite athletes, such as Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, the results should be taken with a grain of salt. People should not always trust the drug tests for they can be misleading and eventually hurt each athlete’s respective sport. Even the tiniest of suspicions that someone is using illegal performance enhancing drugs can cause officials to go overboard.
Former cyclist Lance Armstrong, considered one of the greatest cyclists ever, has been accused of using steroids since 1999 due to his Toure De France championship win after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. Armstrong would later win five more consecutive championships from 2000-2005. Suspicion from the United States Anti-Doping Agency of Armstrong rose even higher as a result of his incredible feat. Recently, Armstrong gave up the fight against the charges from the USADA and has consequently been banned from competitive cycling. The USADA has also stripped the world-renown cyclist from his seven championship wins, despite the hundreds of drug tests he passed.
The USADA should stop badgering athletes who have not failed tests about steroids even if their accomplishments are off the charts. For example, basketball player Kobe Bryant is by far one of the greatest players to play the game. He did not get those accomplishments from using performance enhancing drugs—he got it by hard work. The USADA and other testing groups should know that players go to the extreme in their workout just to accomplish a goal, most without using drugs.
Most times, drug tests are considered reliable when used to convict an athlete of using illegal substances. However, before the start of the 2012 Major League Baseball season, reigning National League MVP Ryan Braun was accused of using illicit performance enhancing drugs. Even though he had passed previous tests, he was still suspended for 50 games. When Braun appealed against the suspension, he was cleared from the sentencing because the sample collector who dealt with Braun’s urine left it in his refrigerator for two days before shipping it to the lab. Therefore, the sample was considered contaminated, raising suspicions about whether or not Braun used drugs.
A single accusation of a player using steroids can do harm not only to the athlete but to the sport as well.
