What is the Importance of Pro Athlete Drug Testing?

The topic of pro athlete drug testing has become a news staple almost on a daily basis; either a pro athlete has been caught with drugs, driving under the influence or admitting to performance enhancing drug use. Debate after debate has hashed and rehashed the subject but, pro athlete doping scandals make headlines nearly every week. What makes this subject so hot?

Why is there so much debate around athlete drug testing?

Here is the top public pet peeve: Pro Athletes are paid millions of dollars to play and make a few millions on the side via product endorsements and appearances at events.

They get a lot of press coverage, live a grand lifestyle and end up being the darlings of the masses. The adrenaline high of watching your favorite pro athlete make that next goal, pass the finish line leaving others behind, or standing on the trophy stand with the massive trophy or pendent blazing in the lights is a life that millions want and cannot have. The flip side of this adulation is also the ‘expectation’ of the fans that permeates our society, wherein, the fan feels that the player he adores has to be a perfect human being; after all he/she has it all!

By the same token, the pressure to keep delivering the next best thing to the fans seems to take a toll on the pro athlete, who is ready to ‘do anything’ it takes to support his “God image’ - Enter: performance enhancing and recreational drugs. To combat this the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) was instituted.

WADA - Why was the World Anti Doping Agency created?

Established in 1999, the World Anti-Doping Agency is an independent international institution that develops anti-doping policies and procedures and manages the accreditation of laboratories used for collection and analysis. Why such stringent rules? Sporting associations, teams, and independent pro athletes have to undergo mandatory drug tests to make sure fair competition and that is the BIGGEST reason for anti doping policies. International and national sporting organizations have to follow strict rules established by WADA which mandates that a pro athlete can be tested at any time, anywhere.

WADA limits itself to the testing process and not the penalty phase; sports agencies (i.e. the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee) sanction athletes who test positive for performance-enhancing drugs after WADA-accredited testing.

The use of recreational drugs has been on the rise among athletes and this has even led to radio programs that announce “the athlete arrest of the day.”

Pro Athletes are People too

Why should it be a concern to anybody if a pro athlete is arrested for possession or use of an illicit drug? The same rules that apply to any citizen apply to the pro athlete also.

Pro athletes have come under fire for reckless driving, domestic abuse and stealing. The cost is not just to the victims of these crimes but also to the public as many fans consider pro athletes to be role models and especially in the case of young and impressionable fans, this can lead to drug experimentation by the fans too.

Pro athlete drug testing not only helps to keep athletes in check but also gives the athlete drug abuser an opportunity to face his/her depth of addiction and seek/receive help in the form of treatment and rehabilitation programs.

What's your thoughts about drug testing in professional sports?