MANDATORY DRUG TESTING IN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
Should mandatory drug testing be used in professional sports? This paper presents several arguments in favor of an affirmative answer to this question. Also discussed are factors that can deter mandatory drug testing programs from achieving those goals, purposes and objectives which provide reason for their use.
Arguments Favoring Mandatory Drug Testing In Professional
Several arguments support mandatory drug testing of professional athletes. One of these is that mandatory drug testing would help to prevent athletes from suffering the physical long-term consequences of drug-taking by bringing drug use to public and professional attention, thereby improving the athletes' chances of receiving help. This point has been discussed by Worsnop (1991), who reports that, as a result of taking drugs, professional athletes can face a number of long-term physical debilitations, some of which can result in serious injuries and/or death.
Mandatory drug testing of professional athletes will operate not only to reduce the likelihood of risks to athletes' physical well-being, but also to combat economic losses to the profession and, therefore, to athletes' careers. The economic concerns involved in issues related to sports and drugs have been eloquently stated by Worsnop (1991) as follows:
If the public comes to perceive track and field, professional football, or some other major sport to be hopelessly drug-ridden, attendance and television viewership are likely to plummet. And that could lead to financial ruin for athletes and sports promoters alike (p. 514).
Mandatory drug testing could do much to stop athletes tempted to get involved in drug use and can show the public that the sport is determined to keep itself clean, thereby reducing and/or avoiding the economic costs discussed by Worsnop.
A third argument supporting mandatory drug testing in professional sports is th...