Here's a link that leads to an article on usatoday.com that provides some support to my argument: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2012/11/27/adderall-in-pro-sports/1730431/
Recently, I have been seeing several stories of players in the NFL and even a Nascar driver being accused of taking the drug adderall which is outlawed my professional sports. Being prescribed the drug in the past, I took immediate interest in these stories. Adderall is an amphetamine that is prescribed to people who suffer from ADHD. In ADHD victims the drug has a calming effect but when taken by people without the disorder such as these athletes, it acts as a stimulant. The athletes are attracted to the stimulant effects of the drug because it increases their energy, keeps them awake, and helps them focus. Adderall allows football players to overcome physical and mental fatigue giving them a competitive edge just like drugs such as steroids would do. Therefore, the professional sports leagues have outlawed the drug unless you have a prescription due to an ADHD condition. I agree with the league outlawing the drug because having experience with it, I can totally see it giving an advantage to athletes. Adderall can be classified as a performance enhancing drug and therefore has the right to be outlawed. Recently there has been over a dozen suspensions in the NFL due to adderall use. I even find it amusing that a drug usually taken to help with academics can now be used to gain an edge physically and mentally over the opposition. Your thoughts?
Sean Jameson
KIN 332i T/Th. 9:30 am
3 comments:
I believe pro athletes will always try to find some way to find an edge simply due to the benefits of being on top. Multimillion endorsements by successful companies such as Nike and Reebok are only granted to the best of the bunch. Such incentives will lead athletes wanting to perform better than others who are also gifted in the sport. First they may start with taking ice baths to recover faster, take some ibuprofen or aspirin to ignore the pain, then why not Adderall for improved concentration. Amphetamines may have negative effects with prolonged heavy use such as schizophrenic like hallucinations, anxiety, and withdrawals from addiction. However, professional athletes damage their bodies all the time and retire with tennis elbows, torn ACL, multiple concussions, hip fractures, etc. The point I'm trying to make is that athletes didn't become pro athletes to live a healthy lifestyle. They became pro athletes to perform in excellency in the sport they love and to make profit by playing better than others. Also, I actually doubt NFL players will stop taking Adderall unless they receive weekly drug tests since amphetamines leave your system within days to a week depending on the dosage.
-Yong K.
332i s3 2455
T/Th 12:15p.m.
I have heard about adderall being taken as an academic performance enhancement drug. But really pro sports? Is it just too un-natural to just take b- vitamins for a natural way to enhance concentration? Or better yet, try getting some sleep for better concentration. I never thought about your point that athletes not becoming pro athletes to live a healthy lifestyle. Athletes are normally portrayed as healthy individuals. I remember seeing the GOT MILK and FRUIT posters in the lunch room during grade school of athletes advertising healthy eating habits. Although maybe endorsing the product more for the money, but it has always put in perspective that athletes are active healthy individuals. Athletes have better food diets, they exercise daily, etc. but then there is the flip side to the realities of pro players, and that many do use performance enhancing drugs. so i guess I will have to agree with you. Sadly, but the misuse of drugs are never the answer.
-Amber M.
332i Sec 06 11144
T/TH 2pm
When I first heard this story on ESPN I was slightly shocked, but then I realized that this is the NFL. In the past couple years, it is evident that players, coaches, and managers will do whatever it takes in order to get ahead and win. Using Adderall is just another strategy that players are using in order to beat out the guy on the opposing team. It is interesting how athletes are continually searching for undetectable or innovative supplements that will take their game to a new level. Unfortunately, they are usually consequences both on and off the football field with these drugs. If these rules are not being enforced then what is stopping them from escalating their drug use to something that may cause serious impairment.
-Brandon Cirbo 332I
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