¶ … Steroids in Professional Sports
How many people here believe that adults should be allowed to risk their lives and health by participating in dangerous sports if they want to? How many people here believe that adult professional athletes should be allowed to lift weights to improve their strength? How many people here believe that adult professional athletes should be allowed to force-feed themselves to maintain body mass or to starve themselves to lose weight if necessary? How many people here believe that the outcome of professional sporting events does not matter outside of professional sports leagues? How many people here believe that professional athletes are appropriate role models for children?
Discussion
If adults have the right to risk their lives in dangerous sports; if professional athletes have the right to lift weights and to manipulate their diets to gain or lose weight; if the outcome of professional sporting events does not matter outside of the sports world; and if professional...
Practically every year, race car drivers, horse racing jockeys, and amateur pilots die participating in sports. In the case of the latter, they do it as a recreational hobby and, as was just demonstrated this week in Reno, Nevada, sometimes at great risk to spectators as well. Our society values personal freedom and autonomy tremendously, which is why mentally competent adults are not prohibited from skydiving even though there is a risk of death or from sunbathing even though it is certain that unnecessary sun exposure is the major cause of skin cancer.
If professional athletes are permitted to participate in sports…
