the moral reasoning of student athletes and athletic training students

Despite the research and the warnings, athletes continue to dope. Problems exist with the
argument that educating athletes about the negative effects of doping is an effective deterrent
(Stoll, Gwebu, & Beller, 2006). Researchers have found that if athletes were given a drug that
would enhance performance and in five years potentially result in major medical problems such
as cancer, as many as 95% of athletes reported that they would still be willing to use the drug
(Bamberger & Yaeger, 1997; Goldman, 1992). Such a response indicates how 1) athletes have
little regard for their personal health and understanding of their own mortality, 2) the drive to
win exceeds competing on one’s own merits, and 3) information centered anti-doping education
programs may be ineffective in addressing doping in sport.
The Effects of Doping on the Moral Integrity of Sport
Another argument used for banning performance enhancing drugs in sport is that doping
compromises the moral integrity of sport as a whole. In response to the growing epidemic of
doping in sport, the International Olympic Committee established the World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA), an organization charged with the task of standardizing regulations and testing
for all international competitions. The WADA mission statement defines doping as illegal if it is
a health risk, or if it violates the “spirit of sport.” They define the “spirit of sport” as an intrinsic
“celebration of the human spirit, body, and mind” that is characterized by the following values:
ethics, fair play and honesty, health, excellence in performance, character and education, fun and
joy, teamwork, dedication and commitment, respect for rules and laws, respect or self and other
participants, courage and community, and solidarity (World Anti-Doping Agency, 2003,
Introduction: The Code). The necessary formation of WADA’s, explicit definition of the spirit of
sport and the continually increasing need for change in the world of sport have come as a
consequence of the assault on the purity and moral integrity of sport.
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