"Better, Stronger, Faster"

In the documentary “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” Christopher Bell highlighted several points that I found interesting.  Chris mentioned the fixation of winning in the American society, and the need to fulfill our American Dreams.  “The American Dream” has changed significantly over the past decades; from the emphasis of sustaining a family and getting a job to having the best and being the best no matter what.  The achievement of this goal is stressed by society in the theory that if you don’t step on someone, you will get stepped on.  There doesn’t seem to be a limitation to winning or being the best, and in sports this means that enhancement drugs are merely a step to the ladder of success.  So, should enhancement drugs be allowed in the sporting industry? Chris’ brothers thought so, but in spite of their claims they were not able to fully accept that what they were doing was the right thing.  Neither brother was able to openly announce that he was taking enhancement drugs to his peers or parents.  The brothers valued winning more than their morals.  When did value and morality have to have a dividing line? It seems like lately our society chooses to defy morality so that we can accomplish something "greater" for ourselves.  Will we ever be happy with this kind of greatness?

Enhancement Drugs

Our topic of discussion today was over whether or not enhancement drugs should be allowed in the sports industry. In this situation I value the morality of the sport more than winning the game. I think enhancement drugs set a bad example for young athletes in our society because it gives them an easier path to success.  What kind of life lesson would the next generation learn if we permit loopholes?  But others may think that doping for example allows athletes to further improve their natural ability.  But what would happen if all drugs were legalized and the playing field was even? Wouldn’t athletes want to be even better?  Would genetic doping be next? I feel like genetic doping is inhumanly because it changes the genetic make-up of an individual. Genetic make-up is very complicated in the fact that several genes affect one another and are intertwined in a very specific way; changing something very small can cause a huge difference in an individual.  There are a lot of “ifs” in this controversial issue and I would have to admit that Dr. Todd’s solutions is the most rational.  Why not separate the two leagues? One that allows doping and or any enhancement drugs, and one that would maintain the athlete’s natural ability.  The sports industry could even make fields larger and re-invent the sport adapting to each player’s need.  Then society could stick to their morals and support whichever industry they chose. There would be controversies, of course, with athletes who dope and try to enter the league of those who do not.  In this situation I would recommend that these athletes should be banded from the sports industry indefinitely. 

September 1st!

In our class lecture we discussed the unusual situation of Coach Brown and his unique strategy to win a football game.  I personally believe that sewing on footballs to the front of player's shirts was immoral due to the dishonesty of the game and Golden Rule.  I disagree more with his action because of its result than with his approach of winning.  What kind of message is he sending out to his players? That he does not think they would be able to win if he had not come up with this tactic? He should be confident in his ability as a coach and believe in his players, rather than finding loopholes in rulebooks.  His football team may not have been the strongest but that is just a reflection of his coaching abilities.  

The other issue we addressed in class was whether or not we would allow a student with down-syndrome play in the football team.  This issue is very difficult because there are several factors that must be considered:  how good of a football player he is, how confident he is in learning plays, his ability in carrying out a play, etc… If I went with my moral value with the information presented, I would not allow this boy to play due to the possibility of him getting hurt.  I would probably put beneficence before justice because I would feel responsible if he got injured.  I understand that in football every player has a possibility of getting hurt, but this boy would have a greater disadvantage than all the others.  However, the factors mentioned above would definitely be a factor in my decision.  If he demonstrated capabilities to play the game, I would recruit him like any other player.