Journal Entry 1

Journal entry 1

Why Steroids should be allowed?

In this augmentable piece the author Mike Thomas claims that steroids should be allowed in sports. This piece as a whole is a policy claim that steroids should be allowed under the policy of the specific sport league. However within his policy claim, he also uses claims of facts and values to support his view. Thomas states it as a fact that many older players admit if they had the opportunity, during there playing years they would have in fact taking steroids to gain an edge. This is used to disclaim the belief that the records put up by steroid using players diminish what the older “natural” players did. He also uses value claims in his last two points saying that using steroids is not cheating and if made legal the drug would create a level playing field because those afraid to take it due to fear of being caught will no longer have that fear and would use the drug. Also saying that it is not up to the public to decide what the athletics can or cannot do to their bodies because it’s their bodies. Within the factual and value claims are the appeals of logic, emotion and ethical. Thomas appeals to the logic of the idea of making the playing field level by allowing everyone to use steroids. He also appeals to your emotion by stating that it’s a fact that the older “natural” players would have used steroids, giving you an emotion that they weren’t as clean as you subsumed. Also at the very end appeals to your ethics by trying to convince you to agree that it’s the players body and they can do whatever they want.