Robert Lipsyte

In the following viewpoint, Robert Lipsyte argues that the drug testing of athletes is unfair and that athletes should be able to use certain drugs. Lipsyte contends that sports should not be held to higher standards than the rest of society. For example, Lipsyte maintains that some therapeutic drugs such as Prozac are accepted in social use but are not permitted to be used by athletes. Furthermore, he asserts that athletes can affect the accuracy of drug tests by using masking agents and that the real issue in banning drugs concerns sports management’s desire to control athletes’ bodies by restricting the substances that athletes can use. Lipsyte is a writer for the New York Times and the author of numerous sports books, including Idols of the Game: A Sporting History of...