Komendat1

Kyle Komendat
Ms. Douglas
English 112
11 December 2014
What is integrity?
Integrity, what is your definition of it? Integrity can be defined in two simple words;
moral soundness. Doping Undermines The Integrity Of Competition was written by Tim
Burns, while An Athlete Must Have Personal Integrity was written by R Cort Kirkwood. Burns
is from Greenhaven Press in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and from Harrisionburg, Virginia,
Kirkwood is with The Daily-News-Record. Kirkwood explains why an athlete on any level of
competition, should have plenty, if not the most integrity in society. Burns article is mainly
about how doping leads to less competition and more to a game of science. The articles are
trying to catch the attention of parents, fans, coaches, and especially athletes to educate them on
integrity in athletics. R. Cort Kirkwoods thesis of his article states that modern athletes do not
face all their challenges with true integrity. In Tim Burns article however, the thesis states that
the reason performance-enhancing drugs are still common because they work. While these two
articles differ, the central idea of both remain the same; integrity.
In Burns article, his argument is that doping in sports demoralizes the integrity of
competition. He makes some valid points in his argument, saying doping reduces athletic
competition to a scientific competition (Burns 1). Burns gives statistics and facts to back up
what he is saying; for example, naming other athletes in different sports who have used
performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). At the beginning of the article, Burns lists three

questions to consider while reading, just to get his readers thinking how he wants them to think.
Then he continues to use facts and real life examples to help convey his message. Burns uses the
Tour De France examples like Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis back in the 2006 event to help
explain using PEDs and why they undermine the integrity of competition. He did this by saying
they used banned substances, which in effect made a mockery of competition and sports in
general. Burns did an excellent job setting up his article, grabbing the attention of readers in the
beginning, and then continuing to use statistics and examples throughout the whole editorial to
keep the readers engaged. Some may argue that a weak spot in the article is the lack of extensive
information presented. However, I feel that he was short and straight to the point with his
argument about the subject. The reason I favor this article over Kirkwoods because of his use of
real life examples. Burns explains that even with all the campaigns, penalties, crackdowns, and
rhetoric, PED use in the sporting world is still extensive, simply because, as Burns stated, it
works (Burns).
Kirkwoods article highlights the need for integrity in sports. He made a valid point when
he stated that athletes, no matter what level of play, should be humble and have an ample amount
of integrity. Kirkwood uses Lou Gehrig as his main example in his article to argue his side. He
also used facts, giving background on Gehrig and how he lived life to the fullest and was the
classiest guy you would ever meet. To start the article off, he gives background information on
Gehrig; when and where he was born, how he grew up, and his age. Straying off from the
introduction, he starts talking about Gehrigs baseball career and his ultimatum when he was
diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs Disease (ALS). Kirkwood put his article together in this fashion to
get the audience familiar with Gehrig and give an understanding of the type of person he really
was. Gehrig is an excellent example of personal integrity, but Kirkwood could have had a couple

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other real life examples to help back his argument. All the information on Gehrig was a bright
spot in his article, it is always better to give plenty of information so the reader can grasp
everything possible to understand the portraying article. Kirkwood stated in the beginning,
Gehrig faced any challenge that came his way with integrity, which is no longer the case with
most modern athletes (Kirkwood 1). Lou Gehrig was a superb real life example for Kirkwood to
choose because he epitomized the true definition of integrity.
Tim Burns did an excellent job in using multiple real life examples, such as; Lance
Armstrong and Floyd Landis, in an effort to give his viewpoint on integrity in sports. Kirkwood
also did a good job in getting his point across by using Lou Gehrig as his real life example
throughout his entire article. Both articles say how society claims to be working on fixing doping
in sports and increasing the amount of personal integrity athletes have. However, nothing has yet
to be done.

Works Cited
Burns, Tim. "Doping Undermines the Integrity of Competition." Doping. Ed. Margaret Haerens.
Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from
"Doping: A Fan's Lament." The Yarn. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9
Sept. 2014.
Kirkwood, R. Cort. "An Athlete Must Have Personal Integrity." Are Athletes Good Role Models?
Ed. Geoff Griffin. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Rpt. from "Batting a
Thousand at Being a Man." The New American (7 Aug. 2006): 34-38. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Sept. 2014.