You hear it at every game, meet, and match. Whistles, shouting, and accusations against coaches and players alike ring through the stands no matter what sport is involved.

The type of cheating varies depending on the level of competitiveness. The more important the game, the more serious the cheating. It becomes about more than the game.

“There’s a lot of pressure… Even in high school from parents.” Says senior Taylor Love, a member of the girls’ varsity soccer team and a soccer player since age three.

Cheating in high school can be as simple as a biased referee. On the collegiate level, players’ grades can be raised by administrators to keep them on the field. Professional athletes’ use of performance-enhancing drugs has been a recurring scandal year after year.

There are many factors causing pressure in an athlete’s life. Younger, better fit players come into the field every year. Coaches, sponsors, and fellow teammates can be demanding. Love says, “Once you get up the ladder professionally, I can see where there would be a lot of pressure to [cheat], but I think that’s no excuse.”

Alex Rodriguez, also known as A-Rod, is the third basemen of the New York Yankees and the highest paid baseball player in Major League Baseball. Recently it was uncovered that he has been using performance-enhancing drugs. He has been in a legal hang-up for the past few months facing many charges and fines because of his cheating.

In situations like that of A-Rod’s, his incentive outweighed his consequences. By using the drugs, Rodriguez’s career and salary were boosted significantly. Despite the fines and punishments he received, Rodriguez still came out “on top”. He makes $33 million a year due to the boost the drugs gave him while he loses a meager $5 million in pay next year with a 211 game suspension. Not a bad situation to be in, considering he will still get about $27 million.

Love said, “I can see [why] they wanted to win so much, but it’s sad that you needed [drugs] to perform. There are so many people who have proven that just by practice you can perform well.”