Professional athletes wield a palpable power in today’s social media-based world. What they do, what they wear, who they like; all of it is on display and creates trends with pop culture consumers. Is this necessarily a good thing? This collection of essays addresses several controversies related to professional athletes. Essays are arranged in a for-or-against format so readers benefit from more than one viewpoint. Readers will evaluate the role of professional athletes in society, and policies regarding performance-enhancing drugs. They will examine whether athletes’ free expression should be limited, and other controversies such as gambling problems, and high salaries.