The topic of an argumentative essay on sports must contain a clear argument, so that readers are certain around which issue the paper revolves. General statements, such as "sports are a fun activity" can only lead to an essay filled with generalizations, vague remarks and few -- or no -- hard facts. Furthermore, you cannot support feelings or personal beliefs that are not based on evidence, such as, for example, blaming football's violence just because you don't like it; such topics can seriously harm your essay's credibility.
Another issue you must take into consideration is the level of research you can conduct within the set deadline. In addition, examine the sources you can use to base your arguments on. For example, high-school students may not have the time or resources needed to thoroughly cover a topic, such as whether soccer benefits Latino communities financially or not. A well-researched essay on a simple topic has more value than a disappointing paper with an extravagant title.
Writing an essay means you can express your opinion freely, but when your topic refers to an immoral or illegal issue, finding arguments in support can be difficult, if not impossible, ultimately leading to a one-way coverage. For instance, steroid use in college basketball is a topic on which you cannot argue in favor based on scientific studies or on moral grounds. Therefore, your argumentative essay will end up being a presentation of the negative effects of steroids abuse on young athletes.
A number of online sources offer suggestions on argumentative essay topics in a variety of fields, including sports (See Resources). Straightforward and interesting issues include the abolition of the offside rule in soccer, reliance on technology in sports, the impact of video games on the future generations of sports starts and the need for lower divisions on national US sports leagues (NBA, NFL, NHL).