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All But Selig Are Against Proposed Steroid Testing Bill
The NBA wants to kick players out of the league for a third failed doping test and double the punishment for a first offense, commissioner David Stern told a U.S. congressional panel on Wednesday.
The latest example of a U.S. pro sport moving to tighten its drug policy in the face of congressional scrutiny came during a rare gathering of some of the most powerful people in American sports. Stern was joined fellow commissioners Bud Selig of Major League Baseball, Gary Bettman of the NHL, and Don Garber of Major League Soccer in testifying before the House Commerce trade and consumer protection subcommittee about doping and testing.
The heads of those leagues' player unions and a former chairman of the U.S. Anti-Doping Association also were scheduled to appear at a hearing to discuss the Drug Free Sports Act. The legislation proposed last month by subcommittee chairman Cliff Stearns would govern drug testing across American pro sports, aiming to bring them in line with the Olympics.
It would have the commerce secretary oversee rules on drug testing, and calls for a two-year suspension for a first offense and a lifetime ban for a second. Leagues that don't comply would be fined at least $5 million.
"I am not convinced that an effective solution to this problem can be found in a system that allows those with a vested interest in the performance of the players and leagues to simply police themselves," Stearns said in opening the hearing.
Not surprisingly, nearly all of the witnesses - the most glaring exception was Selig - objected to the bipartisan bill.
"A policy that is the product of agreement between management and labor will always be superior to one that is imposed from the outside," Stern wrote in his prepared testimony, echoing his union counterpart, Billy Hunter.
In his prepared testimony, Stern revealed proposals the NBA made to its players during ongoing negotiations to replace a labor deal that expires on June 30. A first steroid offense would draw a 10-game suspension in an 82-game season, a second would draw 25 games, and a third would result in a player being "dismissed and disqualified from the NBA," with the possibility of reinstatement after two years under "exceptional circumstances." Currently, a first offense gets a five-game ban, a second gets 10 games, and a third gets 25.
Stern wants to increase the number of random tests for all players to four per season (only rookies face that many now), add one random offseason test, and add to the list of banned substances.
When its current drug policy was instituted in 1999, Stern told the committee, the NBA "had no evidence of even minimal use of steroids or performance-enhancing drugs by NBA players. Nor are we aware of such evidence today."
Two NBA players are believed to have been suspended for steroid use since 1999.
The NHL - which canceled its 2004-05 season in a labor dispute - doesn't test for performance-enhancing substances at all, but Bettman and union head Bob Goodenow told the committee they plan to add random testing and discipline to a new collective bargaining agreement.
Selig reiterated that he would support government legislation unless MLB's union agrees to toughen the sport's drug policy.
However, Major League Players Association executive director Donald Fehr was critical of the bill, and lodged other complaints, ranging from Fourth Amendment issues to a "problematic and confusing" section on appeals. He joined Stern and Goodenow in calling the penalties too harsh, with Fehr saying: "A two-year suspension for a first offense would, as a practical matter, end the player's career in the vast majority of circumstances."
Stearns' panel will hear from NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw on Thursday.
Also that day, Stern, Hunter, Washington Wizards guard Juan Dixon and Houston Rockets trainer Keith Jones are to testify before the House Government Reform Committee, which questioned MLB and the NFL last month. The leaders of that committee plan to jointly announce their own proposed legislation.
Source: AP
The latest example of a U.S. pro sport moving to tighten its drug policy in the face of congressional scrutiny came during a rare gathering of some of the most powerful people in American sports. Stern was joined fellow commissioners Bud Selig of Major League Baseball, Gary Bettman of the NHL, and Don Garber of Major League Soccer in testifying before the House Commerce trade and consumer protection subcommittee about doping and testing.
The heads of those leagues' player unions and a former chairman of the U.S. Anti-Doping Association also were scheduled to appear at a hearing to discuss the Drug Free Sports Act. The legislation proposed last month by subcommittee chairman Cliff Stearns would govern drug testing across American pro sports, aiming to bring them in line with the Olympics.
It would have the commerce secretary oversee rules on drug testing, and calls for a two-year suspension for a first offense and a lifetime ban for a second. Leagues that don't comply would be fined at least $5 million.
"I am not convinced that an effective solution to this problem can be found in a system that allows those with a vested interest in the performance of the players and leagues to simply police themselves," Stearns said in opening the hearing.
Not surprisingly, nearly all of the witnesses - the most glaring exception was Selig - objected to the bipartisan bill.
"A policy that is the product of agreement between management and labor will always be superior to one that is imposed from the outside," Stern wrote in his prepared testimony, echoing his union counterpart, Billy Hunter.
In his prepared testimony, Stern revealed proposals the NBA made to its players during ongoing negotiations to replace a labor deal that expires on June 30. A first steroid offense would draw a 10-game suspension in an 82-game season, a second would draw 25 games, and a third would result in a player being "dismissed and disqualified from the NBA," with the possibility of reinstatement after two years under "exceptional circumstances." Currently, a first offense gets a five-game ban, a second gets 10 games, and a third gets 25.
Stern wants to increase the number of random tests for all players to four per season (only rookies face that many now), add one random offseason test, and add to the list of banned substances.
When its current drug policy was instituted in 1999, Stern told the committee, the NBA "had no evidence of even minimal use of steroids or performance-enhancing drugs by NBA players. Nor are we aware of such evidence today."
Two NBA players are believed to have been suspended for steroid use since 1999.
The NHL - which canceled its 2004-05 season in a labor dispute - doesn't test for performance-enhancing substances at all, but Bettman and union head Bob Goodenow told the committee they plan to add random testing and discipline to a new collective bargaining agreement.
Selig reiterated that he would support government legislation unless MLB's union agrees to toughen the sport's drug policy.
However, Major League Players Association executive director Donald Fehr was critical of the bill, and lodged other complaints, ranging from Fourth Amendment issues to a "problematic and confusing" section on appeals. He joined Stern and Goodenow in calling the penalties too harsh, with Fehr saying: "A two-year suspension for a first offense would, as a practical matter, end the player's career in the vast majority of circumstances."
Stearns' panel will hear from NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw on Thursday.
Also that day, Stern, Hunter, Washington Wizards guard Juan Dixon and Houston Rockets trainer Keith Jones are to testify before the House Government Reform Committee, which questioned MLB and the NFL last month. The leaders of that committee plan to jointly announce their own proposed legislation.
Source: AP
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