The head of the baseball players’ union Tuesday told Congress that players should not be tested for steroids without reasonable grounds for suspicion, and warned against new policies that would “smear” athletes.
“This discussion can be summarized in a single word: privacy,” Donald Fehr, executive director and general counsel of the Major League Baseball Players Association, told a Senate Commerce subcommittee.
The players’ union “always [has] believed that one should not, absent compelling safety considerations, invade the privacy of someone without a substantial reason,” he said.
But Jerry Colangelo, managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, argued it is time for baseball to adopt screening policies similar to those in place in other professional sports leagues.
“If a person makes mistakes over and over again, we have to deal with it. Being a professional athlete is a privilege, not an entitlement,” Colangelo said.
The testimony marked the first time Congress has had hearings on sports drug testing since the subject began drawing intensified public attention.
Unlike the Olympics, NBA and NFL, baseball does not have a testing program aimed at detecting steroids. But the attention of lawmakers has been captured by allegations from retired star players Ken Caminiti and Jose Canseco that a high percentage of players have used performance-enhancing substances.
The issue is sure to be included in the collective bargaining talks scheduled to resume Wednesday between owners and players in Montreal.
“Three strikes and you’re out in the NBA,” said Colangelo, who is also president and CEO of basketball’s Phoenix Suns. “Random mandatory testing is not to catch anyone, but to act as a deterrent.”
Baseball owners in February presented a plan on testing to the union, calling for players to submit to three mandatory tests each year for steroids and androstenedione, a substance available at health food stores that acts like a steroid by building muscle tissue.
Steroids, which are banned in the United States except by prescription, are used by some athletes to build muscle and help in the recovery from strenuous workouts. There are adverse health consequences, however.
“No one cares more about the game, and the health of the players, than the players themselves,” Fehr said.
But he warned the possibility of over-the-counter supplements like androstenedione could trigger false positive tests and hamper any testing plans.
The union and owners called on Congress to revisit the issue of regulating over-the-counter supplements.
Fehr also warned public health issues with steroids would not be solved by baseball instituting a testing policy.
“If children are using these substances, it is in large part because 11-year-olds can walk into the store and buy them,” Fehr said. “It’s a much bigger question than what we do.”
