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Tagliabue Against Uniform Drug Testing

Posted on: Thursday, 28 April 2005, 00:00 CDT

WASHINGTON - A law setting uniform drug-testing rules for major U.S. sports would be a mistake, National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Wednesday under questioning from House lawmakers skeptical that professional leagues are doing enough.

"We don't feel that there is rampant cheating in our sport," Tagliabue told the House Government Reform Committee.

Lawmakers asked whether the size of today's NFL players is evidence of steroid use. They criticized football's penalties as too lenient and asked whether amphetamines should be banned and when growth hormone will be tested for.

"How is the average American supposed to look at the size, strength and speed of today's NFL linebackers and not conclude that they might be taking performance-enhancing drugs?" said the committee chairman, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.

Tagliabue replied: "We're certainly not going to jump to the conclusion that because we have larger athletes today there is increased steroid use in the National Football League. I think it's nonsense."

Worried that steroid use among pro athletes encourages youths to try the drugs, the committee is examining the testing policies of more than a half-dozen sports.

Committee members were far less adversarial than they were last month, when Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and other current and former baseball stars were compelled to appear and faced tough questions about steroid use.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who also appeared at that hearing, was roundly criticized for the punishments in his sport's policy, which lawmakers said was too lenient.

Lawmakers generally praised the NFL for its cooperation. More than one committee member said the hearing was a "breath of fresh air" compared to the session with Major League Baseball.

Still, the committee did not get a direct answer as to how widespread steroid use might be in the NFL.

"The percentage of NFL players who test positive for steroids is very low," said the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Henry Waxman of California. "Is this because the policy is working or is this because players have figured out how to avoid detection?"

Only two NFL players - both retired - were present. One was Hall of Famer Gene Upshaw, invited because he is chief executive of the NFL Players Association.

"We would be naive to not be aware that there are people out there who are trying to stay ahead of the curve," Upshaw said. "As soon as we find out abut something, we do something about it."

Also testifying was Steve Courson, an offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1978-85. He has admitted using steroids and said they probably played a role in his heart condition.

Asked by Waxman what percentage of pro football players use steroids today, Courson said: "That would be very hard for me to determine. I've been out of the game for 20 years."

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said that if Congress was "serious about investigating steroid use among football players today," lawmakers should hear from current players.

Davis promised more hearings and said the National Basketball Association will be next.

He said that he and Waxman are working with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on legislation that would put sports' banned substance lists and testing protocols under the auspices of the White House drug chief, but might leave penalties up to the leagues.

Yet Congress has shown over the years a reluctance to legislate professional sports policy.

Steroids boost strength but can lead to heart attacks, strokes, cancer, sterility and mood swings. Since 1991, it has been illegal to use most steroids without a doctor's prescription for medical purposes.

"Let everybody compete under the same rules and the same platforms and that's what an across-the-board policy does," Davis said after the hearing.

Tagliabue disagreed.

"When it comes to process and other considerations, including discipline, we can deal with our own sport better than a uniform standard, which in many cases can become the lowest common denominator," he told Waxman.

The NFL began testing in 1987, added suspensions in 1989, and instituted year-round random testing in 1990. Fifty-four players have been suspended, and Tagliabue said an additional 57 retired after testing positive. A first offense carries a four-game ban.

Just ahead of the hearing, the NFL announced it is tripling from two to six the number of random offseason tests that players can face.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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