May 18, 2005 12:24 pm US/Eastern
Sports Execs Balk At Steroids Law
Lawmakers Looking To Create Uniform Drug Policy
WASHINGTON (CBS) ―
Lawmakers looking into creating a uniform drug policy for American sports are finding a lot of opposition from the games' leaders.
Several commissioners and union executives told a House panel Wednesday that they're against a one-size-fits-all law for drug testing, saying individual sports should decide their own policies.
"A policy that is the product of agreement between management and labor will always be superior to one that is imposed from the outside," National Basketball commissioner David Stern wrote in his prepared testimony, echoing his union counterpart, Billy Hunter.
Stern said he wants to kick players out of the league for a third failed steroid test and double the punishment for a first offense.
Stern joined fellow commissioners Bud Selig of Major League Baseball, Gary Bettman of the National Hockey League and Don Garber of Major League Soccer in testifying to the House Commerce trade and consumer protection subcommittee about steroid use and testing.
The heads of those leagues' player unions and a former chairman of the U.S. Anti-Doping Association also appeared to discuss the Drug Free Sports Act. The legislation proposed last month by subcommittee chairman Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican, would govern drug testing across American professional sports, aiming to bring the testing policy in line with the Olympics.
The bill 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.
"This is not an opportunity to direct blame and to try and embarrass anyone," Stearns said in opening the hearing and describing his proposed law.
"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," the subcommittee chairman added.
Not surprisingly, nearly all of the witnesses — the most glaring exception was Selig — objected to the bipartisan bill.
Several lawmakers praised Selig for proposing tougher penalties in baseball after his sport's drug policy was slammed for being too weak during a hearing earlier this year before the House Government Reform Committee, which is conducting a separate steroids inquiry.
"Mr. Selig, you've come a long way," said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.
Texas Republican Joe Barton, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and other representatives stated that their panel has jurisdiction over the steroids issue. Barton predicted "this will result in legislation in the very near future."
(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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