MLB's Own False Positive on Steroid Management

By Diane M. Grassi

So far we have celebrated many fine individual as well as team performances nearly halfway through this exciting 2004 Major League Baseball season. But sometimes it is important to take stock of the health of the game, how it will continue to draw fans in the future and how the present era will stock up against others historically. In that vein the issue of steroid use is one which sadly still continues to hover with ties to other sports as well.

Weeks ago, little attention was paid by the press concerning actions taken by U.S. Track and Field and the banishment of sprinter Kelli White, the gold medal World Champion in 2003 in the women's 100 meter and 200 meter races. As the result of the BALCO investigation and Grand Jury hearings held in late 2003 and early 2004, White will be prevented from competing for two years and from this summer's Olympic Games and stripped of her 2003 medals as well as all of her previous medals going back to 2000. She was the first casualty and sacrificial lamb in this media nightmare involving the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the BALCO investigation. Her trainer, Remi Korchemney, was previously indicted for distributing illegal steroids, as was Barry Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson. What is disturbing and unclear about this suspension was in the way in which any positive results were acquired or if indeed there were positive results.

Ms. White was taking the undetectable THG, now considered a steroid, and another growth hormone substance, EPO, at the time of the 2003 World Championships, but was not found to be positive at that time. There had not been a test which could detect either substance at the time. It was only after the BALCO investigation reached the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee that the USADA was able to request the Quest Diagnostics results and re-test them, now that there is a new test available for the suspected substances. But Kelli White was not banned because of a positive test result. She admitted her use and a positive test was never confirmed. The USADA has reserved the right to go back to 2000 and re-test samples for any suspected athletes, if not all. U.S. athletes can then be stripped of their previously won medals from years before and from taking part in future competitions including the upcoming Olympic Games.

"So what?" you say. "Who cares about Track and Field?" Well, on the face of it, it remains at least scary, since according to Track and Field Rules and the USADA they "allow athletes to also be suspended without a positive drug test if there's evidence they've purchased or used banned drugs." They have just in the past few weeks upped the ante to be able to ban athletes for life based on no positive tests at all, but rather on e-mail messages, phone calls, and associations. Kelli White's banishment, without a positive test, set the bar for the status of all suspected athletes.

But fortunately MLB does not impose such banishment based upon circumstantial evidence. At this time there is at least the appearance of impropriety on behalf of Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Benito Santiago based upon testimony, but at least MLB and all professional team sports require a positive test. It is simply unacceptable to retroactively test for substances which were not on the "banned list" at such time they were used and to ban athletes who didn't even necessarily use the drugs but may have given the appearance of having used them. Track and Field athletes do not have a union to back them. Their only recourse is arbitration, not a court of law, which historically has always ruled against the athlete.

At the beginning of this season MLB and the Players Association agreed in substance that all future testing should be done by the World Doping Agency and USADA although it has not been officially documented as of yet. All such talk has since stalled with no explanation. Additionally, the Senate Commerce Committee subpoenaed the 2003 test results from Spring Training reserving the right to possibly re-test them using the new protocol for THG as well as other substances. There is still dispute over whether those results will be publicly disclosed, although some results may be subpoenaed during the upcoming BALCO trial.

Perhaps there should be some middle ground here. We should test for the now known substances since the time at which the tests became available. As far as the criminal case goes, that should stand on its own, and if positive test results are made available to Major League Baseball for players who used now banned substances, they should be dealt with on a case by case basis. Had it not been for the BALCO case coming to light, MLB would not have even been implicated nor any of its players. However, a little common sense must be applied for world class track athletes. It sets a terrible precedent for professional athletes of all kinds, and for other many industries as well. Both MLB and U.S. Track and Field are at opposite ends of the spectrum, and neither is in a healthy place on policy.

According to most polls, most baseball fans are not upset about possible steroid use by Major League Baseball players, although if there was a cohesive plan for the future I think fans would applaud it. The Commissioner's Office cannot have it both ways. Either work with the Players Union to come up with a fair and equitable plan which has some bite to it, or simply take it off the table. While it's important to clean up baseball for the good of the game and its future prosperity, MLB has been rather disingenuous about "cleaning up the game." Right now it opens up an unwanted can of worms for the Commissioner's Office. MLB's players will never be banned for life should they test positive for steroid use, nor should they. After all, look at all of the chances ball players have gotten when testing positive for using illegal recreational drugs. By the same token, we cannot destroy entire careers of the many unheralded Olympic athletes who largely run for pride based merely on suspicion. The powers that be must do what is fair and right for all athletes concerned as well as their fans and the future of sports.