NFL’s progress on steroids not enough for Congress

By John Onan | Sunday, July 10, 2005 | ( 0 )

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The NFL and other major U.S. professional sports leagues have made improvements to their steroid testing procedures, but not enough for Congress to back off on legislation, a key congressman alleged Thursday.

House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, a Republican from Virginia, led an hour long roundtable discussion with representatives from the NFL, along with those from Major League Baseball, NBA, and NHL. The meeting was closed to journalists.

Even though the NFL has increased the number of random drug tests a player could undergo, Congress is pushing ahead on legislation. Davis, along with Arizona senator John McCain, have co-sponsored a bill that would subject athletes to a two year ban the first time they test positive for a banned substance. He was quoted as saying" There is certainly movement, but I don't think we are where we need to be yet." Currently in the NFL, a first positive test draws a four-game suspension.

David Cornwell, an attorney who has represented NFL players in appeals of positive drug tests in the past, cites this as another example of Congress of showboating. "What they are doing is dangerous and inappropriate," he says. "They are turning athletes into villains at a time when there are more important issues for Congress." Cleaning up the steroid epidemic in sports was one of the major themes of President Bush's State of the Union Address in January 2004.

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