Drug testing in golf could begin this weekend |
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Today recently embattled Roger Clemens and Mitchell Report whistleblower Brian McNamee, who served primarily as the legendary pitcher’s personal trainer during his career, are scheduled to appear before Congress on a day of reckoning for baseball that will only be surpassed if Barry Bonds is forced to do the same. Baseball’s problems with illegal drugs, specifically Human Growth Hormone and steroids, seem to hit a new rock bottom with each additional revelation. While one sport sits at the end of a dreaded era unlikely to be forgotten, golf is about to make its initial foray into testing its athletes. While the PGA TOUR isn’t scheduled to begin testing until early July, sometime around the AT&T National at Congressional and The John Deere Classic in Illinois, the LPGA has warned players that testing could start this weekend with the season-opening SBS Open in Hawaii. LPGA players could theoretically be tested just minutes after leaving the 18th green and signing their scorecards. The LPGA has agreed that they will conduct “in-competition testing”, meaning all testing will take place at tournaments when players will be checked on as soon after the completion of their rounds as possible – and the players have apparently been made aware of that. Concerns have surfaced but not anything like the typical apprehensions associated with drug testing in sports such as football and baseball. Defending SBS Open champion Paula Creamer recently stated that for her, awareness of what exactly goes into her diet in regards to things like protein shakes and energy bars, will become a priority. The LPGA banned substance list is quite similar to the list of prohibited items appearing on the PGA TOUR’s policy. Steroids, beta-blockers and other performance-enhancing drugs are banned, as are the so-called recreational drugs like cocaine and marijuana. While the PGA’s testing won’t begin until July, it was outlined during a series of meetings the week of San Diego’s Buick Invitational. PGA TOUR drug testing will conform to World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines. The WADA is the same organization which governs the Olympics in addition to a significant number of other sports. Reaction from players during the sessions at the Buick Invitational was mixed and one player in particular questioned the PGA TOUR’s use of WADA standards. Frank Lickliter was one of the more outspoken opponents of the policy, noting he wasn’t quite sure why tour adopted WADA guidelines, noting that Vick’s Vapor Inhalor is prohibited. “If I use Vick’s nasal spray three times, they can kick me off the tour forever,” he told the Canadian Press. “Now, do you think Vick’s nasal spray is helping me compete out there?” Lickliter’s reference to a repeated offense, however silly it may have been, was accurate in regards to the penalties associated with a failed test. For performance-enhancing drugs, the penalty for a first offense will be up to a one-year suspension, with a maximum five-year suspension for a second offense and a potentially lifetime ban for a third offense. Finchem will decide on the penalties for so-called “drugs of abuse”. Lickliter might just be able to use a bottle of Vick’s if approved by the Tour and WADA. An exception can be granted for certain drugs under the Therapeutic Use Exemption which states: Athletes, like all others, may have illnesses or conditions that require them to take particular medications. If the medication an athlete is required to take to treat an illness or condition happens to fall under the prohibited list, a Therapeutic Use Exemption may give that athlete the authorization to take the needed medicine. Essentially if Tiger Woods comes down with a case of adult-onset Chicken Pox, he can take prescribed steroids to help him recover without penalty. Whisperings from one of the game’s icons and the head honcho of WADA perhaps prompted the Tour to even adapt a testing policy before the start of the 2008 season. At last year’s British Open Gary Player said that at least one player had admitted to him in confidence that he took performance-enhancing substances. “It comes from one of the icons of golf who has no particular ax to grind out there now, other than to try to maintain the integrity of the sport,” WADA chairman Dick Pound told BBC radio last July in response to Player’s comments. “It’s a wake-up call that has not come in such stark terms to date from the golf community. I don’t know how widespread it is because there is no testing.” In late January the WADA applauded the actions taken by the PGA TOUR to institute an anti-doping program based on the World Anti-Doping code stating on its Web site, “We congratulate the PGA TOUR for taking the initiative to ensure measures are in place that help, protect athlete health and the sport’s integrity.” It is almost certain that the public will withhold such applause. Not that there is any evidence to suggest that public opinion lends itself to the belief that golfers are using performance-enhancing drugs, there at least has to be some doubt. After all, it is my opinion that men like Bonds began using to keep up with their peers who were hitting home runs at a pace never before seen. With so much money at stake, it is obvious why professional athletes cheat to gain an advantage. I’m rooting for both the PGA and LPGA Tours to emerge from this initial round of testing with a clean slate but with a record $278 million in prize money at stake on the PGA TOUR this season, you can’t help but wonder. In a world where innocent until proven guilty no longer resonates among fans, members of the media and fellow athletes, we all have to hope golf is able to maintain its integrity where so many have failed. |
