whole 2014 season.
It took a public
PenaltiesforPEDs
Whythepunishmentshouldbe
moresevereforprofessional
athleteswhouseperformance
enhancingdrugs
OliviaCatena April17,2017 baseball history.ii
Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens,
Lance Armstrong: these are all
successful athletes that we have
come to know and love. One more
thing they have in common? They
have all been caught using banned
performance enhancing
substances. However, the use of
these prohibited substances hasnt
seemed to taint their overall
legacy.
Alex Rodriguez first tested
positive for steroid use in 2003,
but, this story didnt break until
2009 when Rodriguez admitted in
an interview with ESPN that he
took banned substances during
the 2001-2003 seasons.i Rodriguez
wasnt penalized until five years
later when the New York Yankees
suspended him for 162 games: the
scandal for the MLB to do
anything to punish Rodriguez for
his actions. This one season
suspension is still the most severe
punishment for steroid use in
This happens to be the story of
many athletes who get caught
using banned performance
enhancing drugs. There have been
many instances where this abuse
has gone unnoticed or
unpunished. The lack of
consequences doesnt provide
athletes with a realistic fear of
facing penalties for their actions.
The culture around performance
enhancing drug use needs to
change in order for the problem to
be diminished.
John McCain attempted to fight
this problem with his proposed
Clean Sports Act that increased
penalties to the same level of those
in the Olympics. I am advocating
for a new congressional
legislation, similar to the Clean
1
Sports Act, that stiffens penalties incentive for the MLB to change
in every major professional sports their testing procedures, and
league for first time, and repeat, penalties.
users of performance enhancing
In the past few years there has
drugs. This issue brief will discuss
been a surge in the amount of
what has already been done in
banned substance testing that is
professional sports to combat this
being conducted across the board
problem, what needs to be done,
of professional sports. The NHL
and why the benefits of this policy
and MLB have both improved
exceed the drawbacks.
their testing methods and have
begun to require more testing all
together. However, this is only a
History of Changes solution for half of the problem.
Testing players more often only
The Biogenisis scandal of 2013 was
allows teams to identify which
the spark that ignited major
players have been abusing the
change in major league baseball.
drug policy. Between the years
This scandal broke in 2013 when a
2013 and 2015 the number of total
former employee of the anti-aging
drug tests in the MLB increased by
clinic presented evidence that
almost 3,000. There was a sudden
Biogenisis was supplying several
rise in positive results that MLB
high-profile players with
officials equate to better testing
performance enhancing drugs.iii
technology and a rise in the use of
Among the names present in the
a new drug.iv
records were those of former
MVPs Alex Rodriguez and Ryan
Braun, along with other notable
players. This newfound,
controversial information created

2
 performing well, it draws in a
larger audience. High
performance means a greater
revenue for baseball. Playing well
will also give individual players a
higher salary. Everyone makes
In 2014, the MLB responded to the
more money when athletes
Biogenisis scandal by changing the
perform better. The use of
way they penalized players who
performance enhancing drugs is
test positive for banned
one method used to get better,
substances. A three strike system
quicker. One could say it is better
was created where a first-time
to turn the other cheek, dont run
violation would result in an 80
as many tests, and dont
game, unpaid suspension, a
administer strict penalties.
second-time violation results in a
However, isnt the natural talent of
unpaid 162 game suspension, and
athletes more impressive than
a third violation results in a
how they perform on PEDs?
permanent suspension.v However,
Stricter penalties have been in
even with the increase in testing,
place for the past three years, but
and surge of positive results, the
the response has not been
MLB still only sanctioned five
adequate. More needs to be done
serious suspensions in 2015 and
in order to combat the issue at
only four in 2016.vi The higher
hand.
frequency of testing does not solve
the problem of the usage of
performance enhancing drugs in Previous Legislation
professional sports.
In 2005 the commissioners of the
Some may argue that this testing is MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS
taking it too far. When players are met with Congress to discuss a

3
proposed bill, The Clean Sports face legal penalties for this
Act. This legislation would action.viii
regulate drug testing among all
There has yet to be a legal policy
professional sports leagues. The
that regulates penalties for the use
bill proposed penalties that match
of banned substances across the
the international and Olympic
board of professional sports. Each
rules. For the first positive test a
league has its own set of rules and
two-year suspension would be
regulations that athletes are
sanctioned, and a second positive
expected to abide by. It is
test would result in a lifetime
unreasonable that each sport has a
ban.vii The Clean Sports Act died
different penalty for the same level
in a later congressional hearing
of misconduct. Every major league
and was never enacted. A policy
organization should expect the
like this, one that hold all players
same of its athletes, and punish
responsible for their actions, is
them in the same measure if they
what professional sports today
do not meet those expectations.
need.

In 2006 President Bush signed the International and Olympic

Office of National Drug Control Penalties
Policy Reauthorization Act. This
The rules that are in place
prohibits the use of gene doping
internationally for the Olympics
and bans any athlete that uses
are structured in a way that
genetic modification for
presents a no tolerance policy for
performance enhancing purposes
the use of banned substances.
from all athletic competition. The
Each athlete is penalized with the
World Anti-Doping Agency had
same consequences no matter
previously banned gene doping in
what sport they participate in. All
2003, but now athletes could also
Olympic sports comply with the

4
World Anti-Doping Agencys list
of banned substances. Athletes are
allowed to be randomly tested at
any time whether they are in
competition or not. With the first
positive test result, a minimum of
a two-year suspension is
administered. With a second
offense, the punishment is a
lifetime ban. The Olympic games
only come around every four
years. An athletes first offense
prohibits them from competing for
half the amount of time they have
to prepare for the games. A
suspension like this is detrimental
to an athletes progress, and could
cause them to not be able to
participate in the event they have
been training for their whole life.
This is enough of a threat to
discourage athletes from
participating in the use of these
banned substances. A
congressional legislation that
implements these penalties in
every major league organization
would work better to solve the
problem at hand.
The above map highlights the
countries with athletes in the Rio
summer games who have had a
doping suspension. It is clear that
there is action being taken against
those who violate the Olympic
drug policy. This is evidently
different from the low number of
suspensions that the MLB has
sanctioned in the past couple
years.
The testing procedures are also
stricter in the Olympic arena.
Athletes can be tested anytime
from the second the Olympic
village opens, to the end of the
closing ceremony. In-competition
tests occur immediately after an
event, and out-of-competition tests
5
can happen at any time when the
athlete is in the village, or
watching another event. Each
athlete must also report a place
and a time window where they
can be found every day in case
they are chosen for out-of-
competition testing. A missed test
is the equivalent of a failed test.
Any athlete who is found to have
violated the anti-doping policy
with an in-competition test will
have their results disqualified
from that event. The results from
all other events they participated
in in that years games could be
ix
disqualified as well. This means
that athletes can be stripped of
their medals if they use any type
of banned substance.
A policy similar to this should be
implemented into professional
sports as well. A two strike rule
would be more effective in
preventing the use of banned
substances because the first time
an athlete gets caught, they suffer
detrimental consequences. This
would prevent more people from
even trying performance
enhancing drugs in the first place,
and it would work to abolish
repeat users. Any athlete who
cares about the sport they play
wouldnt want to risk being
suspended for life.
Side Effects
If the morality of this issue isnt
enough cause to reform the
policies in place today, the danger
behind it should be. Anabolic
agents, such as testosterone and
steroids, can have negative
physiological and psychological
issues. They can cause liver
damage, premature closure of
growth centers in bones, increased
aggressiveness, depression, and
other gender specific side effects.
Steroid use has been linked to the
suicide of a number of athletes,
with depression being a symptom
of withdrawal. More deaths
related to cardiovascular problems
6
have also been attributed to the
use of performance enhancing
drugs.x
Athletes are popping pills,
injecting unfiltered substances and
ingesting chemical elements.
Practices such as these ones are
not safe for anyone. The job of any
legal system is to protect the
people. Something must be done
to stop the use of these substances,
and protect the athletes who feel
as though they have no other
choice. The athletes who choose
not to participate in this behavior
are now at a disadvantage for
doing the right thing.xi These
substances are banned for more
than the fact that they make
competition unfair. They are
dangerous drugs and can
compromise the health of anyone
who uses them. If there is a policy
in place that rightfully punishes
players of every major league
professional sport in the same
manner, the use of these harmful
substances would decrease.
Ultimately, the number of athletes
who use banned substances and
are not punished for it is alarming.
Baseball officials acknowledged a
surge in positive test results, but
still only sanctioned a miniscule
number of suspensions in the past
few years. The changes that have
been made in professional sports
to combat this issue clearly havent
been enough. More frequent
testing is a step in the right
direction. However, it doesnt
mean anything if such little is
being done about positive results.
No previous legislation has been
enacted to make regulations
universal among major sports
leagues. Uniformity for all
professional sports will make the
process of drug testing, and
punishment much easier and
more fair. The Olympic rules are
strict enough to discourage
athletes from using banned
substances, and their testing
procedures are able to effectively
detect when an athlete is in
7
violation of policy. A legislation competition more regulated, more
that mocks the Olympic process is fair and more safe.
necessary in professional sports
leagues, and will make

8
i "Historical Timeline - Drug Use in Sports - ProCon.org." Should Performance Enhancing Drugs (such as
Steroids) Be Accepted in Sports? N.p., 8 Aug. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

ii Sanchez, Ray. "Alex Rodriguez Suspended for Entire 2014 Season." CNN. Cable News Network, 13 Jan.
2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

iii Solomon, Michael. "The Biogenesis PEDs Scandal Explained." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media,
02 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

iv Stark, Jayson. "MLB Drug Testing Sees Year-over-year Increase." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 06 May
2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

v Calcaterra, Craig. "MLB, MLBPA Announce Stronger Testing, Harsher Penalties for PEDs." HardballTalk.
N.p., 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

vi "MLB Drug Suspensions Database." Newsday. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

vii "Drug Policy Coverage." Major League Baseball. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

viii "Historical Timeline - Drug Use in Sports - ProCon.org." Should Performance Enhancing Drugs (such as
Steroids) Be Accepted in Sports? N.p., 8 Aug. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

ix "IOC Releases Anti-Doping Rules for 2016 Rio Olympic Games." SwimSwam. N.p., 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 12
Apr. 2017.

x "Effects of Performance-Enhancing Drugs | USADA." U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). N.p., n.d. Web.
12 Apr. 2017.

xi Rosenberg, Michael. "Michael Rosenberg: Don't Take Easy Way Out; PEDs Are Bad for People, including
Athletes." SI.com. Sports Illustrated, 05 Aug. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.