The Clean Sports Act of 2005, a bill that proposes increased drug testing for athletes, is being pushed by many members of congress. Robert White, spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) asserts that "half a million teens" have used steroids in 2004. White said the Clean Sports Act of 2005 will solve this because athletes will be tested more intensively "like they do in the Olympics."
According to the bill, Congress finds that there is a connection between collegiate drug use and pro athlete drug use. As for collegiate athletics, the only direct mention the bill makes about the NCAA is in Section 5. The director may include "colleges and athletes participating in Division I or Division II of the NCAA as a major professional league if the Director determines that such additions would prevent the use of performance-enhancing substances by high school, college, or professional athletes."
The potential for more rigorous testing has raised concerns with some student athletes at Virginia Tech. Currently, "there is no schedule of testing," said one Tech athlete who wished to remain anonymous. "It’s like a lottery."
The athlete said that increased drug testing for athletes on campus could just be a burden and that for many drug free athletes, "testing is just a waste of time."
White said much of the bill’s focus will be on professional athletics but collegiate sports are mentioned as well.
"The testing starts at the top of the professional level," White said.
The legislation defines the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL as "Major Professional Leagues." However, the bill does mention collegiate athletics later on in a section that has led to heated debate about the need for this bill.
There is, however, some resistance from the drug testing side of the NCAA.
"I think the federal government should be on the supply side. (They should) restrict the flow of anabolic substances in the country," said Frank Uryasz, president of the National Center for Drug-Free Sport. "The federal government should handle the supply side and organizations and leagues should handle the demand side."
Despite opposition from NCAA officials and legislators in the Democratic Party, White asserts that Davis is confident it will pass.
Many studies have shown that the use of drugs in pro sports, combined with the increased use of nutritional supplements and pressure to perform all combine to create a high-pressure mindset, Uryasz said.
"The use of dietary supplements, in my opinion, leads to athletes thinking that performance can be enhanced by buying some soda, or some chemical that you buy at the nutrition store," he said.
This trend of more and more teens using performance-enhancing drugs may stem from simple things like behavior. Instead of looking at the enforcement side, he contends that looking at athletic behavior may provide a simpler solution.
Uryasz said some athletes use supplements or drugs "as opposed to those things that we know enhance performance, like good coaching, good nutrition, plenty of exercise, adequate hydration and what we discover is that (many, but not all) athletes are not eating right, not getting enough sleep or don’t always follow their training regimen.
"But they have a propensity to think that they can solve all that by taking a dietary supplement," he said. "They get into that mindset, and the next step, when they discover that the supplement doesn’t work, they resort to the use of more dangerous performance enhancing drugs."
