2.3.2.

NBA Anti-Drug Program

The NBA and Players Association Collective Bargaining Agreement (2011) provides for
an anti-drug program (National Basketball Association, Collective Bargaining
Agreement, Article XXXIII, Anti-Drug Program, 335–398 (2011)). Under the NBA
Substance Abuse Policy, the NBA and Players Association jointly select a medical
director and an independent expert experienced in substance abuse detection to
administer the program and jointly form a Prohibited Substance Committee. Urine
testing is conducted for more than 160 prohibited substances, which include steroids,
PEDs and masking agents, marijuana, and other substances the committee deems
necessary to ban. Players are encouraged to “voluntarily come forward” under the drugs
of abuse or marijuana program and enter treatment programs. Players may be randomly
tested six times per year, or additionally at any time for reasonable cause. Notice of a
positive test is sent to the Players Association and involved player, who may request
testing of the B sample within five days. A player determined to have used, possessed, or
distributed a prohibited substance may appeal in grievance arbitration, and if
unsuccessful, he may face immediate dismissal or disqualification from the NBA.
Players may seek reinstatement after a period of at least one to two years from the
disqualification. However, the NBA’s recent record in PED testing is not an exemplary
one. Only eight players have been suspended for PED use since 2000 raising questions
about the program’s effectiveness (NBA Suspends Magic’s Turkaglu for Positive Steroid
Test, 2013).
2 . 3 . 3 . MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program
MLB was last among the major U.S. professional sport leagues to establish an anti-
doping policy in 2004, in response to intense pressure by Congress and the public. The
reason for this could have been a combination of greed and denial. The fallout from a
1994 strike and lockout led to decreased attendance at ballparks in the ensuing years
(Fainaru-Wada and Williams, 2007). The steroid-fueled 1998 home run race, which
resulted in Mark McGuire breaking the single-season home run record, brought fans back
to the game in droves (Fainaru-Wada and Williams, 2007). Steroids were lining the
pockets of owners and players taking away any incentive for MLB to have a doping
policy. This changed in 2003 when a law enforcement raid on the offices of the Bay Area
Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO), owned and operated by Victor Conte, uncovered
evidence of widespread use of performance-enhancing substances and masking agents
implicating a number of star baseball players and other elite athletes. This federal
criminal investigation, as well as information that indicated rising steroid use among
youth, prompted MLB to commission a formal investigation led by former U.S. Senate
majority leader George Mitchell. The Mitchell Report indicated that each of the thirty
clubs had players who had been involved with performance enhancing drugs at some
point, describing this as the “steroids era” in MLB. Players linked to the BALCO scandal
or other steroid use included Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Marvin
Bernard. The Mitchell Report confirmed extensive steroid use among MLB players and
that “the players’ union, owners, team physicians, trainers, and even the Commissioner
himself” knew of the rampant doping and did nothing