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Performance Enhancers: Where’s the Line Drawn?
By Dan | January 21, 2008
Well, I was definitely wrong about the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform being a huge waste of everyone’s time. It was revealed during the hearings by Rep. John Tierney that the number of MLB players granted permission to use banned drugs for medical reasons more than tripled in 2007 from the previous season. Major League Baseball gave exemptions to 111 players, up from 35 the previous year. A majority of the players, 103, were granted exemptions for stimulants used to treat attention deficit disorder, or ADD. Two players also were granted exemptions for androgen deficiency, which would seem to imply they were granted exemptions for testosterone or other steroids. The other exemptions were for hypertension and alopecia.
The incidence of attention deficit disorder in MLB is definitely higher than that of the normal population, with estimates at around 6 to 8 times. All exemptions are granted by baseball’s independent program administrator, Dr. Bryan Smith. As a comparison, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency only granted 27 exemptions for ADD medication for their athlete population of almost 10,000.
It’s certainly an alarming trend for baseball, and one that needs to be looked further into. How do the number of exemptions leap that much in a single year? Did word spread amongst baseball players that it was pretty easy to get an exemption? Are Adderall and Ritalin being used as replacements for the amphetamines players were taking before they were banned?
This all brings up another question: Where’s the line drawn on performance enhancers? I certainly do not have a problem with MLB granting exemptions to players for legitimate medical reasons. However, if the exemptions are being abused by the players to get around the amphetamine ban, I think MLB needs to take a closer look at the rules regarding the exemptions. What’s really stopping the players from sharing the medication, as well? Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi have reportedly both failed tests for amphetamines, but they merely received a slap on the wrist. The penalty for a first-time offense is not severe.
Topics: HireDePodesta |
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