<DOC>
[109th Congress House Hearings]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID: f:21484.wais]
STEROID USE IN SPORTS PART III: EXAMINING THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATION'S STEROID TESTING PROGRAM
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
GOVERNMENT REFORM
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MAY 19, 2005
__________
Serial No. 109-28
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house
http://www.house.gov/reform
______
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COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM
TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
DAN BURTON, Indiana TOM LANTOS, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York
JOHN L. MICA, Florida PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania
GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio
TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois
CHRIS CANNON, Utah WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri
JOHN J. DUNCAN, Jr., Tennessee DIANE E. WATSON, California
CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts
MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland
DARRELL E. ISSA, California LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California
GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland
JON C. PORTER, Nevada BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
KENNY MARCHANT, Texas ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of
LYNN A. WESTMORELAND, Georgia Columbia
PATRICK T. McHENRY, North Carolina ------
CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina (Independent)
------ ------
Melissa Wojciak, Staff Director
David Marin, Deputy Staff Director/Communications Director
Rob Borden, Parliamentarian
Teresa Austin, Chief Clerk
Phil Barnett, Minority Chief of Staff/Chief Counsel
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on May 19, 2005..................................... 1
Statement of:
Stern, David J., commissioner, National Basketball
Association; Richard W. Buchanan, senior vice president and
general counsel, National Basketball Association; G.
William Hunter, executive director, National Basketball
Players Association; Keith Jones, athletic trainer, Houston
Rockets; and Juan Dixon, player, Washington Wizards........ 28
Buchanan, Richard W...................................... 41
Dixon, Juan.............................................. 58
Hunter, G. William....................................... 42
Jones, Keith............................................. 53
Stern, David J........................................... 28
Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by:
Cummings, Hon. Elijah E., a Representative in Congress from
the State of Maryland, prepared statement of............... 18
Davis, Chairman Tom, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Virginia:
Prepared statement of.................................... 5
Prepared statement of Dr. Lloyd Baccus, medical director,
NBA.................................................... 23
Dixon, Juan, player, Washington Wizards, prepared statement
of......................................................... 59
Gutknecht, Hon. Gil, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Minnesota, basketball statistics.................. 65
Hunter, G. William, executive director, National Basketball
Players Association, prepared statement of................. 45
Jones, Keith, athletic trainer, Houston Rockets, prepared
statement of............................................... 55
Maloney, Hon. Carolyn B., a Representative in Congress from
the State of New York, prepared statement of............... 89
Porter, Hon. Jon C., a Representative in Congress from the
State of Nevada, prepared statement of..................... 92
Ruppersberger, Hon. C.A. Dutch, a Representative in Congress
from the State of Maryland, prepared statement of.......... 74
Stern, David J., commissioner, National Basketball
Association, prepared statement of......................... 30
Watson, Hon. Diane E., a Representative in Congress from the
State of California, prepared statement of................. 87
Waxman, Hon. Henry A., a Representative in Congress from the
State of California, prepared statement of................. 11
STEROID USE IN SPORTS PART III: EXAMINING THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATION'S STEROID TESTING PROGRAM
----------
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2005
House of Representatives,
Committee on Government Reform,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:39 a.m., in
room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Tom Davis
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Davis of Virginia, Gutknecht,
Souder, Issa, Brown-Waite, Porter, Marchant, McHenry, Dent,
Waxman, Sanders, Maloney, Cummings, Kucinich, Clay, Lynch, Van
Hollen, Sanchez, Ruppersberger, and Higgins.
Staff present: Melissa Wojciak, staff director; David
Marin, deputy staff director/communications director; Keith
Ausbrook, chief counsel; Ellen Brown, legislative director and
senior policy counsel; Jennifer Safavian, chief counsel for
oversight and investigations; Anne Marie Turner, counsel;
Robert Borden, counsel/parliamentarian; Rob White, press
secretary; Drew Crockett, deputy director of communications;
Susie Schulte, professional staff member; Teresa Austin, chief
clerk; Sarah D'Orsie, deputy clerk; Corinne Zaccagnini, chief
information officer; Phil Schiliro, minority chief of staff;
Phil Barnett, minority staff director/chief counsel; Kristin
Amerling, minority deputy chief counsel; Karen Lightfoot,
minority communications director/senior policy advisor; Earley
Green, minority chief clerk; Jean Gosa, minority assistant
clerk; and Cecilia Morton, minority office manager.
Chairman Tom Davis. Good morning. The committee will come
to order. We want to welcome everybody to today's hearing on
the National Basketball Association and the use of performance-
enhancing drugs. The purpose of this hearing is to consider the
NBA's drug policy, how the testing policy is implemented, how
effectively it addresses the use of prohibited drugs by
players, and the larger societal and public health
ramifications of steroid use.
Fourteen years ago, anabolic steroids were added to the
Controlled Substance Act as a Schedule III drug, making it
illegal to possess or sell them without a valid prescription.
Today, however, evidence strongly suggests that steroid use
among teenagers, especially aspiring athletes, is a larger and
growing problem.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells us
that more than 500,000 high school students have tried
steroids, nearly triple the number just 10 years ago. A second
national survey, conducted last year by the University of
Michigan, found that over 40 percent of the 12th graders
described steroids as ``fairly easy'' or ``very easy'' to get,
and the perception among high school students that steroids are
harmful has dropped from 71 percent in 1992 to 56 percent in
2004.
Against this alarming backdrop, the committee launched an
investigation into steroid use in professional, amateur,
collegiate, and high school athletics. In March the committee
held its first hearing, focused on Major League Baseball's
steroid testing policy and their efforts to combat steroid use.
We followed up last month with a hearing on the National
Football League and the changes the League and the NFL Players
Association agreed on to strengthen their testing policy. In
addition, the committee has received detailed information on
the drug testing policies of the National Hockey League, Major
League Soccer, U.S. Soccer Federation, USA Cycling, USA Track &
Field, and the Association of Tennis Professionals.
Today's hearing is based on information provided by the NBA
on its steroid testing program. As was the case with the NFL
and the NFLPA and the NBA and the National Basketball Players
Association, they have all been helpful in educating us about
their policy, and we very much appreciate your cooperation.
Today, league management and the union should be prepared
to answer serious questions about their steroid testing policy.
In some ways, today's hearing stands in stark contrast to
previous ones.
On the one hand, we have heard from top league officials,
players and trainers that steroid use is not ``an issue'' in
the NBA, since steroids don't increase the endurance and
agility needed to excel on the court. Perhaps that is true.
Certainly, the NBA is not suffering under the same cloud of
steroid use suspicion that has been hovering over other
professional sports.
But we are still left with some questions, given the fact
that NBA's testing program has some ``Shaq-sized'' holes in it:
How do we know for sure there is no steroid problem if testing
policies aren't that strong? If there is little or no upside to
using steroids in basketball, shouldn't the NBA then have the
strongest of all the sports?
I am willing to accept that steroids won't make your cross-
over dribble smoother, or move the three-point line closer to
the hoop. What we are trying to understand is a policy that
tests all non-rookies just once a year, and not at all during
the regular season; trying to understand the policy under which
a first steroids offense results in a mere five-game
suspension, the equivalent of 6 percent of the regular NBA
season. Compare that to the NFL, where the first offense is
punished by a suspension of four games, or 25 percent of the
regular season. This is a difference in the impact on a
player's pocketbook, where it probably hurts the most and has
the most enforcement.
I am encouraged by Commissioner Stern's written testimony
that the NBA has asked the union to increase the amount of
random testing per season for veteran players, to subject
players to off-season testing, and to increase the penalties
for violators. However, we are concerned by the response. While
Mr. Hunter explains in his written statement that basketball
``can't tolerate even the perception that the integrity of our
contests is at issue,'' he also says the current program
``strikes the appropriate balance with regard to the issues of
testing and discipline.''
How do we realistically argue that testing the vast
majority of professional basketball players once a year, during
the preseason, is an appropriate balance?
Yesterday, a spokesman for the Players Association
reportedly said, ``Over the last 7 years, of the approximately
400 rookies who have been tested randomly, not one of them has
violated the steroid policy--zero for 400. One could argue that
there is no evidence of any kind of use of steroids by NBA
players.''
I suppose one could argue that, but it wouldn't be very
compelling, because we already know there are a handful of
players who have tested positive for steroid use since the
league implemented its testing policy. Taking testing results
from rookie players and extrapolating the results to reflect on
the entire league doesn't cut it. If there were no testing,
there would be no evidence of use either. What does that mean,
we don't have any testing?
Data from the World Anti-Doping Agency on testing of
international basketball players suggests at least some believe
there is a competitive advantage to be found in steroids. In
2004, 26 players tested positive. We know that basketball
players somewhere in the world are using steroids, and the
number is increasing.
Since our Major League Baseball hearing, there have been a
large number of public statements from NBA personnel and
players on the lack of steroid use in professional basketball,
and the responsibility of NBA players to discourage youth from
using steroids. In advance of today's hearing, the committee
invited players who have been outspoken on this issue to
testify and use this as a platform to express to young players
that steroid use is not only physically harmful, but also a
form of cheating.
We are fortunate that one player answered the call, Juan
Dixon. Juan is a local hero here, playing for the Wizards,
played for Maryland, and has a very compelling story. We just
very much appreciate your coming forward today.
By the time he was 16 years old, Juan had lost both of his
parents to illness within a year of each other. Division I
college recruiters told Juan he was too small and lacked the
talent to play college hoops, but that didn't deter him.
He worked hard, on the court and off, not only convincing
the University of Maryland that he deserved a scholarship, but
also achieving the SAT scores necessary to play college
basketball. In 2002, Juan proved to every young athlete the
benefits of hard work and perseverence when he led the Terps to
their first-ever NCAA championship.
Later that year, Juan was drafted 17th overall in the NBA
draft. Over the past three seasons, he has continued to prove
the college recruiters wrong, as he has helped breathe new life
into our resurgent Washington Wizards.
As I have often said over the past 2 months, we are here
because more than half a million high school students have
tried steroids, and the number is increasing every day. If our
goal is to stem that tide, nothing is more effective than
hearing from people like Juan Dixon; role models, stars. Young
athletes will listen to him far more attentively than they will
listen to the rest of us. We hope that other NBA players will
follow your lead in speaking out to kids in public forums about
the dangers of steroids and how there is no place for these
drugs in organized sports.
Our investigation has already spawned results, evidenced
most profoundly by Major League Baseball's about-face on the
need for more stringent testing.
Our inquiry has also led me and Mr. Waxman and Senator John
McCain to draft legislation creating a uniform testing standard
for the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL, and the National
Hockey League. We are still dotting some I's and crossing some
T's, but the legislation--which, frankly, will have more teeth
than other bills introduced--will be ready for introduction
early next week.
With our oversight and legislation, we are hoping to send a
clear message to young people in search of their own ``Hoop
Dreams.'' Steroid use is harmful, even deadly. Steroid use is
cheating. Steroid use will be punished.
We look forward to the testimony today. We thank our
witnesses for being here.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Tom Davis follows:]
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Chairman Tom Davis. Mr. Waxman.
Mr. Waxman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This is our third hearing on the performance-enhancing drug
policies of major league sports, and with each sport we found a
different set of issues. Today we turn to basketball.
In preparation for this hearing, we had an opportunity to
review the NBA drug policy, and with all due respect, the NBA
policy on steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs is
simply inadequate. Indeed, of the professional sports policies
this committee has reviewed, the NBA policy appears to be the
weakest.
Under the NBA policy, NBA players face no random testing at
all once they complete their rookie year. They are only tested
once each year, during their 1-month training camp.
The policy also fails to cover a vast number of drugs.
There are literally dozens of steroids and stimulants that are
outlawed in Olympic competition that are still legal for use in
the NBA. The policy fails to cover performance enhancers such
as human growth hormone or EPO, and it fails to cover designer
steroids.
And the NBA penalties are not strong enough to provide a
significant deterrent. Penalties call for only a five-game
suspension for a first violation, and only 10 games for a
second violation. Even for a fourth or fifth violation, players
are only subject to a 25-game violation.
These penalties stand in stark contrast to the NBA
penalties for street drugs, which call for a 2-year ban for the
first offense for a veteran player. Since use of steroids is
both illegal and cheating, this disparity in penalties makes
little sense.
It is pretty easy to look at the NBA policy and determine
how weak it is, but we also have to ask what is the impact of
this weakness. Are NBA players using steroids or other
performance-enhancing drugs?
There are two answers here. The first is based on
perception, and the answer is no. The second is based on
reality, and the answer is we really don't know for sure.
The NBA's remarkably weak steroid program makes it
impossible to know whether there is a problem. We do know that
only a handful of players tested positive for steroids in the
last 5 years. But we also know loopholes undermine the
effectiveness of the league's steroid program. One NBA trainer
has told us that ``basketball is not immune'' to the problem of
performance-enhancing drugs. Another former NBA trainer told us
that because of the lack of testing, ``even if we did have a
problem, it would be hard to pick up.''
Many NBA insiders--players, trainers, even the
commissioner, Mr. Stern--have indicated that the NBA has few
problems with steroids because they just don't apply to the
skill set needed to play basketball. They say that basketball
is about quickness and touch and stamina, not about brute
strength. And they assume that steroids and other performance-
enhancers don't provide any advantage to basketball players.
This may be true. But the New York Times yesterday reported
on a surprising finding from Major League Baseball's steroid
testing program. For years, experts said that only the game's
sluggers would use steroids, not pitchers: that pitching was
about ``proper mechanics and natural ability,'' and that
bulking up on steroids would hurt pitchers.
Well, it turns out that assumption was wrong. So far,
almost half of the players caught in the Major League Baseball
testing have been pitchers. And now experts are acknowledging
that there are uses of steroids they hadn't thought of: that
steroids help pitchers throw the ball faster; that they speed
recovery times between outings and help pitchers maintain
strength throughout the season; and even that steroids help
players gain a mental edge.
The baseball results tell us that we need to guard against
relying on assumption. We really don't know what is going on in
the NBA until the league implements an effective steroid
testing policy.
I know that the league and the union are entering
negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. Mr.
Stern, the league commissioner, has shared his proposals for
the new policy with this committee, and Mr. Hunter, the head of
the players' union, has indicated some support for a tougher
policy on the steroid issue. These proposals are not perfect--I
am particularly concerned that punishments will still be weak--
but they will be a significant improvement over the current
policy.
In the meantime, Congress stands ready to act. I will soon
join Chairman Davis and Senator John McCain in introducing
bipartisan legislation that will ensure that all major
professional sports have strong performance-enhancing drug
policies that are consistent with the Olympic standard. The
bill would require leagues to test for a broad range of
performance-enhancing drugs; it would have true random testing;
and it would have tough penalties--2 years for a first offense
and a lifetime ban for a second--that would make athletes think
twice before resorting to cheating.
Ultimately, I believe this is the direction we must take if
we want to set an example for young athletes and rid all
professional sports of performance-enhancing drugs.
Mr. Chairman, I thank you for calling the meeting. I look
forward to the testimony from the witnesses that are here today
and learning what we can from all of them.
[The prepared statement of Hon. Henry A. Waxman follows:]
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Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you.
Mr. Souder will make no opening statement.
Mr. Cummings, did you want to say anything?
Mr. Cummings. I have a brief statement.
Chairman Tom Davis. And then other Members will have 7 days
to submit opening statements or can make their statements
during their questions.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Cummings. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I truly
thank you for holding this hearing today, examining the use of
steroids in the National Basketball Association and the
effectiveness of the NBA's steroid testing policy.
Today's hearing represents a growing awareness that steroid
abuse in professional sports is no game. Such abuse undermines
the credibility of the sports, sends a dangerous message to our
young people, contributes to a growing public health crisis,
and violates the sanctity of our laws.
Fortunately, sports can represent so much more. At their
best, sports can embody the virtues of teamwork, hard work, and
integrity. Regrettably, as our hearings with Major League
Baseball demonstrated, some professional athletic leagues have
failed to embrace this recognition.
I regularly work on issues related to U.S. drug control
policy and public health in my role as a ranking minority
member of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy,
and Human Resources. Although the primary focus of our
oversight is Schedule I substances, the dangers associated with
steroid abuse should not be underestimated.
While steroids can have legitimate medical use, the abuse
of steroids by those seeking a competitive advantage through
enhanced athletic performance can cause adverse health effects.
These problems range from early cardiovascular disease to
serious psychiatric side effects, including acute depression
and even suicide.
With this in mind, Congress added certain anabolic steroids
to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Individuals
possessing such drugs without a valid prescription are liable
for a misdemeanor, while persons convicted of distributing,
dispensing or selling these drugs are subject to a 5-year
sentence for a first time offense. In clear and plain terms,
illegitimate steroid use is a crime.
The ripple effect caused by steroid abuse extends beyond
the individual user. Steroid use by professional athletes in
defiance of the law perpetuates the myth that steroids are not
only acceptable, but are also safe. Unfortunately, these
destructive messages resonate most with our young people.
Consider the loss of the Garibaldi and the Hooten families
who testified before this committee just recently. Their
children committed suicide after using steroids, a tragedy they
attributed to the negative examples set by professional
athletes.
Steroid use has become more pervasive among high schools,
with the Centers for Disease Control reporting that 1 in 45
high school students reported using steroids in 1993. By 2003,
the figure was 1 in 16.
In light of these figures, I am disturbed by the fact that
the NBA steroid testing policy is weaker than that of the NFL
or the MLB's. While only three NBA players have been suspended
for steroid abuse, the absence of a strong testing policy makes
it very difficult to undermine the scope of performance-
enhancing drug usage in the NBA. Specifically, the NBA's policy
fails to randomly test veteran players, fails to sufficiently
penalize players who test positive, and maintains significant
gaps in coverage by not banning a variety of performance-
enhancing drugs.
As the old adage goes, it is wrong to hope when you can
have. If ever there was a time to have an effective steroid
testing policy in sports, it is now. We must continue to push
for a performance-enhancing drug testing policy in the NBA that
is robust and one of zero tolerance.
I am very pleased that Juan Dixon is here from my alma
mater, the University of Maryland, and I want to make it very
clear, Mr. Chairman--because I have been asked about this so
many times on radio shows here recently, whether Juan Dixon was
subpoenaed. I want to make it very clear that he came here to
send a message voluntarily.
Chairman Tom Davis. Absolutely.
Mr. Cummings. Voluntarily, Mr. Chairman. He wanted to send
a message that steroid use should not be a part of the NBA.
And I want to thank you, and better luck next time in the
playoffs; I hope you move up a little further.
I am encouraged by Commissioner Stern's announcement of a
proposal for a tougher testing policy in the NBA. League
officials seem to now understand we owe nothing less to our
children and to our fans. It is my hope that the players will
recognize the urgent need to adopt the recommended changes as
well.
So, Mr. Chairman, with that, I look forward to the
testimony and I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Hon. Elijah E. Cummings
follows:]
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Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you very much.
Yes, let me just say again Mr. Dixon is appearing
voluntarily. He is above reproach on this. He is a leader on
this.
And we are just, again, honored to have you here, to have
you step forward. I hope there is no misunderstanding on this.
We are very pleased to have you.
Members will have 7 days to submit opening statements and,
again, during your 5 minutes you are welcome to use it.
Nobody has been subpoenaed for this hearing, everybody is
appearing voluntarily.
We have Mr. David Stern in our first panel, the
Commissioner of the National Basketball Association; Mr.
Richard Buchanan, the senior vice president and general counsel
of the National Basketball Association; Mr. William Hunter, the
executive director of the National Basketball Players
Association.
We have Mr. Keith Jones, the vice president of basketball
operations and athletic trainer for the Houston Rockets. Mr.
Jones, who just completed his 16th year in professional
basketball, is well respected within the professional
basketball community. At 28, he became the first African-
American and the youngest trainer in NBA history. In 2001, Mr.
Jones' peers voted him NBA Trainer of the Year. We look forward
to your testimony, and thank you for being here.
And Mr. Juan Dixon from the Washington Wizards. As I
mentioned, Mr. Dixon is a former National Champion at the
University of Maryland. He is the only player in NCAA history
to accumulate over 2,000 points, 300 steals, and 200 three-
point field goals. He is the Terps' career scoring leader, was
named Most Outstanding Player of the 2002 NCAA Final Four, and
was an AP First Team All American. Most recently, he helped
lead the Wizards to the second round of the Playoffs.
It is our policy that all witnesses be sworn before you
testify, so if you would rise with me and raise your right
hands.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Chairman Tom Davis. Dr. Lloyd Baccus, who is the medical
director of the NBA, was invited to testify at today's hearing,
and he wanted to be here, but for understandable reasons he
couldn't attend, but he did submit written testimony, and I
think the NBA believes that Mr. Buchanan should be able to
address the Members' questions regarding the logistics of the
NBA steering testimony.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Baccus follows:]
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Chairman Tom Davis. Commissioner Stern, we will start with
you, and we will move straight on down the line. Thank you for
being with us.
STATEMENTS OF DAVID J. STERN, COMMISSIONER, NATIONAL BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATION; RICHARD W. BUCHANAN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND
GENERAL COUNSEL, NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION; G. WILLIAM
HUNTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS
ASSOCIATION; KEITH JONES, ATHLETIC TRAINER, HOUSTON ROCKETS;
AND JUAN DIXON, PLAYER, WASHINGTON WIZARDS
STATEMENT OF DAVID J. STERN
Mr. Stern. Chairman Davis, Congressman Waxman, members of
the committee, I am honored to be here, and I applaud the work
of the committee, its seriousness of purpose and what it has
done to raise the awareness of steroid use in sports and
amongst the Nation's youth.
We subscribe to the notionality that steroids and other
performance-enhancing drugs have no place in the NBA. They are
not good for our competition, they are not good for the health
of our players, and they are bad for our young fans, because
many millions of young fans look up to our NBA players.
I would just say that we have been dealing with the subject
of drugs since 1983, when the NBA was first involved in
allegations about drug use, and our attention had focused
initially on drugs like heroin and cocaine, and we worked with
then-President Reagan and the White House Conference for a
Drug-Free America, of which I was a member, to deal seriously
with that subject.
We learned a little bit about steroids along the way, and
in 1999 we added steroids to our policy. Not because we
believed that there was steroid use, but we sensed that
something was happening in America that required us to begin to
deal with steroids. We didn't think we had a problem, but we
did want to stay ahead of the curve.
The details of the 1999 policy are in my written statement.
We believe it was a good start, but we know now that it can be
improved dramatically. We are currently negotiating a new
collective bargaining agreement with the players, and we have
proposed, as the chairman and Mr. Waxman noted in their opening
statements, random tests for all players each season, four of
them, one random test for each player off-season, the first
penalty, 10 games suspension--and, by the way, at the average
salary, that would be a half a million dollar penalty to our
players--25 games for the second; and dismissal for the third.
You will pardon my changing sports, but the policy that we
propose is three strikes and you are out.
We have a prohibited substances committee, which consists
of a representative of each of the league and the union and
three independent drug experts in testing, two of whom oversee
Olympic testing in laboratories. And they add, at their own
instance or at one of the parties, additional substances to the
list over time, and we have added a number of substances.
And I might add, with respect to Congressman Waxman's
opening statement, that some of those substances are substances
that we have added that Congress has not yet seen to declare
illegal, and I would urge you to consider declaring them
illegal, because that is a very important subject for us, and
we added andro and ephedra and others at a time when this body
and the Senate chose not to act on it, and we would use the
occasion of our being here to urge you to look at that subject
again.
We also recognize that with respect to public education we
have a huge role to play, and I commit to you that whatever we
do now, we will redouble our efforts with respect to programs
reaching out to kids. We do an international basketball without
borders program, where we do clinics and the like, and we will
be reaching out there.
We do a Read to Achieve program across America, where we
have opened up 100 reading and learning centers, and we will be
strengthening our anti-steroid message there. We do a Junior
NBA and Junior WNBA, which, likewise, will have strong anti-
steroid messages. And our public service announcements, both on
broadcast and on NBA.com, will be strengthened as we have
learned more through these hearings about the use of steroids
amongst our Nation's youth.
So I thank you again for bringing ours and the public's
attention to this very important subject, and I have finished
with 18 seconds to go.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Stern follows:]
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Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you very much. It is a great
precedent here.
Mr. Buchanan, thank you for being with us.
STATEMENT OF RICHARD W. BUCHANAN
Mr. Buchanan. Chairman Davis, Congressman Waxman, members
of the committee, thank you very much for the opportunity to be
here today. My name is Rick Buchanan, and I am the senior vice
president and general counsel of the National Basketball
Association. Among other duties at the NBA, I am the person who
is responsible for the development, implementation, and
administration of our drug program. I am directly involved with
my counterparts at the union, Players Association in
negotiating the terms of the policy.
I also work with the union to select the medical director
and the other experts that we use to oversee the program. Those
medical experts, of course, are the individuals that we rely on
to administer and oversee our program on a day-to-day basis.
The top of the list of the individuals that we have selected is
Dr. Lloyd Baccus, who is our medical director. Dr. Baccus is
responsible for reviewing and confirming positive laboratory
results, for evaluating and treating players who have entered
the program, and for educating NBA players about the dangers of
substance abuse. He has also assembled a nationwide network of
drug counselors and medical professionals to assist players
with substance abuse issues in their home cities.
Dr. Baccus has served as medical director of the NBA's drug
program for the past 16 years. The players know him and they
trust him, and he is available to them on a 24/7 basis.
The NBA and the Players Association has also created a
Prohibited Substances Committee, which Commissioner Stern just
mentioned, and that is a committee that has a representative of
both the union and the league and three independent drug
testing experts. This is the committee that reviews our list of
banned drugs and makes recommendations to add additional
substances. We did that on three separate occasions since 1999.
We banned androstenedione, DHEA, and similar substances in one
traunch of drugs; we banned ephedra and related products in
another; and, most recently, we banned several new designer
steroids.
Members of that committee include, among others, Dr. Barry
Sample, who was the director of the Anti-Doping Laboratory for
the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta; and Dr. Doug Rollins, who
is the medical director of the Doping Control Program for the
2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
The NBA and the Players Association also rely on our
independent drug testing laboratory, Quest Diagnostics, and on
a periodic basis we seek technical advice from Dr. Gary Wadler,
who is a leading expert in the field of steroids and
performance-enhancing drugs and who has appeared before this
committee on two prior occasions.
The NBA takes very seriously its obligation to maintain an
impartial, fair, and effective drug program. We fully recognize
the importance of this endeavor to the health and well-being of
our athletes, the integrity of our games, and the example we
set for young fans. Because of the medical staff we have
assembled, because of the care we take in our processes and
methods, because we have been drug testing our players since
1983 and so we have over 20 years of experience in this area,
and because we have always managed to work cooperatively with
the Players Association once we have negotiated our policy, we
are very confident in our ability to do this job well.
As Commissioner Stern has noted, we believe that the NBA
and the Players Association took a good first step with respect
to steroids and performance-enhancing drugs when we added these
substances to our program in 1999, and we are committed to
having an even stronger and more effective policy when our
current round of bargaining is concluded with the players.
In addition to the changes mentioned by the commissioner,
the NBA would also intend to make other technical adjustments
to the program, such as re-evaluating with our committee
whether we should move to a 4-to-1 ratio for testosterone
testing, better protecting against newly designed steroids by
banning any substance with the same chemical structure or
biological effect as a currently prohibited drug, and taking a
hard look at our list of banned stimulants to ensure that it is
sufficiently broad and current.
The NBA's drug policy has been and remains a dynamic one,
and we are constantly striving to find ways to make it better.
The committee's attention to this matter has been very helpful
to the NBA, as we explore potential changes to our program. And
I would be very happy to answer any further questions that you
have.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you very much.
Mr. Hunter.
STATEMENT OF G. WILLIAM HUNTER
Mr. Hunter. Mr. Chairman, Congressman Waxman, my name is G.
William Hunter, and I am the executive director of the National
Basketball Players Association, the labor union that represents
all NBA players in collective bargaining. I am also an
attorney, a former professional athlete, and I was honored to
serve as the U.S. Attorney for the northern district of
California under Presidents Carter and Reagan.
My first round of collective bargaining with the NBA took
place in 1998. During those negotiations, the NBA owners
suggested that we amend our anti-drug policy by adding steroids
to our list of prohibited substances. Despite the fact that we
were not perceived to have any problem with steroid use in the
NBA, the players did not hesitate to put in place a
comprehensive program and policy that provides for education,
testing, and discipline with regard to the use of steroids. We
were glad to get out in front of this issue long before it
generated the national interest that exists today, and declare
to the world that there is no place for steroids in
professional basketball.
That collective bargaining agreement is set to expire next
month, and we now find ourselves in a similar place to where we
were when the agreement was negotiated in 1998-1999. That is,
we still are not perceived to have a steroids problem in the
NBA, but we again are offered an opportunity to get out in
front of this now increasingly public issue and send a message
to young people around the world that our players do not
condone or tolerate the use of steroids. As we did in 1999, we
will again do our part to deliver this important message.
We have already advised the commissioner and the NBA owners
he represents, and we state here publicly today, that beginning
next season, our players will agree to even more frequent
testing and harsher penalties for steroid use, regardless of
whether the results of our testing over the past 7 years
mandate that such changes be made. To be clear, with only three
confirmed positive results in over 4,200 tests over the past 7
years, we believe that steroids are not an issue in the NBA.
Nonetheless, we have pledged to amend our policy.
We have done so for a variety of reasons. First and
foremost, whether or not steroids will in fact enhance the
performance of a basketball player, there is little doubt that
the use of such substances will create a perception in the
minds of our consumers that a player has an unfair advantage.
We cannot tolerate even the perception that the integrity of
our contest is at issue. More so than an entertainment, the
product we offer to the consumer is competition, and the purity
of that competition cannot be compromised. If nothing else, for
business reasons alone, to ensure the continued success of our
enterprise, we must effectively police ourselves.
Our players have not hesitated to take the lead and speak
out publicly on this point. Among the various players who have
been quoted by the media, I cite the example of five-time All-
Star and former Olympian Ray Allen of the Seattle Sonics, a
former member of our union's Executive Committee, who said that
we need ``to create a level playing field and make sure
nobody's cheating.''
Another well known player, Jalen Rose of the Toronto
Raptors, also spoke eloquently to this point in a recent
article: ``People have to understand the basics of athletics is
fair play. That's why we shake hands after every event. I line
up against you, whether it's middle school, high school,
college, pro, and I try to beat you. But when it's all over, I
understand that you did not necessarily have an unfair
advantage over me.''
Aside from the importance of protecting our business, the
players will agree to amend our policy so that we can send a
firm message on this important societal issue. Though the
players and I do not profess to have medical expertise, there
is little doubt that the use of steroids will cause a wide
range of serious health problems.
As stated by our union's first vice president Antonio Davis
of the Chicago Bulls in an interview last month, ``I think we
have a responsibility to high school kids, junior high kids,
college kids, whoever, to show them it's hard work that's going
to get them there, not cheating and tearing up your body.''
Derek Fisher of the Golden State Warriors, another member of
our union's Executive Committee, echoed that theme during an
interview last month on performance enhancers, stating that
``we always have to be mindful of the fact that something is
really prevalent in our country or in professional sports. I
don't think we can be blind to the fact, because it's a very
sensitive issue right now, particularly with the effect it's
having on high school kids.''
While I understand that this committee is considering
enacting legislation regarding steroid policies in professional
sports leagues, I would respectfully urge the committee to stay
its hand. Collective bargaining is the appropriate forum for
consideration and resolution of these issues. The agreements we
forget are respected by the parties and will endure, and we
have already shown that the parties can work successfully on
this issue. Our bargaining to date has resulted in an effective
policy that justifiably has kept NBA players out of the steroid
discussion, and we have pledged to do even more in our current
negotiations to make sure that in the future we are not pulled
in.
Finally, the league and players have an extremely strong
incentive to police ourselves on these issues. Under our
revenue sharing arrangement with the NBA, the players receive a
significant portion of the billions of dollars in revenues
generated each year by their performance in NBA games. If we
detect a problem developing that will threaten our livelihood,
we will of course take action. We acted in a decisive manner by
imposing a meaningful policy in 1999, and we intend to do even
more in the coming months.
I thank you for this opportunity.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hunter follows:]
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Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you very much.
Mr. Jones, thanks for being with us.
STATEMENT OF KEITH JONES
Mr. Jones. Chairman Davis and members of the committee, Mr.
Waxman, my name is Keith Jones, and I first want to thank you
for allowing me to appear here before you today.
I am the vice president of Basketball Operations and the
head athletic trainer for the Houston Rockets of the National
Basketball Association, and have served as head athletic
trainer for the Rockets since 1996. Prior to that, I spent six
seasons as head athletic trainer for the Los Angeles Clippers,
one season assistant athletic trainer for the Orlando Magic,
and several seasons working as an athletic trainer with
football teams in the National Football League, the U.S.
Football League, and the NCAA.
I also worked as an athletic trainer for the gold medal-
winning U.S. Senior Mens National Basketball Team during the
2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and in the same
capacity for the 1998 World Championship of Basketball in
Athens, Greece, and the 1999 Tournament of the Americas in
Puerto Rico.
In my role as head athletic trainer for the Rockets, and in
conjunction with our team physicians, strength and conditioning
coaches, and other staff, I am in charge of our team's efforts
to prevent, evaluate, manage, and rehabilitate injured or ill
athletes. I interact with Rockets players on a daily basis, am
present in the locker room and the training room throughout the
season, travel with the team, and attend all games and
practices. It is my job to be intimately familiar with the
health status of every member of our team and to help them
perform at the peak of their physical and mental abilities.
I have worked as an athletic trainer in the NBA for 17
years, and have learned a great deal in that period about the
physical abilities of professional basketball players and the
physical and mental objects they face over the course of their
careers. I also worked as an athletic trainer of various
professional and college football teams prior to joining the
NBA, and am, therefore, in a position to compare and contrast
the physical attributes that allow players to succeed in
basketball and, separately, in football.
During my tenure in the NBA, I have never observed an NBA
player using an anabolic steroid or illicit performance-
enhancing drug. I have never been asked by a player to supply
such a substance, nor, of course, would I ever do if asked. In
fact, in my experience, steroids and performance-enhancing
drugs are not part of the culture of the NBA. They carry
enormous health risks to athletes, they provide no significant
advantage to NBA players, and are banned by the NBA's drug
policy. Any benefit that a player might receive from using such
a substance are greatly outweighed by their costs.
Even though the NBA does not currently have a problem with
steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, I fully support the
NBA's inclusion of these substances with its anti-drug policy.
If we want to ensure that these drugs stay out of our game, the
best way to do that is to have a strong and effective testing
program.
Again, thank you for your time and the privilege to be here
today.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Jones follows:]
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Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you very much.
Mr. Dixon, thank you for being with us.
STATEMENT OF JUAN DIXON
Mr. Dixon. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my
name is Juan Dixon, and for the last three seasons I have been
a professional basketball player with the NBA's Washington
Wizards. Before entering the NBA, I played for 4 years at the
University of Maryland, where I led the school to its first
National Championship.
Over my 3 years in the NBA and 4 years of collegiate
competition, I have never used steroids. Nor have I ever seen
or have knowledge of any use of steroids by my peers. Though I
do not have a detailed medical knowledge on the impact that
steroids have on the human body, my general understanding is
that, in addition to the well-known health risks inherent to
their use, the potential gains do not translate into success in
the game of basketball.
What I do know is what is fair. I know how hard I have
worked to become a professional athlete and believe that
maintaining a level playing field is vital to the integrity of
our sport. The steroid conversation is not just about health
risks. It is about ensuring the public and understanding that
I, along with my peers in the NBA, have achieved success
through years of hard work and dedication to our dreams, not
through the use of steroids or other performance-enhancing
drugs.
As a professional athlete, I have an obligation to be a
role model that not only influences kids directly about healthy
choices and the dangers of steroid use, but one that
contributes to a culture where hard work is emphasized and
cheating is never rewarded.
Thank you for the opportunity.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Dixon follows:]
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Chairman Tom Davis. Well, thank you very much. And thank
all of you.
Let me start the questions. We have heard about the
specific changes that Commissioner Stern would like to make to
the NBA steroid testing policy.
Mr. Hunter, let me ask you does the union support these
changes?
Mr. Hunter. The union supports some changes. I am not at
liberty at this moment to indicate to you which changes and to
what extent we do support them. As you are aware, Mr. Chairman,
labor negotiations are ongoing, although they may be stayed for
the moment, and I am sure that this is an issue that will be
fully addressed and resolved, as Mr. Stern has alluded to, in
the course of those negotiations.
Chairman Tom Davis. Well, at least here, this morning, we
got you and Mr. Stern back to the table, although maybe on a
different issue. There is no reason to wrap up steroids with
the monetary issues, is there, in negotiations? Can't we take
this apart? This is an issue that has societal implications. We
are hearing that it is not a huge problem in the NBA. It just
ought to be taken off the table from the other negotiations and
put aside. We would really like to hear you say we think we can
work the changes. You understand where I am coming from?
Mr. Hunter. I clearly understand what you are saying, but,
with all due respect, I don't know how many labor agreements
you have negotiated. It is a rather complex and difficult
process.
Chairman Tom Davis. I understand.
Mr. Hunter. I can assure you that you are not going to be
dissatisfied with whatever agreement Mr. Stern and I come to. I
can give you that assurance. But I am not prepared at this
time----
Chairman Tom Davis. Well, I am not asking you to dot Is and
cross Ts here.
Mr. Hunter. No, but I am not prepared at this time to
separate it from the negotiations.
Chairman Tom Davis. Negotiate in public. OK.
Mr. Hunter. I think that is unfair to me and to Mr. Stern.
Chairman Tom Davis. OK. I am just trying to give you our
view. I have actually negotiated a number of labor agreements
before I came to Congress, and I wouldn't negotiate, I think,
on television either. But I think our point is this is a very
important issue, and if we just get a consensus here this is
something that we agree needs to be revisited and it needs to
be toughened up. I think you basically agree to that.
Mr. Hunter. I agree. I agree wholeheartedly. I agree with
the philosophy that has been expressed by all the parties at
this table. I agree that there is no place for steroids in
professional basketball, and I know that the players support
that position, and I know that we will not have a problem
getting behind this issue and adopting a policy that both the
NBA and the Nation can be proud of.
Chairman Tom Davis. I think we all recognize that the
current steroid testing policy is weak on the tests, and we are
all concerned to hear that the NBA announced that no further
meetings are scheduled with you to reach the new collective
bargaining agreement at this point.
So I will ask both of you how this will affect changes to
be made to the policy? That without a collective bargaining
agreement, the policy isn't going to change. Is that what I
hear you saying?
Mr. Stern. No. I would say to you that our collective
bargaining agreement expires on July 1, and without a new
collective bargaining agreement there will not be a season.
Chairman Tom Davis. OK.
Mr. Stern. And when we open, whenever that is, there will
be a new anti-drug agreement that reflects the positions that
have been expressed here today.
Chairman Tom Davis. Is that an accurate statement, Mr.
Hunter?
Mr. Hunter. Yes, I think that is very accurate.
Chairman Tom Davis. OK.
Mr. Dixon, let me just say in my opening statement I spoke
about how you were discouraged by recruiters from playing
Division I basketball because they said you were too small.
Mr. Dixon. Right.
Chairman Tom Davis. You look pretty big to me, but I know
for basketball at that level what it takes. Could you take me
to the steps you took in high school to earn your scholarship
to Maryland and be drafted? I think it is important for young
athletes to hear about the hard work and commitment it takes to
succeed. Some teenagers take steroids to get bigger and
stronger. You didn't do that.
Mr. Dixon. Not at all.
Chairman Tom Davis. Just walk us through it. It can be
done, can't it?
Mr. Dixon. Well, going through high school, a lot of people
always doubted me, so I am a pretty self-motivated individual,
but people told me that I was not going to be able to play on a
big-time Division I level. I used all that to motivate me. And,
as you can see, I am not the biggest guy, so with a lot of hard
work in the gym, lifting as much weights as possible, I tried
to develop my game, and each day got in the gym and worked hard
and listened to people around me. So I never allowed what
people said to get my spirits down; I stayed strong and tried
to be the best I could be.
Chairman Tom Davis. You did it the old fashioned way,
right?
Mr. Dixon. The old fashioned way.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you.
Mr. Jones, at a recent hearing the committee held on the
NFL steroid policy, it was suggested that veteran NFL players
misused steroids to help recover from injuries more quickly
because steroids help build muscle growth. Do you see any
problem with veteran NBA players misusing steroids for a
quicker recovery from an injury?
Mr. Jones. No, I do not.
Chairman Tom Davis. How do you know if veteran NBA players
were not tested during the regular season?
Mr. Jones. To my knowledge and my education, it is just to
look for the change in that body type over a short period of
time; the weight gain, the muscle bulk gain, the mass gain. You
are looking for other physical characteristics that come with
steroid use. There are changes in the face, in the jaw that are
noticeable; sometimes there is the acne on the face and on the
back and other parts of your skin; and a lot of behavioral
changes, some little uptight----
Chairman Tom Davis. So you do not see that?
Mr. Jones. I have not seen that, no, sir.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you very much.
Mr. Waxman.
Mr. Waxman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, Mr. Stern, let me compliment you and Mr.
Hunter for your efforts to deal with this issue early on, and
to now make the policy much more aggressive. I think this
leadership is important.
A lot of people still worry about steroid use in
basketball, even though we haven't found any and people don't
believe there is any use because of the kind of athletics
involved. But we really don't know, either. And in
international play, from the World Anti-Doping Agency's data,
they found dozens of players who tested positive for illegal
performance enhancing drugs. So at least in international
competition some basketball players are clearly using the
drugs.
I certainly hope that you will get a stronger testing
program, which is a small reason, but an additional reason, why
I hope you all will reach an agreement before July 1, because
we also want a basketball season. In fact, that makes me want
to ask a lot of questions about your negotiations, but it is
not my business, so I won't. But I do wish you well, though
negotiations in any area have their ups and downs.
The question I want to ask you is even though you are
trying to get a better drug testing policy, many of us think it
makes more sense to have one uniform policy for all the
athletic sports, all the professional sports. Because if we
look at what baseball is doing compared to basketball compared
to football, each is handling it very differently and there is
a different approach.
Some people have suggested that we have Federal legislation
to establish a uniform approach for testing for steroids and
other performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports. It
would be modeled after the Olympic policy and it would make
clear that, when the leagues run their own programs and apply
different standards, that there is that question that always
lingers: whether negative test results mean there is no steroid
use or that the league is not serious about policing itself.
So I want to know your view about the idea of Congress
adopting a tough uniform standard that is administered
independently to answer these questions and put all these
doubts to rest.
Mr. Stern. I would like to see what it is, but I would
support such an approach.
Mr. Waxman. And how about you, Mr. Hunter, what do you
think about such an approach?
Mr. Hunter. I would obviously like to see a program that
allows participation from the individual sports. I don't really
know enough about it, what is being proposed, but just the idea
of uniformity tends to kind of have a chilling effect, because
I am not so sure that there is one applicable standard that
should be introduced across the board for basketball, football,
baseball, ice hockey, track and field, etc.
And I am sure that it requires someone with greater
expertise than myself to be able to respond to that, but my gut
reaction is I have a problem with the issue of uniformity, and
it is simply because I think we have done--notwithstanding your
assessment, I think we have done an exceptional job in the NBA
when it comes to steroids.
Mr. Stern. As long as your legislation has the appropriate
appropriations attached to it that deal with the increased cost
for drugs that testing for which is unnecessary in basketball
but is part of a broader standard, I would have no objection at
all to have a uniform standard so that we can make the
statement to our various audiences that we are all complying in
a certain way. That is absolutely fine.
Mr. Waxman. I think this will be a topic for further
negotiation. But I understand your point, and I also
acknowledge the fact that you both have not seen a specific
proposal, but that we are talking in a more general way.
I think a lot of people look at, Mr. Hunter, the basketball
policy as not particularly the best, it is awfully weak now,
and a lot of people don't believe that basketball players do
not use steroids. Jalen Rose spoke to this issue recently and
he said performance-enhancing drugs are an issue anywhere there
is competition, and people are willing to do whatever it takes
to get an edge.
We have also talked to some of the trainers in the league,
and they have indicated that they have suspected players of
steroid use in the past. They have indicated the NBA is not
immune from such use. And what we are trying to do is to remove
the doubt in people's minds that if there is no positive
testing, it is not because the testing is inadequate or the
league isn't trying to really do the job of sending a clear
signal that steroid use is unacceptable.
Mr. Hunter. No, you are right. Clearly, the NBA is not a
pure environment. The numbers that I read indicated that we
have had at least 23 tests, of which 3 were clearly positive.
Twenty of the individuals were terminated even before they
could make the team. I understand that it is a problem, and I
think going forward, what we have attempted to do since 1983,
is on the cutting edge when it came to adopting and modifying
our drug policy.
As Commissioner Stern indicated, it was indicated in 1983,
it was modified in 1999 to incorporate steroids. Here we are in
2005 negotiating a new deal, and we have indicated that if
there is a weakness or gap, it is only because of testing. I am
convinced that once testing is implemented, it is going to
confirm--and maybe I will get a chance to come back a year from
now and tell you what the results of those tests show.
Mr. Waxman. Thank you. My time has expired. I appreciate
the answers to the questions.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you very much.
Mr. Gutknecht.
Mr. Gutknecht. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, Mr. Stern, let me just say that there are a
number of industries that do random drug testing and, to the
best of my knowledge, most of them do not require a Federal
subsidy to do so. So we will certainly entertain that when we
get to that level.
As Will Rogers said, all I know is what I read in the
newspapers. And the news that we have received here in the last
several weeks is not particularly good.
First of all, let me thank all of you for coming today. You
are all here voluntarily and we do appreciate that.
But some of the news that we have read recently, just back
in my home State of Minnesota, was somewhat disconcerting,
because we had heard earlier from some of the folks in Major
League Baseball and others that, for the most part, it wasn't
the pitchers who were interested in this, because it didn't
really improve their ability to do things. And yet we have read
recently that pitchers are as guilty, if not more guilty, than
others, in terms of the testing that has been done so far.
The other news that we got recently, as another
professional athlete, unfortunately, again, in Minnesota was
found to have an anti-doping kit in his luggage. I wonder if
any of you would want to respond to the proliferation of these
kits that make it easier to fool drug tests. And is there
anything you can do about it; is there anything we should do
about it?
Mr. Stern. I will take the first cut at that, and that is
that our method of testing, without being too graphic for the
committee, would not allow the skirting of the test results
that the particular kit in question would allow. The sample
collection that we have in basketball is quite direct and does
not allow for the kind of shananigans that are suggested by
that device. No. 2, our tests include tests for masking
substances, which, if found, are treated the same as a positive
test for the drug that is being masked.
And I just would add that I don't know that those other
random tests that you refer to in the industry were federally
mandated.
Mr. Gutknecht. Mr. Jones, are you familiar with these kits
and do you know how they work?
Mr. Jones. Somewhat, yes, sir.
Mr. Gutknecht. Do they work?
Mr. Jones. I think they do work, but I can say that in our
setting, the way that samples are collected, they could not
work.
Mr. Gutknecht. Well, several of you have said that these
kinds of steroids really don't help basketball players, but I
have had distributed to you a copy of a memo that we received
yesterday, I think, from the World Anti-Doping Agency. It is a
copy of a report from World Anti-Doping Agency for
International Competition, and these are basketball players
only. Now, we don't know which teams they are from, which
countries they are from, but I would call to your attention the
fact that in 2003 they found 77 adverse analytical findings for
basketball players at the international level, and in 2004 they
found 96.
Now, if it doesn't improve the ability of basketball
players, there is a disconnect apparently between the players
and the reality. How do we square this number, 96 adverse
analytical findings? Incidentally, the number of steroid
findings went from 17 to 26. So somebody in basketball believes
it enhances their ability.
[The information referred to follows:]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T1484.042
Mr. Buchanan. Congressman, I think the last point you made
I agree with. Individual players might perceive that something
would help them, and that is the reason, of course, that we
want to have a strong testing program. These numbers, I think
you probably know, reflect, for the 2004 year, something a
little less than 2 percent of the players that were tested, the
basketball players that were tested turned up with these
positives. The 1996 number represents, I think, 2.03 percent,
and that was initial laboratory positives. So therapeutic use
exemptions and other issues would drive the number down. But
your point is well taken. Clearly, there are some players who
believe this helps them.
Mr. Gutknecht. Well, and I think that is the purpose of
these hearings, to at least get the facts out on the table and,
more importantly, to send a message--and I think the chairman
has made very clear--to younger people that, No. 1, it is not
worth it and, No. 2, it probably doesn't help that much. But
somehow we have to help get that message across, and you can be
very helpful in getting that done.
I yield back.
Chairman Tom Davis. Mr. Lynch.
Mr. Lynch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and ranking member. I
appreciate the work you have done on this. I want to thank the
witnesses for coming to testify.
I had a chance to look over the collective bargaining
agreement between the league and the union, and there are
three, I think, glaring weaknesses. One is, again, we have
talked about the substances that are allowed or not prohibited
in the agreement. The fact that the test--Mr. Buchanan, you
know, with all due respect, you said that this is a dynamic
test. It is really, in my opinion, pathetic. Last, the
penalties, given that we have had these highest paid athletes
in the league in any league, and we have very, very minor
penalties.
I want to go to the issue of the testing itself, though. We
have no random testing in basketball. Basically, every October
we tell players we are going to test you. Most of these
steroids are out of their system in 2 weeks, so basically what
we are assuring by the current test is that for that 2 weeks
prior to the test in October our NBA players have not used
steroids.
The other 50 weeks, under this agreement--unless you can
show me a provision that tells me otherwise--based on this
agreement that governs the conduct of the parties here, you
have no random testing; for the other 50 weeks of the year
players can be using steroids. And there is just nothing here.
There is nothing here and it troubles me when you say we have
had a dynamic testing policy in place and we continue to have a
dynamic testing process in place, because I, frankly, don't see
it.
Mr. Buchanan. Well, if I could respond. The first issue is
that with respect to the testing we do in the training camp
period, the training camp period is a month-long period that we
do the testing for all players. So just to make that point. And
then also we test our rookies three additional times during the
course of the year. That is first.
Mr. Lynch. As a rookie, just his rookie year.
Mr. Buchanan. Just the rookie, that is correct. You are
correct.
Second, just to clarify my remark about a dynamic program,
what I meant was we are looking at it, reviewing it, and
particularly with respect to our list of substances, with our
Prohibited Substances Committee, trying to keep that current.
That is what I meant by the reference.
Mr. Lynch. I understand. Just briefly, I think the reason
you don't have evidence of steroid use is because you don't
have a testing policy here. To give you a comparison, the NFL
randomly picks seven players from each team every week, 200
players a week, and they find out whether folks are using
steroids. This situation, it almost invites steroid abuse
because there is no effective testing going on. It just
troubles me greatly that is the condition.
The other aspect of this I guess I would have to go back to
the reasonable cause standard that we have in the agreement
that would allow you to test beyond that October training
season. Based on what the NIDA--and this is an institute that
you have used in the NBA, the National Institute on Drug
Abuse--it says that steroid abuse in high doses causes
irritability and extreme aggression in some cases.
Now, I just was wondering. I do know that back on November
19th we had a game between the Pistons and the Pacers, and
there was a brawl in which players actually went up into the
stands after the fans, and it was a very bad situation. I am
wondering did that brawl, in itself, cause--given the
connection between aggressive behavior and steroid abuse and
your policy--did that altercation cause the reasonable cause
requirement to institute any type of testing of any of the
players involved there?
Mr. Hunter. I think that is a quantum leap, for you to
suggest that because a fight occurred during a game, that it
was induced by steroids.
Mr. Lynch. Sir, this was more than a fight in a game. This
was not a shoving match.
Mr. Hunter. Yes, but that it was induced by steroids?
Mr. Lynch. Excuse me?
Mr. Hunter. That it was induced by steroids?
Mr. Lynch. Well, you have a provision here in this
agreement that says reasonable cause. You have another document
that is referred to in the agreement that says aggressive
behavior is connected to steroid use.
Mr. Hunter. I don't----
Mr. Lynch. Sir, I am not saying that it was caused by
steroid abuse. All I am saying is you don't. You don't know.
You don't test the players.
Mr. Stern. That is correct, Congressman. And the reality is
it worries me greatly if the absence of testing for anybody,
including the Members of Congress, would somehow be used to
say, well, if you don't have it, that is proof that it must
exist; and then referring to a policy as pathetic. On behalf of
the players of the National Basketball Association, I would
like to say that the guilt that you seek to attribute to them
on the basis of this policy is ill taken and very unfair.
Mr. Lynch. Well, I don't believe it is unfair. I believe if
you are going to test players, you ought to have something in
the agreement that says you are going to test players.
Mr. Stern. Well, it is a good country, and I would like to
just disagree with your approach here. That is all.
Chairman Tom Davis. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Lynch. You are free to do that.
Mr. Stern. Thank you.
Chairman Tom Davis. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Marchant.
Mr. Marchant. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This question is for Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones, as the trainer
for the Rockets, do you, on a regular basis, have players come
to you and ask you whether they can take certain dietary
supplements, or do they come to you and say I am thinking about
taking this, I have heard about this, is it legal, is it
something I can do? Do they come to you as a reference for
that?
Mr. Jones. Yes, sir. And I actually, through the NBA's
policy and the NBA players' policy, we have literature and
education. I encourage them, if they are going to take
something, to come ask me. And I take it to our team physicians
and we look at the ingredients and where it is from, make sure
there are not any banned substances from the list that we have
for our drug policy, and we go from there.
Mr. Marchant. Do you, as a trainer, feel like a policy of
random testing would interfere with the job you do as trainer?
Do you think it would give you any additional tools to make
sure that the players are not involved in steroids?
Mr. Jones. I think a stronger policy would help me and it
would help the game.
Mr. Marchant. Mr. Chairman, just as a comment, not as a
result of these hearings, but as a result of the awareness that
has been raised in part by these hearings, two of the high
schools in my district, just last week, have adopted for the
first time a random drug test for all of their varsity
athletes, and the local school board has voted it and the
parents were in agreement, the athletes were in agreement. So I
think this is a subject that is not just at the professional
level, but it is beginning to be considered seriously at home,
among parents and coaches and student athletes.
Thank you.
Mr. Issa. Would the gentleman yield?
Mr. Marchant. Yes, I will yield my time.
Mr. Issa. Was that done without a Federal subsidy?
Mr. Marchant. It was done by some additional funding
through the local school board budget.
Mr. Issa. Well, congratulations. Thank you.
Chairman Tom Davis. Mr. Clay.
Mr. Clay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for
conducting this hearing today.
Let me start with Commissioner Stern. Welcome to the
committee today. The primary purpose of these series of
hearings is to demonstrate the dangers of steroids and protect
young people who might be tempted to use performance-enhancing
drugs. The NBA's current penalties for performance-enhancing
drugs are, in my opinion, a joke. No disrespect to you, but I
think it is a joke and it is the weakest among the professional
sports. Do you intend to toughen them to set the right example
for younger Americans, or will Congress have to act?
Mr. Stern. As we said before you came in, Congressman, our
current proposals to the union call for sharply increased
testing and penalty, and Mr. Hunter has indicated that,
although he doesn't want it negotiated here, that the union is
amenable to increases in both of those categories.
Mr. Clay. I am glad to hear that.
Mr. Stern. And I must also add that I think that the work
that this committee has done in bringing attention to this
subject has provided an extraordinary public service. It has
sharpened our attention, I think, and also changed many minds
about the necessity of setting the example. And I know the
committee will be dealing with what has been described as a
Zero Tolerance Committee, and I just wanted to add that the NBA
looks forward to working as constructively as we can with that
committee.
Mr. Clay. Thank you for that response, commissioner. As a
followup, when do you think we may see some movement on the
changing of the rules?
Mr. Stern. Prior to the next season.
Mr. Clay. Thank you.
For Mr. Dixon, welcome to the committee and thank you for
being here. As an alum of the University of Maryland, I
congratulate you on your success in the NBA and also for
bringing a National Championship to the University of Maryland.
How rampant do you believe steroids are in the NBA?
Mr. Dixon. Well, to my knowledge, I haven't seen or heard
anything about steroids in the NBA. I don't know much about it,
but I am sure the union and Mr. Stern will come up with an
agreement that will penalize players if they use or distribute
steroids. So to tell you the truth, Mr. Clay, I don't know much
about it.
Mr. Clay. Would you support a more stringent policy?
Mr. Dixon. Excuse me?
Mr. Clay. Would you support a more stringent uniform drug
testing policy for your sport?
Mr. Dixon. Well, like I said, I am sure they are going to
come up with cost penalties for guys who use steroids. Whatever
direction our union goes, that is what I support.
Mr. Clay. Do you think steroids enhance a basketball
player's ability?
Mr. Dixon. I don't see how they could. Usually, when people
use steroids, I guess it is to bulk up, to gain more muscle,
power. I guess you can use power, but for the most part, all I
know is that we use our God-given abilities, and I don't know
of anyone out there that is using steroids that is in the NBA
right now.
Mr. Clay. Thank you for that response.
For Mr. Hunter, welcome also.
Mr. Hunter. Thank you.
Mr. Clay. Every year in the NBA Draft some of the most
talented young athletes in the world, and from the time that
they are drafted to the time that they report, many of the
prospects significantly increase their body mass. Are you
concerned that players might be using performance-enhancing
drugs to accelerate this process?
Mr. Hunter. I am not aware of any empirical evidence, any
evidence at all, any innuendo or rumor that there is an
increase in body mass of prospective NBA players from the time
of the draft in June to when they show up in October. And I
think Mr. Jones, who is seated to my left, has indicated in his
17 years or so as a professional trainer in professional
basketball and other sports, specifically as it relates to the
NBA, he has seen no evidence of that. So I am unaware of that.
I am going to look for it.
Mr. Clay. Would you support having an independent agency
conduct a drug test for the players? If so, why? If not, why?
Mr. Hunter. Well, we do. We currently have an independent
group that actually handles the drug testing for our players.
It is a group that is selected by the league and union, and it
is independent of us.
Mr. Clay. It is under contract?
Mr. Hunter. Oh, yes. Definitely.
Mr. Clay. OK, thank you for your response.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you very much.
Mr. Souder.
Mr. Souder. Thank you. I wanted to make a few comments.
First, that while you have a policy, we can only say that
apparently there is not a lot of use. This 2 percent figure
internationally, if the 2 percent got caught, it is pretty
extraordinary. Those are the people that got caught. And the
fact that you don't test during the season is a big loophole.
It doesn't mean that you would actually catch anybody, it just
means it is a big loophole. Or that you would catch it.
Also, this 3 years and you get one-third of a year
suspension is just a lot of what we are objecting to, and we
have expressed our concerns about the penalties. Mr. Stern, you
have made a stronger proposal.
When we wind up doing national laws, enforcing drug laws in
the United States really isn't a labor negotiation question.
When we put drug testing in for truck drivers, the Teamsters
didn't get to make that decision anymore. Because when policies
evolve during the course of congressional hearings--and the
initiatives seem to have a lot in common in all the different
sports, a lot because of the congressional hearings--it causes
doubt among the American people.
Furthermore, we don't appropriate the funds to enforce the
laws of the United States. And I know it was a casual comment,
I know your frustration because, thus far, you haven't seen as
much as some of the other sports, but it was illustrated in the
high school question, it is illustrated in the truck driver
question. We also, with all due respect to Mr. Hunter, don't go
down to street kids and street dealers and say what do you
think your penalties ought to be. We don't negotiate on drug
laws.
We like it to be done first in the private sector, first at
the State and local level. But, ultimately, if we don't have
the confidence, on behalf of the taxpayers of the United
States, we may intervene. And I would say that is increasingly
likely because it is a little too little and a little too late.
And the funding level, increasing numbers of Americans
follow NBA basketball, but many don't, and they are struggling
to pay their healthcare, and they are not going to take their
taxes to make sure your sport is clean. If we decide that, in
fact, Congress has to intervene, you are probably not going to
get the funding question.
I have two technical questions. One is for Mr. Jones. Have
you ever seen amphetamines?
Mr. Jones. Have I ever seen amphetamine use in the NBA?
Mr. Souder. You say you haven't seen steroids. Have you
ever seen any amphetamine use?
Mr. Jones. No, sir.
Mr. Souder. Has anybody asked you about them?
Mr. Jones. I have had many players ask just out of
curiosity. My belief is that they were just asking out of
curiosity after reading something or hearing something. But as
far as them asking questions where I thought that was something
they were thinking of doing, no.
Mr. Souder. Would you recognize somebody's behavior changes
if they were using amphetamines?
Mr. Jones. Yes, I would. I think I could recognize some of
the----
Mr. Souder. And you don't think you have ever seen any
player using amphetamines?
Mr. Jones. No, sir, not in my years.
Mr. Souder. Have you, Mr. Stern or Mr. Hunter, ever thought
about having that included in your testing process? Are you
considering that at this point?
Mr. Stern. It actually is included in our testing process
and will be, therefore, included as we increase the penalty and
increase the tests.
And I guess on the subject of the appropriations remarks, I
just would like to clarify a point. That as you go down the
lists of drugs that get added, there are some drugs, like EPO,
which are prevalent and I think would be acknowledged in
particular sports, not basketball or any sports that have
appeared here could be affected by it, which are the most
expensive drugs for which to test.
And I would just urge that although I would support and be
in favor of Federal legislation here, that it is easy to toss
in a list of drugs and some notionality should exist of where
the line gets drawn in terms of the number of testing and the
complication of testing.
Mr. Souder. I have one additional question, but that is a
wise warning, that as we look at particularly as we get a
pattern, and with the changing hormonal growth drugs, that it
may vary slightly sport by sport, and we have to figure out how
to accommodate that with the costs and masking agents.
My last question is--and this is once again to Mr. Jones--
is it possible that people can use steroids in the off-season
and get it out of their system by the time you institute
testing in pre-season or during the season?
Mr. Jones. I think you said something as you asked me the
question about masking agents. That is possible. I think the
tough part with steroids, compared to other drugs, the anabolic
steroids, those things are oil-based, so they are going to stay
in your system longer, so they are harder to detect and they
are harder to mask. But to say that masking is impossible would
be wrong.
Mr. Souder. I thank you all. Your answers are helpful.
Chairman Tom Davis. Mr. Ruppersberger.
Mr. Ruppersberger. First, Commissioner Stern, I want to
acknowledge the fact that, in my opinion, I think you have done
a very good job and you are a strong leader to maintain the
integrity of a game that this country really likes and has a
lot of influence on all generations. There are inconsistencies
that I want to deal with, though. To begin with, you have a
testing program that is different between veterans and new
players coming in. I think that program is the veterans are
tested, I think, once a year and the new people coming in. Why
the inconsistency in that testing procedure?
Mr. Stern. Well, at the time we put it in, there was little
or no testing in sports on steroids and steroids did not appear
to be a problem, so we added it, we added the once a year, and
then to sort of send a message, we thought the best place to
start it was with random testing on rookies. We now understand,
in light of the attention that has been placed on this, that
random testing for veterans is something that is a necessity.
Mr. Ruppersberger. Well, I think it is good that you
recognize that. I want to bring up another issue, too, because
a lot of what we deal with in politics and what you deal with
is perception, and we know that.
Mr. Stern. Correct.
Mr. Ruppersberger. Sometimes it is not reality. And you
talk about steroids. Basketball is more a game of quickness and
speed than it is bulk, unless you are going up against Shaq.
But basically the Houston Rockets coach, Van Gundy, I think you
fined him $100,000 and threatened that he be banned for life
for the kind of comments that he made. And that was strong.
That showed leadership. You were trying to protect the
integrity and that coaches should not criticize the integrity
of the officials, which is an important part of the game.
Don't you think that as strong as you were with that, that
because of the perception that NBA basketball needs to be just
as strong? I mean, you are stronger on street drugs than maybe
you are on steroids. Whether or not steroids are a reality--I
don't think we have the evidence to say that, but we do know
this: that all of these sports, these professional sports that
are very popular, younger generations are influenced.
Juan Dixon is a star. Younger generations look up to Juan
Dixon and other players. And it seems to me that because of the
hearings--which I was concerned about at first, but I think the
chairman and Mr. Waxman have done a great job to put this on
the forefront, because it is about the impact with younger
generations. And I think it is the responsibility of Juan's
generation to hold this game in trust and to do the right thing
for these younger kids who will come forward.
Because of the Van Gundy situation and because of the
inconsistency in the testing procedures, because of the fact
that steroids isn't in the same level as you have the street
drugs--and I think street drugs, if you are caught, you are 2
years out right away; and that is a deterrent. So are you going
to consider addressing these issues?
Mr. Stern. Well, I guess I would say that I agree with your
praise for the committee and what it has focused on this. I
would say to you that the five-game suspension, which is what
we have for steroids on a first offense, for the average NBA
player would be a quarter of a million dollars. So that is
somewhat higher than the $100,000 that Coach Van Gundy was
fined.
And with respect to the statement that we should send to
kids, I would tell you that the committee's hearings have--I
had my doubts at first too, frankly, and I am now persuaded
that it is appropriate for an athlete coming into the NBA, in
effect, to participate in the statement made by all players,
commissioners, unions, and the like that steroids have no place
in sports, period.
Mr. Ruppersberger. And any use of steroids is cheating.
That is not what we want in our professional sports. And that
is why I would hope that after these hearings that you will get
together with the Players Association.
Mr. Dixon, I am a Terp too. I didn't realize my friend Mr.
Clay was a Terp from Missouri. I am also from Baltimore, so I
have watched your career, and I know your aunt, who is
president of the city council. I think you have really held
yourself in a situation where you have dignified your
profession when you were at the University of Maryland and now
that you are at the Wizards.
Based on the fact that you came from a tough background,
you came from the street, what deterrents do you think that we
need to have so that you can send a good message to kids as it
relates to drugs? Are you concerned that your sport needs to
have stricter penalties, not as much to catch players, but to
show that we are buttoned up and we are not going to be able to
tolerate any drugs because it is going to affect the dignity of
our sport?
Mr. Dixon. Well, you know, growing up in Baltimore City I
was surrounded by a lot of drugs, and growing up as a kid you
choose what direction you want to go into, and I chose to go in
another direction, I focused on sports. And, yes, I agree that
there should be stricter penalties. Like I said, I am sure the
union and Mr. Stern and Mr. Hunter will come up with an
agreement that will have harsh penalties if guys use steroids.
That is pretty much all I know and all I am going to answer.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you. The gentleman's time has
expired. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Hon. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
follows:]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T1484.043
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T1484.044
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T1484.045
Ms. Brown-Waite.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank the panel for being here. I had read your
testimony before I arrived.
Any law enforcement officer will tell you that when they
arrest somebody for a crime, it is usually only 1 percent of
those arrested that this is the first time that crime has ever
been committed. Using that logic, I wonder why, Mr. Stern, a
recent newspaper article said that you were willing to
introduce another random steroid testing? Why would you not
want to have more than just one other random drug testing?
Mr. Stern. Actually, you are quite right. In our proposal
to the union is four additional random drug tests and one
additional random test out of competition, which is in the off-
season. So we are actually proposing--plus the one in the
exhibition season. So we are actually proposing as many as six.
Ms. Brown-Waite. That is great. Obviously the newspaper
article that I had was incorrect.
Mr. Stern. Correct.
Ms. Brown-Waite. And any of us involved in politics knows
that very often it is not always the correct thing that is
printed in the paper.
Mr. Stern. So Will Rogers maybe wasn't familiar with
today's newspapers.
Ms. Brown-Waite. My next question is for Mr. Jones. As a
former trainer for the Olympic National Basketball Team,
obviously, you are familiar with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
and the World Anti-Doping Agency's doping control. Is that
correct that you are familiar with that?
Mr. Jones. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Brown-Waite. How does the NBA's prohibited substance
use compare to WADA's prohibited substance list? And the second
question would be does the list include designer steroids, and
do you feel that some substances tested for in Olympic athletes
should also be tested for in NBA players? And I look forward to
your response.
Mr. Jones. OK. That is a pretty big question. I am familiar
with the WADA list and the IOC and the USOC lists, and they are
very extensive. I think, for the most part, the NBA list covers
a lot of the banned substances on both ends, whether they are
anabolic steroids or drugs of abuse.
Do I think that the NBA's list should cover everything that
they have? That would be tough. I think there is a lot of
supplements--call them nutritional supplements, call them
vitamins, whatever--that NBA players--not a lot that they use,
but a lot of the same ones are pretty consistent with it--that
I really couldn't say for sure if they are on the IOC list or
the WADA list.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Could you give me an example of some of
the supplements?
Mr. Jones. Well, it is just some of the things the guys
take, some of the drinks that they have, things with creatine
and creatine phosphate. I don't know what the levels are, if
that is a thing with WADA. Some of the pre-game drinks that
they have that have certain substances, I don't know what the
concentration level of WADA is. We have had our physicians look
at them, and they have deemed them safe for our players. And
our physicians have that banned substance list that comes from
the NBA, and also for the Olympics, so we are actually using
it.
As far as the Houston Rockets are concerned and NBA
trainers, we are actually using that same list, because we
don't know when our players are going to get selected for an
international competition. Somebody may have made an Olympic
team and you have to get an alternate. Those alternates pop up
all the time, so our guys, we make sure that they stay within
the guidelines.
Ms. Brown-Waite. Well, I think the basic question is if it
is good enough for the Olympic National Basketball Team, why
should this not be a universal standard?
Mr. Jones. I would agree with you there. I think the banned
substances list for both are pretty accurate. I think what the
WADA and the IOC get into are more of the designer steroids and
more of the growth hormones that we have not yet tested for,
and, yes, I do think those should be included.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you.
Ms. Sanchez.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you, Chairman.
I just, in listening to the testimony today, can't help but
find some artificial distinctions that are troubling to me. And
before I get into those, I do want to ask Commissioner Stern
for a little bit of clarification.
Did you just state that the new proposed policy would have
four additional random drug tests throughout the season, one
out of season and one in the----
Mr. Stern. Actually, I misspoke. It is one random test in
training camp, three additional random tests in season, and one
out of season. Mr. Buchanan has corrected me. So it is not six,
it is five. But, yes, we are proposing the opportunity for
three additional random tests in season.
Ms. Sanchez. OK. And would those random tests apply to
veterans and rookies?
Mr. Stern. Correct. To every NBA player.
Ms. Sanchez. OK. Because I was finding it a little bit
troubling that there is this artificial distinction between
rookie players and veteran players.
One of the other distinctions that is a little bit
troubling to me is that the current policy right now covers
testing for street drugs and covers testing for steroid use or
performance-enhancing drugs, but the penalties for the street
drug use are far stricter. And the example that I am going to
give you is that an NBA veteran who is caught using cocaine
faces a minimum of a 2-year ban from the league, but the same
veteran who uses steroids faces only a five-game suspension;
and even after multiple offenses, the player would face a 25-
game suspension.
That makes no sense to me. Both substances are illegal and
one is actually helping somebody cheat in a sport where you
want to maintain the integrity of the game. So how could you
justify having such a large difference in penalties?
Mr. Stern. Well, actually, let me take you through the
history of it. The cocaine, which has been in effect since
1983, when we dealt exclusively with non-steroidal drugs,
recreational drugs, if you would, that was for for-cause
testing when we caught somebody who didn't come forward into
our program. As we came to learn more about steroids, in the
first instance we were concerned about the fact that there were
certain tainted nutritional supplements and that since our
policy is absolute, no matter what--if you are found to have
the substance in your system, you were gone, period--the
possibility for accidental contamination, which we didn't think
was the case with cocaine, caused us to move more slowly with
respect to steroids. We are concerned about that because in
addition to wanting to set an example and also wanting to make
our integrity level as high as it can possibly be, we do have
concerns for the individual rights of our players.
Ms. Sanchez. And I can understand that. But with respect to
the concerns about contamination, if I am not mistaken, the NFL
and the Olympics have a way to deal with that, and I think part
of that is educating players about it and holding them
responsible for their actions.
Mr. Stern. Actually, the way that the Olympics has been
doing it is with a series of modifications that allow you to
consider ameliorative conditions, where every player who is
found guilty of some drug use has the opportunity to appeal--
not widely reported--and endless hearings go on with respect to
that. In our view, we don't even want the discretion. We think
it is appropriate for it to be absolute, and we deal with the
issue in the penalty phase so that the penalties get stepped
up.
Ms. Sanchez. But you don't think that there is an inherent
message that you are sending by saying that for illegal street
drugs we are going to penalize you in a much more severe
manner, and with respect to performance-enhancing drugs--which
are not only illegal, mind you, but again undermine the
integrity of the sport--we are going to have stepped up
penalties?
Mr. Stern. Actually, I tell you that there may be some
inconsistencies, but in 1983, when our NBA players stepped up
and said we think it is most important for us to have this drug
policy because kids in our neighborhoods are using those drugs,
and they wanted to send a strong message. We have been evolving
with respect to steroids, and now we are there, and that is
reflected by the conversations that we and the union are now
having and the propsals that I have put before this committee.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you.
Mr. Dent [presiding]. Your time has expired.
Thank you. I have a question for the commissioner, Mr.
Stern. Can you hear me?
Mr. Stern. Yes.
Mr. Dent. A question for Mr. Stern. Following up on
Representative Brown-Waite's comments on supplementals, I know
that tainted supplements are a source of concern for the NBA,
given the strict liability of your policy. Have you considered
certifying certain supplements as safe, as the NFL has begun to
do?
Mr. Stern. It is on our agenda. It is hard for us to think
that if we certify a company, that puts us into the business of
drug manufacturing and supplement manufacturing, and thereby
vouching for its product; and that at least gave us some pause,
Congressman.
Mr. Dent. OK. And just to followup, have you considered
using a USADA certified lab to conduct your steroid testing?
Mr. Stern. Yes. In fact, we do.
Mr. Buchanan. At risk of correcting the commissioner, we
currently do not use a WADA-certified lab. The lab that we use
is certified by the College of American Pathologists and the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
There are two WADA-certified labs in North America, UCLA and
Montreal, and we are currently looking to move our program
potentially to one of those labs starting next season in order
to take advantage of the best science that they have, because
there are some substances that only those labs are able to test
for in this country.
Mr. Stern. To help resurrect me, who heads the lab that we
currently use?
Mr. Buchanan. Who is our director of toxicology?
Mr. Stern. Isn't he the head of the----
Mr. Buchanan. We will just have this conversation.
Mr. Stern [continuing]. Moscow Olympics?
Mr. Buchanan. Yes, correct, Victor Uralets is our director
of toxicology at Quest Diagnostics.
Mr. Stern. OK. Thank you.
Mr. Dent. And I guess maybe to Mr. Jones, the NBA currently
has certified drug collectors in half the cities that have
professional basketball teams. Are you familiar with which
cities have the ability to collect those drug samples and which
cities don't, and is Houston one of them?
Mr. Jones. Yes, as far as my knowledge, the NBA has a
security person in every city that is certified to collect
those samples, and I know who our representative is there.
Mr. Dent. Could anybody else comment on that, maybe Mr.
Buchanan?
Mr. Buchanan. Sure. We have a staff of security
representatives that are employed by the league office. There
is a security representative for each of the 30 teams. We have
trained a subset of that group, half, to collect specimens for
us in our drug testing in the pre-season and during the season,
and those collectors, we utilize them regionally and throughout
the country to get the samples from the players.
Mr. Dent. OK. The reason I asked is because some of these
steroids might only stay in the body for a few days and they
can cycle it. I have no further questions at this time.
Chairman Tom Davis [presiding]. The Chair recognizes Mr.
Cummings.
Mr. Cummings. I missed what you just said about the people
who do the collecting, because, for us, the integrity of the
tests are very, very important. When we examined the baseball
folks, we were extremely alarmed that there were so many
loopholes in the testing. And I was just wondering. Tell me who
does the testing? Who collects the specimens?
Mr. Buchanan. Our drug testing specimens are collected by a
staff of NBA security representatives. These are people who are
all former law enforcement individuals; they work under the
direction of our NBA head of security, who is a former official
with the FBI. They are trained in the procedures and the chain
of custody that is required to collect drug samples. All of our
samples are collected under direct observation.
Mr. Cummings. Now, Mr. Stern--and maybe this would also go
to Mr. Hunter--I am sure it has been made clear here--I am
sorry I had to leave; I had to go over to the Senate about this
nuclear option business--but let me ask you this. I notice that
you all came up with the new proposed penalties. Do you think
the likelihood of them going through is pretty good?
And I am wondering--and perhaps this is for you, Mr.
Hunter--we here come from all sides of the country, and I come
from the inner city of Baltimore, where young men are going to
jail every day for Schedule I, II, and III drugs. And they look
at this steroid thing and they say to themselves, well, wait a
minute, these guys are bulking up and I am going to jail; and
they are getting paid a million and I am unemployed.
And then they ask the question what's up with that? And I
am just wondering if the players understand that the Congress
is losing a little patience, and that there is not a lot of
sympathy up here for these millionaire players who may be
bulking up and, by the way, severely damaging the credibility
and the integrity of the game.
And I am just wondering do you think that is getting
through, Mr. Stern, that message?
Mr. Stern. Well----
Mr. Cummings. I mean, in light of the fact that you just
came up with some stricter--and I applaud you for that, by the
way.
Mr. Stern. Yes. Well, I would say to you that I would like
to parse your question and say to you that the committee has
gotten our attention, it has done the service, and we want to
make clear that our game is free of that. My concern by you
raising the question suggests that NBA players are bulking up,
and I am not prepared to acknowledge the truth of that
assertion.
Mr. Cummings. Well, let me back up, then. Let us take that
way and let me ask the question another way. First of all, do
you think that if other players are using steroids, do you
believe that they believe that is cheating? Do you believe it
is cheating?
Mr. Stern. Yes, I do believe it. I believe our players
believe it, and I believe our current drug policy--in its
intention if not quite yet in its fully desired effect--makes
that statement forcefully on behalf of both the union and the
league.
And with respect to your point on criminal enforcement, as
far as I am concerned, we are not law enforcement. And if
somebody is illegally using drugs, wherever they are, including
NBA players, the law enforcement authorities should do what
they deem appropriate.
Mr. Cummings. Do you have a response, Mr. Hunter?
Mr. Hunter. No. I am in agreement with what Mr. Stern is
saying relative to his last comment. I was a Federal prosecutor
for about 8 years and a State prosecutor for about 10 or 11
before that. I served as U.S. attorney for northern California.
So I have been deeply involved in the criminal aspect for a
long, long time prior to coming to the NBA. It is my contention
that our players are controlled by the same laws that control
everybody else, and I am sure that whatever we put in place,
the message that we intend to deliver will be delivered and the
players will conform their conduct accordingly, assuming there
is a problem.
Mr. Cummings. And I take it that, in listening to you, Mr.
Stern, you think that if there is a problem--I am not putting
words in your mouth, I just want you to answer me--just based
upon what you said a few minutes ago, that it is not a major
problem in the NBA, use of steroids?
Mr. Stern. I would say that I have no evidence of it. But I
think we owe it to the public at this point, based upon the
concerns that have been raised by this committee, to
demonstrate that what I believe to be the fact is truly the
fact, so we don't have to debate about bulking up versus speed.
If you are an NBA player, you will be subject to random testing
that both protects your health, protects the confidence in the
game, and sends the message to kids that this is something that
is not a part of sports.
Mr. Cummings. Thank you.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you very much. We will just go
through a few more questions, then I think we can let you go.
Mr. Hunter, our staff has been in contact with the Players
Association regarding the formation of a Zero Tolerance
Roundtables to foster discussions between a wide cross-section
of both the professional sports and amateur sports worlds,
including medical experts, high school coaches, anti-drug
advocacy organizations, and we are pleased that the NBA has
agreed to participate. But we haven't gotten the same
commitment from the Players Association. Can we have that
commitment?
Mr. Hunter. Yes.
Chairman Tom Davis. OK. Thank you very much. And we just
need you to work with us to get some players that would be part
of this. They are the real role models. They don't care what
Commissioner Stern or Mr. Waxman or I think about it, they look
up to the Juan Dixons of the world; that is who the kids are
idolizing out there, and it is just important they make those
kind of statements.
Juan, that is why we are so pleased to have you here today
making your statements.
I have one piece I am trying to followup on. I think we
have almost closed on--this is on the NBA current policy on the
drug collectors in half of the cities that have teams back and
forth. You admit it is probably not as solid as you would like
it, is that fair to say?
Mr. Stern. We are absolutely quite happy with the
collection. We accept--and you can see from our proposals that
additional penalties and additional random tests and
consideration of what, if any, additional substances should be
added are all things that we should be looking at.
Chairman Tom Davis. Because of where the collectors are,
some teams could only be tested at away games, so in theory, at
least, it would be easier to game if somebody wanted to do
that.
Mr. Stern. I don't think so. Mr. Buchanan.
Chairman Tom Davis. We don't have any evidence anybody is
gaming yet, but I am just saying----
Mr. Buchanan. Well, I think, actually, to the contrary,
Congressman. Because we use a subset of the full 30 security
reps, those security reps that do our drug collections, they
travel. So the players on a given team are not going to know
who they are going to see to do their collections, when they
are going to see them. It actually adds, in my opinion, an
additional element that is a positive for our program.
Chairman Tom Davis. OK, that clarifies it, as far as I am
concerned. I just remember a few years ago, when the Wizards
were building the MCI Center downtown and I had Wes Unseld
before me under oath, and I asked him a question, I said, are
the Wizards going to have a winning team next year. And this
was before, of course, Juan Dixon arrived on the scene.
Mr. Stern. And what did he say?
Chairman Tom Davis. He said, I can promise you exciting
basketball. That was his answer. So let me just ask this.
Commissioner Stern and Mr. Hunter, are we going to be able to
work this out, do you think? Not just on the drug side, but
your other issues? You have millions of fans around the world
watching.
Mr. Hunter. We are going to try.
Chairman Tom Davis. You are going to try?
Mr. Stern. We will give it our best shot.
Chairman Tom Davis. We are all counting on you. Thank you
very much.
Mr. Waxman.
Mr. Waxman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank each of the witnesses that appeared before
us today. You have been here voluntarily and your testimony has
been very forthright and helpful to us, and I very much
appreciate it. I gather that you and I both think that steroids
is not a big problem with basketball players, but the truth of
the matter is we don't know for sure because the testing
program that you have in place now is so weak. That is why I am
grateful for your leadership, Mr. Stern and Mr. Hunter, to
negotiate a stronger testing policy.
Mr. Stern, I appreciate your willingness to support the
idea of uniform legislation.
I wanted to point out to Mr. Hunter that when we talk about
uniform legislation, we are talking about a minimum, and the
different sports groups can do other things; it is not a one-
size-fits-all for everyone. I know details are important, and I
just wanted to point that out to you. We will go over some of
the details at another time.
There was a heated exchange with Mr. Lynch. As I heard what
Mr. Lynch was saying earlier, I don't think he was saying that
steroids caused the brawl, but he was saying, in effect, the
brawl would have triggered the reasonable cause clause. So I
just want to point that out. Not to engage in it any further,
but I think there was a misunderstanding.
Mr. Stern. I was reacting to the difference between some of
the words you used and the word pathetic that Mr. Lynch used.
Mr. Waxman. I see. Well, that was your response, but there
was an earlier exchange.
Mr. Stern. No, but I understand. And, actually, we were
sufficiently engaged with that event in so many difficult
ways--with respect to security, service, crowd control,
protection of players, and protection of fans--that didn't
trigger the issue that you raised, but I understand the issue
well.
Mr. Waxman. Well, you certainly were much more involved in
it, but I thought he was being somewhat criticized for an
interpretation of what he had to say, which isn't what I heard
him say.
Mr. Stern. I understand.
Mr. Waxman. But I can see how you would have that feeling.
Also in the questioning by Mr. Ruppersberger, when he
talked about Van Gundy, I think you answered part of the
question when you talked about the monetary fine being
comparable to what monetary fine in other circumstances, but
the disparity was that your first reaction was to ban him from
the game, which is a pretty harsh penalty. It didn't go that
far, but that would have been a very harsh one, banning him for
life. That is a harsh penalty, and when you think about the
kind of penalty for drug use it is a lot different. So there is
a disparity in how strongly you felt about what might be an
appropriate penalty.
Mr. Stern. Well, but I have to delve further into the facts
of the situation with you, and it had to do more with his non-
cooperation in revealing sources. And I have known the House to
react strongly when people appearing before it refuse to either
testify or give information. So it was not about simply the
criticism of the game, but it was about his unwillingness to be
forthcoming when asked questions that he was required to
answer.
Mr. Waxman. I wouldn't want our House ethics policy to be a
model for you.
Mr. Stern. Congressman, I didn't say that.
Chairman Tom Davis. I was going to ask which policy, Henry.
Mr. Waxman. But on the other hand, I wouldn't think that a
House ethics policy ought to call for banning for life for an
offense under one circumstance, but a slap on the wrist for
another one if they both go to the integrity of the game and
are very serious problems.
Mr. Stern. Actually, people have come to expect more of our
athletes and coaches, unfortunately, than even of commissioners
or Members of Congress. We somehow apply a higher standard. And
in the case of Mr. Dixon, even though I didn't go to the
University of Maryland, I am proud to be sitting on this panel
with him, and I think he is a great representative of all of
our NBA athletes.
Mr. Waxman. Well, our goal is, because of the reverence in
which sports are held in this country, that we want the
American people to feel that you are meeting higher standards,
even if they look at politicians and think there might be a
higher standard that politicians could achieve. But I am not
really asking for a response.
Mr. Stern. We agree, and we are going to make you proud of
us, Congressman.
Mr. Waxman. Well, we are going to work together with you,
and I just think that your being here was very helpful. This is
the beginning of further discussions that we will all have.
Mr. Stern. Thank you very much.
Mr. Waxman. Because we have the same goal in mind.
Mr. Stern. We do.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you.
I think, Mr. Souder, do you have one last?
Mr. Waxman. Oh, I did want to also thank Keith Jones for
his testimony.
Chairman Tom Davis. Very helpful. Thank you.
Mr. Waxman. And Mr. Dixon. I was told by Karen Nelson, who
is my chief of staff, who is a fanatic Wizards fan, that I
should keep asking questions until she could get back from a
doctor's appointment just so she could see you. So I hope she
will arrive in time. But you have been terrific to be here.
Thank you.
Chairman Tom Davis. Thank you.
Mr. Souder has one more question.
Mr. Souder. I do, by the way, favor drug testing for
Congressmen; have done that myself. I believe we should lead by
example. Not that any of us are likely to be seen as steroid
users. I think you can look at the picture of us and see that
is probably the case.
I had one particular question. I agree that the testing
during the season, possibly off-season, and the penalties are
the biggest questions, and you are attempting to address those.
But there is another one that is emerging that the World Anti-
Doping Agency, as you said, is looking at what you test becomes
critical, and that is gene doping. Because what we have been up
until now is behind.
In other words, as steroids and human growth and this one
isn't there, but as it has been in multiple news stories in
Seattle and the AP in the last couple months, steroids are old
news for edge seekers. And the World Anti-Doping and the U.S.
Anti-Doping policy says the non-therapeutic use of cells,
genes, genetic elements, or of modification of gene expression
having the capacity to enhance athletic performance is
prohibited. If that could at least be part of any policy, I
think we are looking at that here because this would just
dramatically alter it in a different way.
Mr. Stern. I couldn't agree with you more, Congressman. I
have been doing some reading on that in line with some other
work I do at the university level. The potential for genetic
therapy which will arguably corrupt athletic competition is out
there. Whether we can stay ahead of the curve I think is going
to be a real issue, but we are committed to, with other sports
and with this committee, to attempt to do that.
Mr. Souder. And my last is a question, but first I want to
say thanks for working with Partnership for Drug-Free America.
You used several examples in your testimony of a number of you
doing local efforts. But the NBA is a little unusual compared
to the other sports, in that you take kids straight out of high
school, which has, for example, tremendously helped the Indiana
Pacers, for which we are very appreciative. But are you also
doing directed high school outreach, where you have such a huge
impact, even more probably than other sports?
Mr. Stern. You know, we are. We go, for example, to the
places like the McDonald's All American Tournament, where we
bring in representatives to talk to the kids who have been
identified as likely pro prospects, and with our Junior NBA and
Junior WNBA, which go younger, we are going to increase that.
But I must tell you that if we can find a way together to get
the kids at a younger age than when they are high school
players, that, to me, would be the most important thing to do.
And it has to be more than just public service announcements.
There has to be a complete cultural shift on the entire
subject.
In the mid-1980's, when Mrs. Reagan was deeply involved
with Just Say No, I am pleased to say that the NBA was deeply
involved with that effort. And despite my initial skepticism,
there actually was a change in the way kids behaved vis-a-vis
drugs, and I think it had something to do with her efforts. And
if we could somehow recreate that collectively, I think it
would be terrific.
Mr. Souder. Thank you very much.
Chairman Tom Davis. I want to thank all of you. This has
been a great panel. It will help us. As we move our legislation
forward, Commissioner Stern, Mr. Hunter, we will share with you
our thoughts as the process moves forward.
The hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:36 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
[The prepared statement of Hon. Diane E. Watson, Hon.
Carolyn B. Maloney, and Hon. Jon C. Porter follow:]
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