Given the recent scandals and increased attention to drug abuse in professional sports, “Drug Testing” seems to be in the news a lot lately Sources site that twenty NFL football players were suspended for games in the 2013 football season due to violations in the NFL’s substance abuse policy and/or the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing drugs.1 As these results reveal, athletes are not only being tested for performance enhancing substances such as steroids and stimulants, but they are also being tested for typical recreational drugs of abuse as well.
Policies are created to protect players who are willing to sacrifice the long-term side effects for a short-term gain. These athletes are willing to risk the detrimental effects to their health in the future for the competitive edge today. Some even ruin their careers by being addicted to drugs. LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, aka the “Honey Badger”, entered the 2012 football season as a Heisman Candidate. However, he was suspended from his football team and was not allowed play due to violating the team’s substance abuse policy. The Honey Badger later told one NFL team on an interview he fell so many drug tests that he quit counting at 10.2 It has been well publicized at the benefits steroids and other performance enhancing drugs provide on the field, but painkillers and other opiate usage are becoming increasingly common. These athletes take pain pills to mask symptoms and allow them to keep performing despite injury and/or exhaustion.
The ‘Big Four’ sports leagues (hockey, basketball, baseball and football) have all had programs in place for many years. Any sport that is included in the Olympics will generally have an organization at the national level that oversees testing in competition. Combat sports including boxing and mixed martial arts are overseen by athletic commissions at the state level, and drug testing is required in order to be issued a fight license. At the college level, the NCAA conducts testing through a dual-layered program; both at championship sites and on a random, year-round basis. Some high schools and smaller recreational leagues have begun their own testing programs more recently, probably due in part to the increasing availability of various drugs through the internet. There was initially some controversy about drug-testing in high-schools, but a 1995 Supreme Court decision upheld the right to drug-test.
So what are the benefits of having a testing program? Proponents of testing point to the deterrence that is driven by accountability as well as a stronger sense of fair play. These same proponents would also offer a very valid argument that sports drug testing policies and programs are in place to protect the athlete that is so driven by success that he/she would risk long-term harm to himself to be better than the competition.