Leaders of pro sports leagues to testify today on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON -- Career home run leader Hank Aaron and four other baseball Hall of Famers planned to accompany commissioner Bud Selig on his latest trip to Capitol Hill to discuss steroids today.

Selig, Major League Baseball players' association chief executive Donald Fehr, and commissioners and union leaders from the NFL, NBA and NHL will testify at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing.

The hearing was called to discuss two proposed Senate bills that would standardize drug testing and punishment in major professional sports. Three similar bills have been introduced in the House.

Selig had invited Aaron, Ryne Sandberg, Phil Niekro, Robin Roberts and Lou Brock to attend the hearing, a baseball official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to disclose that information.

As of Tuesday evening, there were no plans to have the former stars testify, and none was on the witness list posted on the committee's Web site.

A sixth former baseball player will be present Wednesday, and he'll be asking questions: Sen. Jim Bunning, a Kentucky Republican and former pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame in 1996.

He's not a member of the Commerce Committee but was invited to participate because he sponsored the Professional Sports and Integrity Act. Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, will run the hearing; he sponsored the Clean Sports Act, a companion to the House bill introduced by Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis.

Both Senate bills call for a two-year suspension the first time an athlete fails a drug test and a lifetime ban after a second failed test. The four leagues whose leaders are appearing Wednesday have less strict policies, though all have toughened or proposed toughening their penalties in recent months.

"If they would take seriously the bills before the Congress and negotiate some kind of settlement that is close to the bills in the House and in the Senate, then I think major league sports and their unions could get away without having legislation passed by the Congress," Bunning said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "I don't see that happening."

He said he expects legislation to reach the floor of Congress before the end of the year.

Bunning was dismissive of Fehr's offer to accept a 20-game penalty instead of 10 days for first-time steroid offenders, outlined Monday in a letter to Selig.

"Basically, he says, 'In your face. Twenty games, take it or leave it.' That's completely unacceptable to the Congress," Bunning said.

Fehr's proposal fell short of Selig's call in April for a 50-game suspension after an initial positive test, a 100-game ban for second-time offenders and a lifetime ban for a third violation. Selig took the get-tough approach about five weeks after lawmakers on Davis' panel grilled baseball officials and players including Rafael Palmeiro about steroids.