Leagues' top brass go before Congress

WASHINGTON -- The NBA wants to kick players out of the league for a third failed steroid test and double the punishment for a first offense, commissioner David Stern told a House panel on Wednesday, the latest example of a professional sport moving to tighten its drug policy in the face of congressional scrutiny.

In a rare gathering of some of the most powerful people in American sports, Stern joined fellow commissioners Bud Selig of Major League Baseball, Gary Bettman of the NHL and Don Garber of Major League Soccer in testifying before the House Commerce trade and consumer protection subcommittee about steroid use and testing.

The heads of those leagues' player unions and a former chairman of the U.S. Anti-Doping Association also appeared at a hearing to discuss the Drug Free Sports Act. The legislation proposed last month by subcommittee chairman Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican, would govern drug testing across American professional sports, aiming to bring them in line with the Olympics.

It would have the Commerce secretary oversee rules on drug testing and calls for a two-year suspension for a first offense and a lifetime ban for a second. Leagues that don't comply would be fined at least $5 million.

"This is not an opportunity to direct blame and to try and embarrass anyone," Stearns said in opening the hearing and describing his proposed law.

"I am not convinced that an effective solution to this problem can be found in a system that allows those with a vested interest in the performance of the players and leagues to simply police themselves," the subcommittee chairman added.

Not surprisingly, nearly all of the witnesses -- the most glaring exception was Selig -- objected to the bipartisan bill.

"A policy that is the product of agreement between management and labor will always be superior to one that is imposed from the outside," Stern wrote in his prepared testimony, echoing his union counterpart, Billy Hunter.

Several lawmakers praised Selig for proposing tougher penalties in baseball after his sport's drug policy was slammed for being too weak during an 11-hour hearing before the House Government Reform Committee, which is conducting a separate steroids inquiry.

"Mr. Selig, you've come a long way," said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.

Texas Republican Joe Barton, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and other representatives stated their panel has jurisdiction over the steroids issue. Barton predicted "this will result in legislation in the very near future."

In his prepared testimony, Stern revealed proposals the NBA made to its players during ongoing negotiations to replace a labor deal that expires June 30. A first steroid offense would draw a 10-game suspension in an 82-game season, a second would draw 25 games, and a third would result in a player being "dismissed and disqualified from the NBA," with the possibility of reinstatement after two years under "exceptional circumstances." Currently, a first offense gets a five-game ban, a second gets 10 games, and a third gets 25.

Stern wants to increase the number of random tests for all players to four per season (only rookies face that many now), add one random offseason test, and add to the list of banned substances.

When its current drug policy was instituted in 1999, Stern told the committee, the NBA "had no evidence of even minimal use of steroids or performance-enhancing drugs by NBA players. Nor are we aware of such evidence today."

Two players are believed to have been suspended for steroid use since the NBA implemented its current policy in 1999.

The NHL -- which canceled its 2004-05 season in a labor dispute -- doesn't test for performance-enhancing substances at all, but Bettman and union head Bob Goodenow told the committee they plan to add random testing and discipline to a new collective bargaining agreement.

Selig reiterated that he would support federal legislation unless baseball's union agrees to toughen the sport's drug policy.

"I will continue to be a supporter of an appropriately tailored, uniform federal standard. I hope that we will have the opportunity to work with Congress in developing that standard," he told the committee.

Union leaders were particularly critical of the bill.

Major League Players Association executive director Donald Fehr told lawmakers that collective bargaining was the appropriate way to deal with employment issues, "even matters as controversial and politically volatile as random suspicionless employee drug testing."

Fehr lodged several other complaints about the bill, ranging from Fourth Amendment issues to a "problematic and confusing" section on appeals. He joined Stern, Bettman and Goodenow in calling the penalties too harsh, with Fehr saying: "A two-year suspension for a first offense would, as a practical matter, end the player's career in the vast majority of circumstances."

The same panel will hear from NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw on Thursday.

Also that day, Stern, Hunter, Washington Wizards guard Juan Dixon and Houston Rockets trainer Keith Jones are to testify before the House Government Reform Committee. The leaders of that committee plan to jointly announce their own proposed legislation with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

"So why in the world did we ever get into a situation where steroids apparently were swallowed like M&Ms and adults winked at each other when baseball players started growing arms as big as tree trunks?" Barton asked. "However it happened, I'm glad that it finally seems to be changing."