Under Pressure From Congress, Fehr Says New Steroid Plan Is Coming
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WASHINGTON – Pressed by Senator McCain, a Republican of Arizona, to say when Major League Baseball will have a new steroids agreement with harsher penalties, union head Donald Fehr told Congress yesterday he thinks it could happen within a month.
Fehr, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, and officials from the National Football League, National Basketball Association, and National Hockey League were called before the Senate Commerce Committee to discuss two proposed Senate bills that would standardize drug policies across sports. Three similar bills have been introduced in the House.
The focus during the two-hour hearing, though, was on baseball – much as has been the case since the House Government Reform Committee grilled Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Selig, Fehr, and others about steroids on March 17. Palmeiro, who emphatically told Congress that day he had never used steroids, was suspended on August 1 after failing a drug test.
Five weeks after that hearing, Selig proposed toughening baseball’s penalties, and five Hall of Famers, including career home run leader Hank Aaron, testified yesterday in support of that plan. Fehr made public a less-tough counteroffer this week.
McCain wanted to know why the process has moved so slowly, asking Fehr repeatedly: “Don’t you get it?”
“We’re at the end here, and I don’t want to do it, but we need an agreement soon. It’s not complicated. All sports fans understand it,” McCain said. “I suggest you act and you act soon.”
Pressed for a deadline for an agreement, Fehr said: “Can I give you a precise date? No. Would I expect it to be by the end of the World Series? I would certainly hope so.”
In April, Selig called 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. Currently, a first offense carries a 10-day ban. Fehr offered Monday to accept a 20-game penalty for first-time offenders.
“We believe that we’ve made a lot of strides … and we are prepared to do a lot more,” Fehr testified yesterday, adding later: “I think we’re very close to an agreement. I’ll be surprised if we can’t work it out.”
Selig acknowledged that “baseball presently has a problem,” adding, “It is my goal … to eradicate the use of performance-enhancing substances from the game, and I will not leave one stone unturned until this happens.”
McCain sponsored the Clean Sports Act, a companion to the House bill introduced by Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, a Republican of Virginia. Senator Bunning, a Kentucky Republican and former pitcher, sponsored the Professional Sports and Integrity Act.
Both 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 officials appeared yesterday have less strict penalties, though all have toughened or proposed toughening their programs in recent months – in some cases, right before or after congressional hearings.