Dick Pound calls baseball drug policy a 'joke'
Last Updated: Friday, November 14, 2003 | 5:24 PM ET
CBC Sports
The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency called MLB's fight against steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs a 'complete joke' and an 'insult' on Friday
- RELATED:
- MLB adopts mandatory drug testing
The WADA chairman blasted the testing system and severity of penalties for steroid use that will start in baseball next March.
Dick Pound isn't too impressed with MLB's drug policy. (CP Photo)
When MLB and the MLB Players' Association negotiated the current collective bargaining agreement, which went into effect Sept. 30, 2002, they agreed to adopt mandatory testing if the percentage of positive results exceeded five per cent.
MLB made an announcement Thursday that between five and seven per cent of anonymous steroid tests among came back positive, making drug testing mandatory for next season.
The details of the program re what Pound, a Montreal-based lawyer, takes exception with.
A first positive test results in treatment. Any MLB player testing positive a second time will either be suspended 15 days without pay or fined up to $10,000 US. Suspensions increase to 25 days for a third infraction, 50 days for a fourth and one year for a fifth.
Testing with penalties will continue until positive tests drop below 2.5 per cent over consecutive years.
"I think it's an insult to the fight against doping in sport, an insult to the intelligence of the American public and an insult to the game itself," Pound told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
"I think it's a complete and utter joke. You can test positive for steroids five times, then they think of booting you out for a year? Give me a break. The first time someone has knowingly cheated and they give you counselling? It's a complete and utter joke."
Under the WADA code that has been adopted by most Olympic sports, athletes face a minimum two-year ban for a first steroid positive and a lifetime ban for a second.
Pound said the WADA is looking into filing an official complaint to the baseball commissioner's office about the sport's drug policy.
with files from Associated Press
