Topic: News: Statewide FL Steroid Testing for High School Athletes

[Dane Hussey]

Legislator Wants Statewide Steroid Testing for High School Athletes


http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/florida/news-article.aspx?storyid=76492

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Florida High School Athletes Might Be Tested for Steroids

TALLAHASSEE - The House unanimously approved a measure establishing a one-time, random anabolic steroids testing program for high school students on the football, baseball or weightlifting team.

The program would happen during the 2007-2008 school year, and public and private schools must participate as a prerequisite to membership in the state high school athletic association.

Currently, there is no statewide requirement that high school student athletes be tested for anabolic steroids.

The bill (HB 461) now goes to the Senate.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Steroids: One More Test for Florida High Schoolers

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A measure establishing a one-time, random anabolic steroids testing program for high school students on the football, baseball or weightlifting team now goes to the Senate.

The House unanimously approved the bill (HB 461) yesterday.

The program would happen during the next school year, and public and private schools must participate as a prerequisite to membership in the state high school athletic association.

Currently, there is no statewide requirement that high school student athletes be tested for anabolic steroids.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Coaches don't see problem
By JON STYF

SARASOTA -- As John Sprague sat in the Riverview High School weight room during weightlifting class Wednesday morning, he scanned the room and didn't see one student he thought could be using steroids.

The athletic director and football coach carefully tracks each athlete's lifting progress and said he would know immediately if the results didn't add up.

He doesn't think steroids are a problem at his school, and neither did any of the more than 10 area coaches contacted Wed-nesday. But coaches across the state are certainly thinking about the question differently now.

The Florida House of Representatives will vote today on a one-year pilot program to randomly test 1 percent of the roughly 59,000 athletes in weightlifting, football and baseball.

A similar bill is pending in the Senate. The session ends Friday. Gov. Charlie Crist said the plan "is probably OK."

Testing is scheduled for July. If an athlete fails the test, the athlete will be suspended from sports for 90 school days and could be reinstated only after passing another test and completing a drug-abuse education program.

"I have been coaching since 1970 and I bet I don't know five kids that have been on steroids," Sprague said. "And I don't think I'm naive by any stretch."

Both Sprague and Lakewood Ranch football coach Shawn Trent estimated that about 1 in every 100 athletes had taken steroids. But neither was opposed to testing altogether.

Those numbers are similar to the 1.4 percent of Florida High School students who admitted to taking steroids on the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey released in October 2004.

Some coaches and players, however, think the problem might be larger than that.

"I think it's more prevalent than people think," Braden River football and weightlifting coach Josh Hunter said.

Port Charlotte senior Carson Bowman, the recent 219-pound state weightlifting champion and football nose guard, thinks the testing could level the playing field by serving as a deterrent.

"I agree that it's a problem, but I don't want to accuse anyone of anything," Bowman said. "I've heard rumors, but I don't know anything for sure."

Manatee County high school athletes at Lakewood Ranch, Braden River, Palmetto and Manatee could be subject to more stringent testing for narcotics if a grant, set to be sent to the Department of Education on Friday, is approved, according to Manatee football coach Joe Kinnan.

Kinnan started a similar program, which cost the school's booster club about $6,000 a year.

For five years beginning in 1996, that program tested 25 percent of the Manatee's athletes for drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and other recreational drugs. Only a handful of tests came out positive before the program was stopped following Kinnan's retirement.

The school looked into steroid testing at that time and later but found that it cost four times as much per test, and it wasn't as big of a problem.

"We had people from all over the country call with interest in it," Kinnan said.

Both Hunter and Charlotte football coach Binky Waldrop make it a point to talk to their athletes on a regular basis about the dangers of steroids and other drugs.

But coaches know the problem still persists.

"Any time you have one kid on steroids, it's a problem," Venice athletic director Larry Sandburg said. "I'm sure kids have used it. No one has ever told me they used steroids."

The Legislature has vowed to pay for the one-year pilot program, estimated to cost $129,450 to $247,250.

But there are some who said testing just 1 percent isn't enough of a deterrent.

"People that are willing to cheat by taking steroids will find a way around it," said Manatee wrestling coach Andy Gugliemini, who also referees football.

"Just because someone is testing certain people, are they just going to say 'We better not take it?'

"Maybe if a few people get caught, then it will stop."

Sprague said the money would be better used if it went towards testing the general student and teacher population for narcotics, something he considers a far bigger problem at high schools and in society than steroids.

"They are so far out of touch with reality," Sprague said of the lawmakers.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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House bill Would Require Random Steroid Testing of Athletes
By Andrew Carter

Should House Bill 461 become law, a small percentage of Florida high school athletes will be subject during the 2007-08 school year to random anabolic steroid testing.

The proposed legislation, which also includes a measure to create a separate governing body from the Florida High School Athletic Association to oversee private schools, was on Wednesday awaiting approval from the state House of Representatives.

The bill, already passed by the state Senate, would create Florida's first high school steroid testing program if passed by the House and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Crist. Only 1 percent of all participants in baseball, football and weightlifting would be randomly tested.

"I'm totally in favor of it," said Mike Randow, the coach of the Port Orange Spruce Creek weightlifting team. Randow, though, would like to see more athletes tested.

"One percent� to me that's not a very good population," he said. "We may get lucky with the 1 percent, but there's going to be a lot that slips through the cracks."

The testing program would be fully funded by the Legislature and it's unclear whether it would extend beyond next school year. Under the proposal, an athlete who tests positive for steroid use would be suspended from practice and competition for 90 days. On the 60th school day of the suspension, the athlete would then be allowed another test that, if negative, would result in reinstatement.

The Texas state legislature last month passed a bill that would make the state the first in the country to randomly test all high school athletes � regardless of gender or sport � for steroids.

"I think they should definitely do some random [steroid] testing," said Mike Brewster, a junior at Edgewater High in Orlando. Brewster, an offensive lineman and a heavyweight on his school's weightlifting team, recently committed to play football at Ohio State.

He said steroid use is a problem in high-school athletics.

"It's more widespread than any coaches or even parents would ever know," he said.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Steroid testing for high school athletes likely to pass
But a Senate proposal to break private schools from the FHSAA is shot down in the House.
By Buddy Collins

Legislators in Tallahassee are likely to pass today a bill that would make Florida the second state to institute a statewide anabolic steroid testing program for high-school athletes.

If signed by Gov. Charlie Crist, House Bill 461 would require the Florida High School Athletic Association to launch a pilot program by random-testing 1 percent of all participants in football, baseball and weightlifting in the 2007-08 school year.

Dropped from the bill Thursday was a controversial Senate-sponsored amendment that would create a separate governing body and playoff system for private schools. That addendum, authored by Winter Garden Republican Sen. Daniel Webster, appeared unlikely to be considered as the legislative session comes to a close today.

"It's a last-minute attempt to set up a structure that is not well thought-out," said Skardon Bliss, executive director of the Florida Council of Independent Schools. "It was not good for private schools."

Steroid-testing, proposed for a third time by State Rep. Marcelo Llorente (R-Miami), has much broader support.

"Let's put it this way: If it stops some youngsters from using steroids, it's a very good thing," said John Stewart, commissioner of the FHSAA, which has considered its own steroid-testing measures without passage.

The bill states than an athlete who tests positive would be suspended from practice and competition for 90 days. On the 60th school day of the suspension, the athlete would be allowed another test that, if negative, would result in reinstatement.

Language in the bill also states "all expenses shall be paid with funds appropriated by the Legislature."

"Obviously, it will have to be narrowed to the extent the [new] funding will provide," Stewart said.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, which became the first state association to test for performance-enhancing drugs this school year, pays $175 per test. By directive of former Governor Richard Codey, the NJSIAA is testing a random sample of 500 athletes at its fall, winter and spring sports state tournaments.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 percent of high-school students surveyed admitted trying steroid pills or injections without a doctor's permission in 2005. That percentage was down from 6.1 in 2003.

Mike Randow, weightlifting coach at Port Orange Spruce Creek, favors testing more than 1 percent.

"Steroids are out there, and there's nothing that's really prohibiting kids from trying it," Randow said.

Mike Brewster, an Edgewater football star and weightlifter, said, "It's more widespread than any coaches or even parents would ever know. It's not really fair for guys to get an advantage like that."

But Boone baseball slugger Ryan Mathews said he does not believe steroid use in his sport is rampant.

"If they suspect somebody of it, I definitely think they should test," Mathews said. "But as far as random tests, I think that money probably could be used for things our school system needs more."

Bob Bales, assistant director of the New Jersey association, said that none of the 150 athletes tested at fall championship events tested positive for steroid use. The association is awaiting results from winter sports tests.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Steroid Testing OKd For Florida High School Athletes
Football, Baseball, Weightlifting Under 1-Year Pilot Program

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida high school athletes participating in football, baseball and weightlifting will be subject to random testing for anabolic steroids under a one-year pilot program passed Friday by the Legislature.

The tests would be randomly given to 1 percent of high school athletes who compete in football, baseball and weightlifting during the 2007-2008 school year. The measure (HB 461) includes $100,000 in funding to pay for the testing.

Any athlete who refuses to provide a urine sample would be ineligible to remain on the team. Those who test positive would be suspended from the team, but could be reinstated if they pass a follow-up test later.

A message left at the FHSAA offices in Gainesville was not immediately returned.

New Jersey became the first state in the country to start a statewide testing policy for high school athletes last year. Its initial testing for performance-enhancing drugs among 150 random samples taken last fall failed to produce a positive result, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association reported earlier this year.

State Rep. Marcelo Llorente, R-Miami, a former college infielder at Tulane, has pushed for the legislation in Florida for several sessions.

"It's been a four-year endeavor, but I'm elated that both chambers passed the bill unanimously," Llorente said Friday. "I'm optimistic the governor will sign it."

The Senate passed the bill on a 39-0 vote after backing off an amendment rejected by the House that would have created a separate athletics governing structure for the state's private schools.

Some lawmakers have said the FHSAA intimidates smaller, often private, schools. Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, said he wants a hard look at the association again next year to see if it has improved its approach to parochial and faith-based schools.

"We have to let the FHSAA know that they're not God and don't have the final answer on everything," said Hill.

FHSAA membership is presently comprised of 426 public schools and 224 private schools.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Gender Bias a Concern in Prep Steroid Testing
By David Murphy

As a former Division I athlete and current prevention program coordinator at a substance abuse treatment center, Jamie Blosser is in a good position to offer perspective on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports. While the former Boston College rower and high school softball and tennis player said she has never witnessed a fellow female athlete use illegal steroids, she said it is happening more than most people would think.

"There's definitely similar pressure there in female sports," said Blosser, who works at the Hanley Center in West Palm Beach. "Girls and guys tend to use steroids for different reasons. Guys to build up muscles, girls to shed the fat and slim out their bodies and put on lean muscles. Guys want to build up, girls want to slim down. ... Between the media images that girls and guys are exposed to now, that's certainly an added pressure."

That makes some administrators and coaches, not to mention legal experts, wonder why the high school steroid-testing program passed by the state Legislature last month targets only athletes in predominantly male sports.

House Bill 461, expected to be signed into law Tuesday, calls for the random testing of up to one percent of all athletes in three sports: football, baseball and weightlifting. According to data collected by the Florida High School Athletic Association, 94 percent of athletes who participated in those sports during the 2005-06 school year were boys. A 2005 survey conducted by the Center for Disease control estimated that 2.8 percent of high school girls in the state had tried illegal steroid pills or injections at least once in their lives compared with 5.0 percent of boys.

Michael Stutzke, who helped implement one of the first drug-testing programs in the state at Sebastian River High in 1996, said he thinks it is a mistake to exclude girls from testing.

"I happen to be a very big supporter of Title IX, and I believe if we are going to test guys, we should test girls, " the longtime athletic director said. "Who in their infinite wisdom, with more girls participating in high school sports today, (thinks) that we don't have female athletes trying steroids?"

Testing case passes

In many ways, the program the FHSAA hopes to implement for the upcoming school year can be traced to a small logging community in northwestern Oregon that prides itself on peace and solitude.

In the early 1990s, Vernonia, Ore., was the site of a landmark battle in the war on drugs (and, it turns out, the war on drug testing) as the family of a seventh-grade athlete challenged the random drug-testing program the local school district had installed two years earlier.

The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the school district, largely because of athletes' lower expectations of privacy (they shower together) and the need to protect their safety.

Subsequent court rulings have affirmed and expanded the Supreme Court's decision in the Vernonia case, and school districts across the country have had little legal trouble testing their athletes. Stutzke, for example, followed the Vernonia court case closely and used it as justification for starting the program at Sebastian River.

But the Florida legislation, as it currently reads, could open the door for a different type of legal challenge.

Rep. Marcelo Llorente, the Miami Republican who has pushed for steroid testing for four years, said he is convinced the program is constitutional. Llorente said the legislation singles out baseball, football and weightlifting because of their reliance on strength and the logical correlation between those activities and the potential benefits of steroids.

Still, FHSAA commissioner John Stewart said he has some legal concerns and the association likely will have to test athletes in sports such as softball and flag football.

"Quite frankly, we are going to talk to Rep. Llorente," Stewart said. "I think a female counterpart will have to be used to keep it out of the courts."

Perry A. Zirkel, a national expert on education law at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., said the possibility of a discrimination lawsuit does exist, though he said the state could argue it was singling out sports, not genders. If girl weightlifters were tested along with boy weightlifters, he estimated the chances of a plaintiff winning a discrimination suit at just 1 in 10. If the FHSAA tested only male weightlifters, he said the chances of winning would jump to about 8 in 10.

"Frankly, if I were in the legislature, I think what I would try to do, if I was convinced this was a bill that was important, I would make sure that it was applied gender blind, " Zirkel said. "If you are going to do weightlifting, do girls weightlifting. Or maybe even add some other sports."

Because the state has said it will represent the FHSAA in any legal challenges stemming from the testing program, the association does not have to worry about funding costly court cases.

Nevertheless, the survey data collected by the CDC for its Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2005 bears a stark warning, particularly for local administrators. One of the Florida areas surveyed was Hillsborough County. And 3.5 percent of high school girls here said they had tried steroids at least once.