New Jersey begins testing for steroid use in high schools - Will Georgia follow?, By: Phillip Ramati

With all the hype surrounding Barry Bonds' pursuit of Babe Ruth's career total of 714 home runs, there isn't an issue more scrutinized in the world of sports than steroids.

This month, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association became the first high school group of its kind to begin testing its athletes for steroids.

Other high school associations are watching New Jersey's program closely to monitor its success and to see how a similar program could be implemented down the line. Already, Texas may be the next state to follow New Jersey and institute a steroids testing policy.

So, where does Georgia fit in the steroids issue? Is testing of high school athletes, which is expensive, likely? And is steroid use among high schoolers even a problem in the state?

"I think (testing) opens up all kinds of difficulties," said Ralph Swearngin, executive director of the Georgia High School Association. "On the surface, it sounds great. But like so many things, there's a mandate for the test. But it comes with no one to pick up the tab."

THE BALCO ERA

It's hard for even the most casual sports fan to not see the issue of steroids pop up somewhere.

This spring, as Bonds has tried to pass Ruth's career home run mark, he has been under a cloud of heavy suspicion that he used performance-enhancing drugs at various points in his career. The book, "Game of Shadows," by two investigative reporters from The San Francisco Chronicle debuted a couple of months ago detailing Bonds' alleged steroid abuse.

Even without Bonds' home run chase dominating headlines, the investigation into BALCO - the pharmaceutical company that allegedly provided Bonds and other world-class athletes with performance enhancers - and other related stories have generated hundreds of stories on electronic media.

But just because there seems to be a bevy of top-caliber athletes "juicing" doesn't necessarily mean that it's influencing younger athletes to follow suit.

"We talk about (Bonds)," said Michael Tukes, a senior baseball player at Jones County. "We have arguments about whether he's on steroids or not, and what (Major League Baseball) should do."

"Guys like Bonds were 220 pounds and bulked up 40 pounds," said Logan Walker, a senior baseball and basketball player at Westside High School. You've got to be suspicious about that."

THE NEW JERSEY PLAN

Last summer, former New Jersey acting Gov. Richard Codey assembled a task force of physicians and athletics directors to look at steroids in New Jersey high school sports.

The state's interscholastic athletic association decided Dec. 20 it would begin testing athletes in the sectional playoffs beginning in the 2006-07 season.

"It's going to be random," said Steven Timko, the association's executive director. "Sixty percent of the tests will be in football, basketball, track and field, lacrosse, wrestling and baseball."

The biggest issue facing any steroids test is cost and accuracy. Those tests cost about $200 a pop, about eight times what a test for so-called recreational drugs cost, high school officials said. The state's interscholastic athletic association is matching $50,000 in funds from the state government.

As for accuracy, there are many designer steroids that have been created to beat standard tests. However, those drugs tend to be very expensive and not easily available to the average high school athlete. Timko said there's an appeals process for any prep athlete who tests positive for steroids and believes the result is false.

"We hope (the testing) serves as a deterrent," Timko said. "That would help us reach our No. 1 goal."

In Georgia, Swearngin and others said there are privacy issues involved in performing drug tests on high school students.

"Hopefully, New Jersey has that worked out," Swearngin said.

Bibb County athletics director Raynette Evans expressed a similar concern.

"My concern is when you single athletics out," Evans said. "We're always interested in what other states and communities are doing. Our goal is to be safe and drug-free."

So far, Timko said, the reaction in New Jersey has been overwhelmingly positive.

"One thing we were worried about was the ACLU and their reaction," Timko said. "But we feel that since athletics is a privilege and not a right, it's not an issue."

GEORGIA'S PERSPECTIVE

So how soon will the state, especially Middle Georgia schools, institute steroid testing?

Probably not very soon at all.

The Georgia High School Association has no plans to institute any sort of drug testing for its members and no proposal has been introduced, Swearngin said.

"It opens a lot of doors on this thing," he said. "If you test athletes, do you have a drug test for every kid for every kind of drug? Right now, there are more questions than answers. That's why the GHSA takes the stance of passing on educational materials. We want to be education sources."

Drug testing has been left up to the individual school systems.

Currently, Hall County is the only state system with multiple high schools that uses a drug testing program. That program, however, tests for recreational drugs such as marijuana or cocaine, not steroids.

Gordon Bennett, Hall County's athletics director, said the program, suggested by the system's coaches, has had its share of success and has likely been a deterrent.

In the two years the program has been in place, eight students each year - about 2 percent of Hall County's student athletes - have been caught.

The program involves random testing throughout the year through every sports team in Hall County. Students are selected randomly by ID numbers, and a student may be tested more than once, or perhaps not at all, depending on the selection.

In essence, students who hope to do drugs and not get tested are playing Russian roulette.

Like New Jersey's new policy, students and parents in Hall County are required to sign a waiver agreeing to the tests or else not participate in the sport.

According to the Hall County drug screening procedures packet, a first positive test will lead to a suspension of 10 percent of the athlete's games. The student must provide evidence of enrollment in a drug counseling program and be retested before being allowed to play again.

A second positive test for the student leads to a four-week suspension as well as counseling and re-testing, while a third positive test will lead to the student being banned from all athletics activities for a calendar year.

Bennett said the program has had a lot of positive feedback from the community, thanks in a large part to the testing procedure. The tests are contracted out to the Northeast Georgia Toxicology Lab. "They've given us tremendous credibility to the program," he said. "We won't have parents complaining about the chain of custody. We haven't had one challenge (to a positive test) after a medical official walks them through the procedure. The test they do is very thorough. The equipment they use is the industry standard.

"So far, no one has taken us to court (over a test result). If they did research about going to court, they'd find they'd lose."

Bennett said Hall County is unlikely to add steroid tests to the plan any time soon, in part because the tests for recreational drugs cost about $25 each, while steroid tests can be nearly 10 times that amount.

In the midstate, Bibb County has no plans to institute any kind of drug testing, said Evans, the county's athletic director. Many in the school system say education about drugs is the key to prevention.

"(Testing is) a huge step and very expensive," Evans said. "If you do a drug test and then find a problem, then what? What does New Jersey do as a state when they find out? There's more responsibility to it than saying so-and-so won't play on the team. There are a lot of issues. Unfortunately, it's not a foolproof test. I'd hate to deny a child the opportunity to participate and then learn (the test) was wrong."

Both athletes and coaches say steroids aren't a big problem in the area.

"We were looking at a film in sports medicine class on steroid use, and it was almost passe to the football players," said Deb Baber, the softball and girls basketball coach at Westside High. "They said, 'Our coaches would kill us if we did that.' Maybe our area is wholesome enough to compete without the additional advantage. I don't think there's a need (for steroid testing) in our area."

Bobby Stewart, a Westside senior who plays football and baseball, said coaches have told the players there's no need to enhance their performance with steroids.

"Nobody around here uses them," Stewart said. "If they did, it'd become known pretty quickly."
None of the student athletes interviewed for this story said they were worried about the privacy ramifications of testing or any other controversial aspect of it. They seemed to welcome testing if it ever comes to Middle Georgia.

"I think it'd be good," Stewart said. "I don't have any objections. If you can't (compete) under your own power, then you shouldn't do it." Said Tukes of Jones County: "It would eliminate people who are using steroids to get the upper hand. It would make for a more even playing field."

Though the coaches and athletes said they had no firsthand knowledge of anyone using performance enhancers, some also said they thought they have run across athletes who have been using.

"Last year, we played against this kid," Tukes said. "It could have been weight lifting, but I doubt it. He hit the ball like nobody I've ever seen on this field."

Said Westside's Walker: "I've known of athletes who were suspected of using, but they don't talk about it much in high school."

Baber, who coached Westside's girls basketball team to the state title game last year, said education remains the key in teaching young athletes about the harmful effects of drugs.

"We talk to kids about not using substances at all," she said. "It's bad for them. As far as keeping them from using (drugs), if the test acts as a deterrent, I'm all for it.

"I don't think I've heard about steroid use around here. Other areas may have some problems, but here there's still an element (of innocence). I think kids still compete for the fun of it."