School Steroids Crackdown - Part I, By: Liz Chun
May 25, 2006
As the headlines read, steroids are changing the playing field for sports. University of Hawaii baseball player Justin Frash says it's obvious to him which college players are not 100 percent natural.
"I've played against other guys who you can see the ball come off the bat so much harder than a regular human being," he said.
Chasing down steroid users is a top priority of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. If a student athlete tests positive for steroids or any other banned drug, he or she will lose a minimum of one full season.
"I will tell you that in our tests so far, we have no positives," said UH Athletics Director Herman Frazier. "And we continue to provide tests. Right now the NCAA comes in and tests our football players. The last time, they took a sample of 20 football players. They'll test our baseball team. They'll test our track."
Frazier, as a 4x4 gold medalist of the 1976 Olympic Games, knows what it takes to perform at the highest level. As a member of the Olympic committee and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Frazier has helped establish some of the sports world's toughest rules on steroids. He believes the United States has stayed ahead of cheaters in track and field with random testing for the nation's top 50 athletes.
"You have to give the drug testers an address where you can be found anywhere in the world," Frazier said.
The NCAA is planning to come down just as hard on its athletes. Division I football and baseball players are now subject to off-season drug tests starting this June and July.
"They're going to get kids out of their summer leagues," said UH baseball coach Mike Trapasso. "They're even going on campus and to kids homes and do testing year-round testing.
There are no limits to when and where tests occur. The NCAA can now test athletes on 48 hours notice. Players could even undergo tests at their summer jobs.
"If you're a guy who does use that, the threat is there for you to get tested definitely," said UH quarterback Colt Brennan.
UH conducts mandatory drug education workshops every year, but there's still a fear that some form of steroids or performance enhancing drug will seep into the athletic program. That's why athletes are warned to check with trainers before putting anything in their bodies, even over the counter drugs.
"Because it's pretty wide spread now, in baseball and football in particular, who think they're just taking a protein substance and it ends up testing positive on the NCAA drug test, because our kids are tested every year," Trapasso said.
Under the NCAA'S new tracking system, after the university is notified, the school must reach the student-athlete either in person or by direct phone conversation to let them know they will be tested. However, the 48 hours advance warning won't "tip off" the athletes. Most steroids take weeks or even months to leave the body.
