Questions aside MWISD officials favor steroid testing, By: Craig Holamon
5/31/07
Texas public high school athletes would face mandatory random steroid testing under a bill given final approval on Monday by the Legislature and sent to Gov. Rick Perry.
The testing program would be the largest high school steroid testing program in the United States.
Athletes who test positive, or refuse to be tested, could be suspended.
Athletes in all sports would be tested, beginning this fall.
Mineral Wells Independent School District Superintendent Ray Crass said he is for steroid testing if it doesn’t cost too much.
“I’m in favor of it but I’m not sure who is going to pay for it. It would be a good thing if it doesn’t cost us an arm and a leg,” Crass said. “It can be very expensive.”
Crass said determining which athletes are tested could be decided by computer.
“We do random drug testing for our bus drivers. We use a computer to decide which drivers are tested,” Crass said.
Mineral Wells ISD Athletic Director Sean Harvey said he is in favor of testing.
“It’s really not an issue here but I’m all for it,” Harvey said. “Nobody wants to see a kid using steroids or drugs of any kind.”
Harvey said there could be problems in other areas.
“If we’re just testing the athletes, people are going to ask why the other students aren’t being tested, too,” Harvey said. “There are a lot of questions about it right now. It could end up in court.”
The Texas House of Representatives voted 140-4 to send the bill to Perry. It requires the state to pay for testing and the UIL to run the program.
A standard recreational drug test costs between $15 and $20. A steroid test can run between $110 and $190, according to the UIL.
While it’s unclear just how the program will be funded and exactly how it would work, chances are the fans will foot the bill and the UIL will make it work.
The Senate’s plan was to test at least 22,000 students at a cost of about $4 million a year. In the House bill, the UIL would cover costs by raising admission fees at sporting events, probably at football and basketball games.
Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, estimates that if 20 fans attend every football game each season and if admission is raised 25 cents a ticket, that would cover the cost of the testing.
The Senate wants a minimum 30-day sports suspension for a first-time offender.
A second positive test would result in a one-year suspension. A third positive test would result in a permanent ban.
The House bill would give the UIL the authority to determine appropriate but consistent penalties but it wouldn’t give the UIL the ability to review positive tests on a case-by-case basis.
In both bills, the UIL would choose which schools would be randomly tested and select labs.
The Texas High School Coaches Association, the Texas Medical Association as well as other groups representing Texas public school districts and administrators supported a testing program.
In recent interviews with the Index two Mineral Wells High School coaches said steroid use is not a problem at MWHS.
“We’re against the use of steroids. We really don’t have a steroid problem here. If we see a kid who is making unnatural gains, we check into it. We talk to the kid and if there is a problem, we put a stop to it. It’s very rare here,” an assistant coach who asked not to be identified said. “Some of the other schools could have some problems.”
Another Mineral Wells assistant coach who asked not to be identified favors testing for all high school students.
“The entire coaching staff is strictly against steroid and drug use. Our athletic director and all of the coaches feel the same way. We do everything we can to fight it. We run a clean program,” the coach said. “I think they should give all of the students at the high school drug and steroid tests. It would cost a lot of money but it would be fair. I think it would be a good thing for our school.”
Notes ... According to the UIL, 127 high schools in Texas test for steroids while 400 schools also test for recreational drugs.
New Jersey became the first state in the country to start a statewide testing policy for high school athletes last year.
Its testing for performance-enhancing drugs among 150 random samples taken last fall didn’t produce a positive result, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Associa-tion reported earlier this year.
Two weeks ago, Florida lawmakers approved a one-year pilot program to test one percent of high school athletes who compete in football, baseball and weightlifting.
Mineral Wells school officials have more than a few questions but generally favor random steroid testing for athletes.
