WITH THE 30-DAY suspensions of 13 players in the National Football League (NFL) who had positive tests for anabolic steroids coming to an end, an examination of their impact is timely.
(There were 24 positive steroid tests, but 11 players had already been cut by various teams before the results were announced.)
Don Weiss, executive director of the NFL, hopes the message to professional football players will be that the use of anabolic steroids will not be condoned by the league. This is the third year that players have been tested for steroids, but the first time any penalty was attached to their use. Only one preseason drug test of professional football players is allowed under the contract with the NFL Players Association and that test is done at the beginning of training camp.
Facing Further Testing
However, there is a provision for "reasonable cause" testing. The 13 players who