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Congress Urging MLB to Begin Mandatory Steroid Drug-Testing Program

Aired July 24, 2002 - 10:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Major League Baseball may have a new player entering the game. Congress is now urging that Major League Baseball and its players to begin a mandatory steroid drug-testing program. The non-binding resolution by the House comes after a former star, Ken Caminiti, told "Sports Illustrated" that steroid abuse is rampant in the league, and has helped fuel a record number of Major League home runs. Caminiti estimated half of all players use the performance-enhancing drug. The sponsor of the resolution says baseball has to take action, and now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY JOHNSON (R), CONNECTICUT: Nearly three million children worldwide play little league baseball, and these children look up to the players of the big leagues. Yet baseball's failure to test for steroids, coupled with media reports of steroid abuse in baseball, tells young people that drug use is not only permissible, but desirable. This is exactly the wrong message to be sending to our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Joining us to lend some expertise and perspective on this issue, along with the more imminent threat of a season-ending strike, "Sports Illustrated" reporter Tom Verducci, who covers baseball for the magazine.

Tom, good to see you. How are you?

TOM VERDUCCI, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, thank you.

HARRIS: Now as I understand it, you're the guy who actually wrote the Caminiti article, is that right?

VERDUCCI: That's Right.

HARRIS: How does it feel to be responsible for a hearing in Congress that produces something like this, huh?

VERDUCCI: Well, I don't if responsible is the right word. You know, you didn't really have to have your ear very close to the ground around Major League Baseball to know what's happening as far as steroid use goes. What really I thought the worst-kept secret in baseball has reached Washington D.C. Everybody knows.

HARRIS: But what happens now? Congress doesn't hold any sway over baseball. They've proven that in the past, right. Isn't it going to take something like a critical mass of players to get involved on the other side of this issue.

VERDUCCI: Absolutely. I mean, this is a terrific photo-op. Let's face it, baseball is still regarded as apple pie and all those great things about this country. So for Washington, it's an easy call for them to come out and say, you guys must test for steroids, but, obviously, it's non-binding. This has to be done at the bargaining table, and it has to get done from a grassroots movement, movement among the rank and file players, and in the last two months, that's exactly what we've been seeing. Many, many players have come out and said, listen, we need to test, we need to start testing now.

That ball now is in the court of the union's executive board. As they sit down at the negotiating table with the owners, the owners obviously want this. They've had a proposal on the table now for six months. But so far, the executive board has said we're not comfortable with the idea of random testing for our players. Yes, we think we can do something about it, but no random testing.

HARRIS: Yes, but, Tom, you say players, I guess there's some momentum building here, but you need the big names, don't you, to make any kind of movement on this happen? So far, we've seen things like Sammy Sosa's little problem with -- a writer asked him -- as a matter of fact, an "SI" writer asked him if he would go ahead and get tested on that one. That kind of thing is happening with the big names, isn't it?

VERDUCCI: Well, we have had big names saying we need testing, people like a John Smoltz of the Braves, Frank Thomas in Chicago, All- Star Johnny Damon in Boston. People have come out in great numbers to say, hey, we need testing. There has been a poll by "USA Today" that says more than three-quarters of the players want testing. What we have, I think, is a real division between the rank and file and what they would like to see done and what the executive board is doing at the negotiating table.

HARRIS: Let me ask you one final question about the strike. I got top ask you about that, since we talked about that coming in. There was talk about maybe the seventh, or September 16th now, not September 16th. If there is one and it happens this late in season. What happens here? If football season starts, who cares if they go on strike? Who cares about either side of them?

VERDUCCI: That's a great question, especially when you go back and you look at '94 and '95. They went out in August of '94. Obviously, they did not save the season. People moved on to other things. I think a lot of people have not come back to game at all since '94.

So I think there's a real problem here, this late in the season. There's a small window, if in fact that they go out in September, a very small window to save this season. Basically, you have two weeks to maintain the integrity of postseason play and the World Series. And if those two weeks go by without an agreement, if they do go out on strike, everybody has already moved on to football and everything else, and baseball, again, receives deeper and further away from what we think is the American pasttime.

HARRIS: That's a real brave move on their part, too, the players, talking about September 16th, because they would only miss one paycheck. Real smart move, guys.

Tom Verducci, thanks for coming in. Appreciate it. Hope to talk to you about this and more pleasant topics later on.

VERDUCCI: Thank you.

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