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Major League Baseball Revises Drug Policies; Charles Graner Goes to Court

Aired January 13, 2005 - 14:30   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our top stories "Now in the News," the crackdown on steroids in baseball. Major League players and owners have found common ground, apparently, on tougher testing and zero tolerance. The official announcement expected any moment now. We'll bring that to you live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, the year 2018 may seem like a long way off. And in politics, there's always a temptation to kick the can down the road, hoping that long-term problems might simply disappear or leaving them for someone else to worry about. That is not how President Bush views his job. As he said many times, he ran for the presidency to confront big challenges, not to pass them along to future presidents and future Congresses. That's the kind of approach Americans expect from our leaders, especially when it comes to a defining national purpose like Social Security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Fix Social Security, that's from the vice president, about an hour ago speaking at Catholic University in Washington. Dick Cheney is the latest White House higher-up to promote the administration's push for partial privatization. Judy Woodruff has much more on the president's Social Security plans. Tune into INSIDE POLITICS at 3:30 Eastern right here on CNN.

Another page in the evolution debate in Georgia. Suburban Atlanta, a federal judge today said high schools cannot endorse a religious belief. It's about biology books with official stickers inside saying evolution is quote, "a theory, not a fact." The judge ordered the stickers be removed.

MILES O'BRIEN: And now to Fort Hood, Texas, and the trial of Charles Graner, the army specialist, a prison guard formerly at the Abu Ghraib prison and the alleged ringleader in all those abuses we saw unfold over this past year. Joining us now for more on this, the defense apparently having rested, Susan Candiotti -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. Yes, it was a surprise announcement coming after only a day and a half of testimony from the defense. In fact, just after the lunch break, the defense attorney told the judge, the defense is resting in this case. Everyone seemed to be caught off guard because, as you might recall, in his opening statements, the defense lawyer for specialist Charles Graner had said, had told the jury, you will hear from Mr. Graner.

Evidently he has changed his mind about that. We are unclear exactly as to why. However, he did release this statement, the lawyer, Guy Womack. He said, quote, "We came in with a checklist of things we wanted to present to the jury. Once we accomplished that, there was no reason to continue."

Now, the judge went on to question Specialist Graner himself, asking him if this was a voluntary decision on his behalf and if he agreed with it. Graner said that he did. Now, Miles, this has been an interesting case so far and has moved very quickly. When the government started to present its evidence on Monday, there were a number of pieces of evidence they introduced, including photographs we have seen numerable times with specialist Graner beating and punching detainees, piling detainees naked into a human pyramid and putting a dog leash on another prisoner. His girlfriend, Private Lynndie England, was holding that detainee by the dog leash.

For the defense, they did present evidence from some fellow M.P.s who testified that they got orders from military intelligence to, in fact, soften up detainees by doing certain things to them, including, as an example, a female M.P. was told to watch detainees as they showered, point at their private parts and laugh at them. That's just one example. So from here, there will be closing arguments tomorrow, and then the case will go before this military jury made up of ten people, four of them officers, the rest noncommissioned officers -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Susan, so to encapsulate the defense, though, essentially what they're saying is, Graner was ordered to do just that, and then to the extent that these pictures were egregious, the sense is that they were sort of out of context. In other words, that pile that we just saw a moment ago, that awful picture, was compared to what cheerleaders might do. Do you think this line of defense is resonating in that courtroom?

CANDIOTTI: Hard to say whether this will -- how that will go over with the jury. They have remained expressionless throughout. And remember that the defense is saying that -- they are trying to say that no one was hurt when these people were piled up into the pyramid, and they also say, well, there's nothing illegal, they maintain, about taking these photographs. And they're hoping that the jury will feel the same way. Well, we'll have to see how the jury feels.

O'BRIEN: I guess it depends on how you determine and define hurt in many cases. Susan Candiotti at Fort Hood. Thanks very much, please keep us posted -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Out of Scottsdale, Arizona, we're still waiting for executives with Major League Baseball to unveil a tougher steroid testing program for baseball players. Reportedly, it includes penalties for first-time offenders.

David Cornwell is a lawyer who represents a number of professional athletes, agents and executives, and he joins us from Orange County, California. Good to see you, David. DAVID CORNWELL, PRES., DNK CORNWELL: Hi, Fredricka. How are you?

WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good. All right, those in the baseball community are considering this a very big deal, a very big step in the right direction. Do you?

CORNWELL: I do, indeed.

WHITFIELD: Why?

CORNWELL: Primarily for two reasons. One is this is a significant step in restoring the public's confidence in the integrity of the game. There have been public outcries for some way to manage steroids in baseball and now we have it. And also, equally significant, it shows that the players have accepted and recognize their responsibility to be partners with the owners in the presentation of the game.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's draw a few comparisons. When we talk about the Olympic sports, we talk about possibly being banned from the sport for two years if testing positive for the use of illegal substances. But in baseball, at least we think we're going to hear from Bud Selig and others, that the first offense might bring you suspensions of up to ten days, is that right? And then perhaps up to a fifth offense, you'll then be suspended for up to a year? If you draw those comparisons, it certainly sounds like baseball's still being very lenient.

CORNWELL: Well, I don't think so. When you look at the NFL, your first positive test for steroids brings a four-game suspension. I would expect that in baseball, we would see ten games with increased -- the severity of discipline increasing with each successive positive test, leading to either a year ban or a lifetime ban for the game. When you're suspended, not only are you not playing, but you're also not paid. So I think the discipline is appropriate.

WHITFIELD: Now, you've had some experience as counsel for the NFL. And you were also -- your expertise was drawn upon for the Major League Baseball. Did you use the NFL standards when pushing for certain restrictions to be put in place for Major League Baseball?

CORNWELL: I had a number of discussions with Gene Orza at Major League Baseball Players Association, primarily focused on my experience in representing NFL players who are facing discipline under the NFL steroid policy. And what we talked about was how to deal with incidents where players unknowingly ingest a banned substances, primarily through the use of nutritional supplements that currently are not effectively regulated in the United States.

WHITFIELD: You talked to, I presume, a number of baseball players who professed to be non-steroid users. Are they applauding this? Are they saying that this, perhaps, relieves some of the pressure that they feel to try and play against these superhumans who are using these supersteroids? CORNWELL: They do, indeed. And, again, for two reasons. One is by having steroid testing throughout the league, you have essentially leveled the playing field for the players that are not using performance-enhancing drugs. And also, this removes the stigma on the game. And that was something that a number of players were concerned about.

WHITFIELD: And how quickly are you hoping these new policies will be put in place for Major League Baseball?

CORNWELL: I think that when players show up for spring training this year, that they will be tested.

WHITFIELD: And how do you see this impacting some of the names that we've already seen come up in recent BALCO investigation? Giambi or Barry Bonds? Would this kind of policy, in any way, impact them, since they have admitted to using, whether it be knowingly or not, using certain steroids?

CORNWELL: No. This will be applied prospectively and the first test we have this year will be the ones that apply to this policy.

WHITFIELD: And what kind of message do you suppose this might be sending to professional athletes as a whole, not just specific to baseball, but perhaps all professional athletes, whether it the NBA, NFL or Olympic sports?

CORNWELL: I think it sends a good message that both the public, their teammates and frankly, the players themselves should focus on naturally being competitive and not look outside of the game to gain an unfair advantage.

WHITFIELD: And we are seeing at least in Scottsdale, Arizona, some folks have finally filled up that room where Bud Selig and others are going to be speaking and elaborating a little bit more on this. But they haven't quite touched on the subject just yet.

Do you see that this, perhaps, this step toward having some sort of regulations with steroid use is really just the beginning that, perhaps, this might be a springboard for more stringent rules that may come later with Major League Baseball?

CORNWELL: I don't think so. As I understand it, this is a very comprehensive policy that people have spent quite a bit of time, resources and energy to get it right the first time. So I think what we see today will be the policy that's going to be in place for a while.

WHITFIELD: And what is your hope about the future of baseball and what this might do overall, particularly because baseball has had such an image problem, particularly in recent months, recent years?

CORNWELL: Well, I have to tell you, given my experience in representing players in other sports, I'm particularly focused on seeing what the grievance and appeal process is to ensure that the players are adequately protected if as and when they test positive. WHITFIELD: All right. David Cornwell, thanks for joining us from California. Appreciate it.

CORNWELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And, of course, when we get the official announcement coming from Bud Selig and others with the Major League Baseball, we'll bring that to you live from Scottsdale, Arizona. We'll be right back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're continuing to watch developments out of Scottsdale, Arizona, where the MLB will momentarily be making formal announcements of the new steroid policies and when that happens, we'll be bringing that to you live. Meantime, lots of stormy weather across the map.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig now.

BUD SELIG, MLB COMMISSIONER: I also want to thank President Bush for bringing national attention to this issue during last year's State of the Union address and for his constant help and reminders of how bad the steroid situation was and why we should do something. So I'm very grateful. I want to thank all the congressional leaders who made performance-enhancing substances a priority and helped us reach this agreement.

I will now ask Rob Manfred to come up and outline the details of our new drug-testing program and then Don will make his comments. And Don, again, I want to thank you for being on the call. Afterwards, we're going to take questions first from the media here in Arizona and then those on the conference call. So Rob, the floor is yours, and then Don and Steve can take over, too. Thank you.

ROB MANFRED, MLB LABOR RELATIONS: Good afternoon. I think the best way to summarize the new agreement is to talk about four significant areas of change. First of all, there will be a substantial increase in the frequency of testing of Major League players. We will continue to have a program under which at some point during the period from the beginning of spring training till the close of the championship season, each player, on a randomly-selected date, on an unannounced basis, that is the player will have no notice of the test, each individual player will undergo at least one test.

In addition, we have added a program of random testing to our agreement. At various points during the year, random selections will be made. Players will be subject to additional tests in addition to the one mandatory test I've just described. Under the agreement, there will be no maximum number of tests per year. In other words, if a player has his one mandatory test, he's selected for a random test in the first poll of names, he will still be subject to selection again in the second random poll or the third random poll. So there's no maximum on the number of tests per year. Secondly, we have extended the program so that the random component will also take place during the off-season. There will be off-season testing in baseball for the first time. That off-season testing will be applicable to all players regardless of where they live during the off-season. In other words, testing will take place in all geographic areas, the Dominican, Venezuela, wherever we have players living during the off-season.

Third, we have expanded the list of substances that are banned under our agreement with the Players Association. All substances that are regulated now or in the future by the federal government as steroids are banned under our agreement. We have added the substances that are referred to as pro-hormones or precursors, including Androstenedione, Androstenediol nor Androstenedione, a whole list of pro-hormones. Human growth hormone will be banned under the program. Ephedra, THG and designer steroids, and diuretics and masking agents.

Fourth, there is a change in the disciplinary ramifications for positive tests. For the first time, we will have discipline for first-time offenders under the drug program. Such offenders will be suspended for ten days. All of the suspensions under this program are without pay. For the second offense, a 30-day suspension will be imposed. Third offense, a 60-day suspension. And fourth offense, the suspension will be for one year.

I, too, would like to echo what the commissioner said. The Players Association was forthcoming with respect to this negotiation. It was another positive negotiation, at least from my perspective, following up on the 2002 Steve Fehr, Mike Weiner, Don Fehr, Gene Orza all participated and I appreciate their efforts in that regard. I don't know if Don or Steve, I don't know if there's anything you'd like to add on to the substance. Steve? Don?

DON FEHR, PLAYERS' ASSOCIATION: Thanks, Rob. Hopefully everybody can hear me, and thanks, Bud, and before I mention this, I'd just like to congratulate, I suppose, Bud, on the sale of the Brewers. The reason I say suppose is I know that after all this time and all the heart and soul you've put into the club, after all these years, it must be a little bit of a bittersweet moment for you. But hopefully there's great things ahead.

On the steroid issue, let me just make a couple of brief comments. As has been indicated, we had no obligation legally midterm to address this subject. What we had was an agreement in place that, as you know from my prior comments, we thought would prove effective. And, indeed, in the first year of program testing, we did have evidence of very considerable improvement. But you learn over time, as I indicated in the remarks I made a month ago at our executive board meeting in Scottsdale. Or in Phoenix, I guess. And you gain experience with it. And given that and some of the other things which occurred, the players were willing to revisit the issue. We've been in discussions for a number of months. And we were able to reach an agreement, which, I'm sure the players will ratify, and will be in place for the 2005 season. I think Rob has accurately covered the principal elements of it, and we're very pleased to have this agreement in place. Thank you.

MANFRED: Thanks, Don.

All right. Are there any questions? Matt has the microphone. So please speak into the mic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are the out of season tests unannounced, or are they as they are in track and field?

MANFRED: The out of season testing will be similarly unannounced to our in-season testing, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don, if you can hear me, this question is for you. This is Eric Fisher (ph) with the "Washington Times." If you could go into a little bit more detail about your conversation with the players, with the membership, and what they came to you and said they wanted in terms of their desires to what they wanted to see happen.

FEHR: I think as all of you know, we are ordinarily very reluctant to specifically discuss our conversations with the membership. Those are confidential, and they have an expectation that they will remain confidential. So as a matter of practice, we don't. In a general sense, however, I can say as follows. Obviously, this has been an issue which has demanded a lot of attention. There's been a lot of discussion both by and among players and with association staff. We put a program in in 2002 after long, exhaustive meetings to see what would happen. And we've all learned since then.

And over the course of the last couple of years, in the last year or so especially, somewhat of a different consensus, perhaps, is the best way to put it among the players emerged. They said that we can do this. We can move in this other direction. We can and should have penalties for first offenders. We do need to have a circumstance in which you don't have a guarantee that there will not be another test once the first one is given. And some other things. And what you do, then, is you learn, with experience over time and you move forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rob, this question is for you. Amy Bender, CBS live here in Phoenix. In terms of random testing in the off- season, what percentage of the Major League players will be tested in the off-season?

MANFRED: We're in the process of, under the agreement, the Health Policy Advisory Committee, which is a joint body with the Players' Association, has responsibility for administering the testing protocols, and we're in the process of finalizing those protocols. So I just can't give you a firm answer to that. I will tell you that our agreement is that it will be a significant number of off-season tests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like new steroids are constantly being created. Is there any provision to anticipate to try to be ahead of the curve when that happens?

MANFRED: There are two provisions, at least two provisions in the agreement that are relevant. First of all, to the extent that a new substance is discovered that is regulated as a steroid, it is automatically banned under this agreement. We don't have to go back and negotiate over that. There's language which adds it to the banned list. In addition, the Health Policy Advisory Committee has authority to add substances to the banned list during the term of the agreement, so we tried to be forward-thinking in terms of keeping up with the evolving science. Don, I don't know if you want to comment on that in addition.

FEHR: No, I think that's fairly accurate. It's a good summary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess this is for Rob. Jason Starr (ph). How does this agreement compare with the Minor League agreement and how does this compare with agreements in other sports?

MANFRED: I think that -- let me do the Minor League agreement first. I think that this agreement is comparable to the Minor League agreement in terms of its overall strength. There are differences obviously in the Minor Leagues. there is a specific number of tests per year that you can't exceed, there are different discipline levels, but again for example on discipline levels, the economic ramifications of discipline at the Major League level are much more significant than they are at the Minor League level so on balance I think the two policies are fairly comparable. In terms of other professional sports I believe this policy -- I do believe that other professional sports is the accurate measure against which we should be judged, that this is as good as any policy in any professional sport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rob or Mr. Commissioner, the commissioner said this was an important first step. What are you missing? What's the next step?

MANFRED: Well, he said it was an important step, I believe. I think that the commissioner's comments -- and he can explain them -- is that this is an evolving area. Obviously, we made an agreement in 2002. Circumstances changed. Our relationship with the Players Association and the players' view of the world was such that were able to respond to those changed circumstances.

And we recognized, apropos of the question earlier, this is an area that will continue to evolve and hopefully we'll be flexible enough to evolve with it.

WHITFIELD: Out of Scottsdale, Arizona, there, for the first time, what the MLB believes are stringent rules on steroid use.

All players will be subject to at least one random test from spring season into the season and then out of season. Positive tests lead to these penalties as follows, ranging from 10 days to one-year suspension for first-time offenders and on up to fourth time testing positive. The MLB and the Players Union is underscoring that there is no maximum to the testing. All players can expect to be tested at random at least once.

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Aired January 13, 2005 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our top stories "Now in the News," the crackdown on steroids in baseball. Major League players and owners have found common ground, apparently, on tougher testing and zero tolerance. The official announcement expected any moment now. We'll bring that to you live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, the year 2018 may seem like a long way off. And in politics, there's always a temptation to kick the can down the road, hoping that long-term problems might simply disappear or leaving them for someone else to worry about. That is not how President Bush views his job. As he said many times, he ran for the presidency to confront big challenges, not to pass them along to future presidents and future Congresses. That's the kind of approach Americans expect from our leaders, especially when it comes to a defining national purpose like Social Security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Fix Social Security, that's from the vice president, about an hour ago speaking at Catholic University in Washington. Dick Cheney is the latest White House higher-up to promote the administration's push for partial privatization. Judy Woodruff has much more on the president's Social Security plans. Tune into INSIDE POLITICS at 3:30 Eastern right here on CNN.

Another page in the evolution debate in Georgia. Suburban Atlanta, a federal judge today said high schools cannot endorse a religious belief. It's about biology books with official stickers inside saying evolution is quote, "a theory, not a fact." The judge ordered the stickers be removed.

MILES O'BRIEN: And now to Fort Hood, Texas, and the trial of Charles Graner, the army specialist, a prison guard formerly at the Abu Ghraib prison and the alleged ringleader in all those abuses we saw unfold over this past year. Joining us now for more on this, the defense apparently having rested, Susan Candiotti -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. Yes, it was a surprise announcement coming after only a day and a half of testimony from the defense. In fact, just after the lunch break, the defense attorney told the judge, the defense is resting in this case. Everyone seemed to be caught off guard because, as you might recall, in his opening statements, the defense lawyer for specialist Charles Graner had said, had told the jury, you will hear from Mr. Graner.

Evidently he has changed his mind about that. We are unclear exactly as to why. However, he did release this statement, the lawyer, Guy Womack. He said, quote, "We came in with a checklist of things we wanted to present to the jury. Once we accomplished that, there was no reason to continue."

Now, the judge went on to question Specialist Graner himself, asking him if this was a voluntary decision on his behalf and if he agreed with it. Graner said that he did. Now, Miles, this has been an interesting case so far and has moved very quickly. When the government started to present its evidence on Monday, there were a number of pieces of evidence they introduced, including photographs we have seen numerable times with specialist Graner beating and punching detainees, piling detainees naked into a human pyramid and putting a dog leash on another prisoner. His girlfriend, Private Lynndie England, was holding that detainee by the dog leash.

For the defense, they did present evidence from some fellow M.P.s who testified that they got orders from military intelligence to, in fact, soften up detainees by doing certain things to them, including, as an example, a female M.P. was told to watch detainees as they showered, point at their private parts and laugh at them. That's just one example. So from here, there will be closing arguments tomorrow, and then the case will go before this military jury made up of ten people, four of them officers, the rest noncommissioned officers -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Susan, so to encapsulate the defense, though, essentially what they're saying is, Graner was ordered to do just that, and then to the extent that these pictures were egregious, the sense is that they were sort of out of context. In other words, that pile that we just saw a moment ago, that awful picture, was compared to what cheerleaders might do. Do you think this line of defense is resonating in that courtroom?

CANDIOTTI: Hard to say whether this will -- how that will go over with the jury. They have remained expressionless throughout. And remember that the defense is saying that -- they are trying to say that no one was hurt when these people were piled up into the pyramid, and they also say, well, there's nothing illegal, they maintain, about taking these photographs. And they're hoping that the jury will feel the same way. Well, we'll have to see how the jury feels.

O'BRIEN: I guess it depends on how you determine and define hurt in many cases. Susan Candiotti at Fort Hood. Thanks very much, please keep us posted -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Out of Scottsdale, Arizona, we're still waiting for executives with Major League Baseball to unveil a tougher steroid testing program for baseball players. Reportedly, it includes penalties for first-time offenders.

David Cornwell is a lawyer who represents a number of professional athletes, agents and executives, and he joins us from Orange County, California. Good to see you, David. DAVID CORNWELL, PRES., DNK CORNWELL: Hi, Fredricka. How are you?

WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good. All right, those in the baseball community are considering this a very big deal, a very big step in the right direction. Do you?

CORNWELL: I do, indeed.

WHITFIELD: Why?

CORNWELL: Primarily for two reasons. One is this is a significant step in restoring the public's confidence in the integrity of the game. There have been public outcries for some way to manage steroids in baseball and now we have it. And also, equally significant, it shows that the players have accepted and recognize their responsibility to be partners with the owners in the presentation of the game.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's draw a few comparisons. When we talk about the Olympic sports, we talk about possibly being banned from the sport for two years if testing positive for the use of illegal substances. But in baseball, at least we think we're going to hear from Bud Selig and others, that the first offense might bring you suspensions of up to ten days, is that right? And then perhaps up to a fifth offense, you'll then be suspended for up to a year? If you draw those comparisons, it certainly sounds like baseball's still being very lenient.

CORNWELL: Well, I don't think so. When you look at the NFL, your first positive test for steroids brings a four-game suspension. I would expect that in baseball, we would see ten games with increased -- the severity of discipline increasing with each successive positive test, leading to either a year ban or a lifetime ban for the game. When you're suspended, not only are you not playing, but you're also not paid. So I think the discipline is appropriate.

WHITFIELD: Now, you've had some experience as counsel for the NFL. And you were also -- your expertise was drawn upon for the Major League Baseball. Did you use the NFL standards when pushing for certain restrictions to be put in place for Major League Baseball?

CORNWELL: I had a number of discussions with Gene Orza at Major League Baseball Players Association, primarily focused on my experience in representing NFL players who are facing discipline under the NFL steroid policy. And what we talked about was how to deal with incidents where players unknowingly ingest a banned substances, primarily through the use of nutritional supplements that currently are not effectively regulated in the United States.

WHITFIELD: You talked to, I presume, a number of baseball players who professed to be non-steroid users. Are they applauding this? Are they saying that this, perhaps, relieves some of the pressure that they feel to try and play against these superhumans who are using these supersteroids? CORNWELL: They do, indeed. And, again, for two reasons. One is by having steroid testing throughout the league, you have essentially leveled the playing field for the players that are not using performance-enhancing drugs. And also, this removes the stigma on the game. And that was something that a number of players were concerned about.

WHITFIELD: And how quickly are you hoping these new policies will be put in place for Major League Baseball?

CORNWELL: I think that when players show up for spring training this year, that they will be tested.

WHITFIELD: And how do you see this impacting some of the names that we've already seen come up in recent BALCO investigation? Giambi or Barry Bonds? Would this kind of policy, in any way, impact them, since they have admitted to using, whether it be knowingly or not, using certain steroids?

CORNWELL: No. This will be applied prospectively and the first test we have this year will be the ones that apply to this policy.

WHITFIELD: And what kind of message do you suppose this might be sending to professional athletes as a whole, not just specific to baseball, but perhaps all professional athletes, whether it the NBA, NFL or Olympic sports?

CORNWELL: I think it sends a good message that both the public, their teammates and frankly, the players themselves should focus on naturally being competitive and not look outside of the game to gain an unfair advantage.

WHITFIELD: And we are seeing at least in Scottsdale, Arizona, some folks have finally filled up that room where Bud Selig and others are going to be speaking and elaborating a little bit more on this. But they haven't quite touched on the subject just yet.

Do you see that this, perhaps, this step toward having some sort of regulations with steroid use is really just the beginning that, perhaps, this might be a springboard for more stringent rules that may come later with Major League Baseball?

CORNWELL: I don't think so. As I understand it, this is a very comprehensive policy that people have spent quite a bit of time, resources and energy to get it right the first time. So I think what we see today will be the policy that's going to be in place for a while.

WHITFIELD: And what is your hope about the future of baseball and what this might do overall, particularly because baseball has had such an image problem, particularly in recent months, recent years?

CORNWELL: Well, I have to tell you, given my experience in representing players in other sports, I'm particularly focused on seeing what the grievance and appeal process is to ensure that the players are adequately protected if as and when they test positive. WHITFIELD: All right. David Cornwell, thanks for joining us from California. Appreciate it.

CORNWELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And, of course, when we get the official announcement coming from Bud Selig and others with the Major League Baseball, we'll bring that to you live from Scottsdale, Arizona. We'll be right back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're continuing to watch developments out of Scottsdale, Arizona, where the MLB will momentarily be making formal announcements of the new steroid policies and when that happens, we'll be bringing that to you live. Meantime, lots of stormy weather across the map.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig now.

BUD SELIG, MLB COMMISSIONER: I also want to thank President Bush for bringing national attention to this issue during last year's State of the Union address and for his constant help and reminders of how bad the steroid situation was and why we should do something. So I'm very grateful. I want to thank all the congressional leaders who made performance-enhancing substances a priority and helped us reach this agreement.

I will now ask Rob Manfred to come up and outline the details of our new drug-testing program and then Don will make his comments. And Don, again, I want to thank you for being on the call. Afterwards, we're going to take questions first from the media here in Arizona and then those on the conference call. So Rob, the floor is yours, and then Don and Steve can take over, too. Thank you.

ROB MANFRED, MLB LABOR RELATIONS: Good afternoon. I think the best way to summarize the new agreement is to talk about four significant areas of change. First of all, there will be a substantial increase in the frequency of testing of Major League players. We will continue to have a program under which at some point during the period from the beginning of spring training till the close of the championship season, each player, on a randomly-selected date, on an unannounced basis, that is the player will have no notice of the test, each individual player will undergo at least one test.

In addition, we have added a program of random testing to our agreement. At various points during the year, random selections will be made. Players will be subject to additional tests in addition to the one mandatory test I've just described. Under the agreement, there will be no maximum number of tests per year. In other words, if a player has his one mandatory test, he's selected for a random test in the first poll of names, he will still be subject to selection again in the second random poll or the third random poll. So there's no maximum on the number of tests per year. Secondly, we have extended the program so that the random component will also take place during the off-season. There will be off-season testing in baseball for the first time. That off-season testing will be applicable to all players regardless of where they live during the off-season. In other words, testing will take place in all geographic areas, the Dominican, Venezuela, wherever we have players living during the off-season.

Third, we have expanded the list of substances that are banned under our agreement with the Players Association. All substances that are regulated now or in the future by the federal government as steroids are banned under our agreement. We have added the substances that are referred to as pro-hormones or precursors, including Androstenedione, Androstenediol nor Androstenedione, a whole list of pro-hormones. Human growth hormone will be banned under the program. Ephedra, THG and designer steroids, and diuretics and masking agents.

Fourth, there is a change in the disciplinary ramifications for positive tests. For the first time, we will have discipline for first-time offenders under the drug program. Such offenders will be suspended for ten days. All of the suspensions under this program are without pay. For the second offense, a 30-day suspension will be imposed. Third offense, a 60-day suspension. And fourth offense, the suspension will be for one year.

I, too, would like to echo what the commissioner said. The Players Association was forthcoming with respect to this negotiation. It was another positive negotiation, at least from my perspective, following up on the 2002 Steve Fehr, Mike Weiner, Don Fehr, Gene Orza all participated and I appreciate their efforts in that regard. I don't know if Don or Steve, I don't know if there's anything you'd like to add on to the substance. Steve? Don?

DON FEHR, PLAYERS' ASSOCIATION: Thanks, Rob. Hopefully everybody can hear me, and thanks, Bud, and before I mention this, I'd just like to congratulate, I suppose, Bud, on the sale of the Brewers. The reason I say suppose is I know that after all this time and all the heart and soul you've put into the club, after all these years, it must be a little bit of a bittersweet moment for you. But hopefully there's great things ahead.

On the steroid issue, let me just make a couple of brief comments. As has been indicated, we had no obligation legally midterm to address this subject. What we had was an agreement in place that, as you know from my prior comments, we thought would prove effective. And, indeed, in the first year of program testing, we did have evidence of very considerable improvement. But you learn over time, as I indicated in the remarks I made a month ago at our executive board meeting in Scottsdale. Or in Phoenix, I guess. And you gain experience with it. And given that and some of the other things which occurred, the players were willing to revisit the issue. We've been in discussions for a number of months. And we were able to reach an agreement, which, I'm sure the players will ratify, and will be in place for the 2005 season. I think Rob has accurately covered the principal elements of it, and we're very pleased to have this agreement in place. Thank you.

MANFRED: Thanks, Don.

All right. Are there any questions? Matt has the microphone. So please speak into the mic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are the out of season tests unannounced, or are they as they are in track and field?

MANFRED: The out of season testing will be similarly unannounced to our in-season testing, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don, if you can hear me, this question is for you. This is Eric Fisher (ph) with the "Washington Times." If you could go into a little bit more detail about your conversation with the players, with the membership, and what they came to you and said they wanted in terms of their desires to what they wanted to see happen.

FEHR: I think as all of you know, we are ordinarily very reluctant to specifically discuss our conversations with the membership. Those are confidential, and they have an expectation that they will remain confidential. So as a matter of practice, we don't. In a general sense, however, I can say as follows. Obviously, this has been an issue which has demanded a lot of attention. There's been a lot of discussion both by and among players and with association staff. We put a program in in 2002 after long, exhaustive meetings to see what would happen. And we've all learned since then.

And over the course of the last couple of years, in the last year or so especially, somewhat of a different consensus, perhaps, is the best way to put it among the players emerged. They said that we can do this. We can move in this other direction. We can and should have penalties for first offenders. We do need to have a circumstance in which you don't have a guarantee that there will not be another test once the first one is given. And some other things. And what you do, then, is you learn, with experience over time and you move forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rob, this question is for you. Amy Bender, CBS live here in Phoenix. In terms of random testing in the off- season, what percentage of the Major League players will be tested in the off-season?

MANFRED: We're in the process of, under the agreement, the Health Policy Advisory Committee, which is a joint body with the Players' Association, has responsibility for administering the testing protocols, and we're in the process of finalizing those protocols. So I just can't give you a firm answer to that. I will tell you that our agreement is that it will be a significant number of off-season tests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like new steroids are constantly being created. Is there any provision to anticipate to try to be ahead of the curve when that happens?

MANFRED: There are two provisions, at least two provisions in the agreement that are relevant. First of all, to the extent that a new substance is discovered that is regulated as a steroid, it is automatically banned under this agreement. We don't have to go back and negotiate over that. There's language which adds it to the banned list. In addition, the Health Policy Advisory Committee has authority to add substances to the banned list during the term of the agreement, so we tried to be forward-thinking in terms of keeping up with the evolving science. Don, I don't know if you want to comment on that in addition.

FEHR: No, I think that's fairly accurate. It's a good summary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess this is for Rob. Jason Starr (ph). How does this agreement compare with the Minor League agreement and how does this compare with agreements in other sports?

MANFRED: I think that -- let me do the Minor League agreement first. I think that this agreement is comparable to the Minor League agreement in terms of its overall strength. There are differences obviously in the Minor Leagues. there is a specific number of tests per year that you can't exceed, there are different discipline levels, but again for example on discipline levels, the economic ramifications of discipline at the Major League level are much more significant than they are at the Minor League level so on balance I think the two policies are fairly comparable. In terms of other professional sports I believe this policy -- I do believe that other professional sports is the accurate measure against which we should be judged, that this is as good as any policy in any professional sport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rob or Mr. Commissioner, the commissioner said this was an important first step. What are you missing? What's the next step?

MANFRED: Well, he said it was an important step, I believe. I think that the commissioner's comments -- and he can explain them -- is that this is an evolving area. Obviously, we made an agreement in 2002. Circumstances changed. Our relationship with the Players Association and the players' view of the world was such that were able to respond to those changed circumstances.

And we recognized, apropos of the question earlier, this is an area that will continue to evolve and hopefully we'll be flexible enough to evolve with it.

WHITFIELD: Out of Scottsdale, Arizona, there, for the first time, what the MLB believes are stringent rules on steroid use.

All players will be subject to at least one random test from spring season into the season and then out of season. Positive tests lead to these penalties as follows, ranging from 10 days to one-year suspension for first-time offenders and on up to fourth time testing positive. The MLB and the Players Union is underscoring that there is no maximum to the testing. All players can expect to be tested at random at least once.

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