STEROID USERS DESERVE PUNISHMENT

Major League Baseball officials finally agreed to step up to the plate and
begin penalizing players for steroid use next season after learning that
more than 5 percent of this year's tests came back positive.

This is a wise course of action for the league. If cheaters are found, they
deserve the punishment handed down by league.

Anabolic steroids not only are illegal but they also are dangerous. They
tend to increase blood pressure, harden arteries and increase the risk of
heart disease, liver disease and certain forms of cancer.

Yet athletes in search of a competitive edge have been tempted for decades
by the prospect of gaining a drug-enhanced advantage over their rivals.

Steroids allow athletes to train harder for longer periods of time. They
increase muscle strength, size and power.

Suspicions of steroids use in professional baseball had run high recently
as bulked-up sluggers set all kinds of home-run records. Stars such as
Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa denied taking the drugs.

But last week the results came back and proved what many in baseball
already assumed - and what former players Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti
readily admitted: Some players were using steroids.

Under baseball's labor contract that took effect on Sept. 30, 2002, testing
with penalties begins after any season in which more than 5 percent of
survey tests are positive. And from now on, players will be called out and
identified.

Starting next year, a first positive test for steroid use would result in
treatment and a second in a 15-day suspension or fine up to $10,000.

The length of penalties would increase to a 25-day suspension or fine of up
to $25,000 for a third positive test, a 50-day suspension or fine of up to
$50,000 for a fourth and a one-year suspension or fine of up to $100,000
for a fifth offense. All suspensions are without pay.

The risks of using steroids illegally clearly outweigh the rewards. Many
professional football fans remember Lyle Alzado, who played for the Los
Angeles Raiders. He died in 1992 at the age of 42 from brain cancer
resulting from the excessive use of steroids.

For years, amateur and professional sports organizations have maintained
vigorous testing programs aimed at catching cheaters who use steroids. Now,
the baseball league is finally coming on board to punish those who find it
necessary to cheat to compete.

"Hopefully, this will, over time, allow us to completely eradicate the use
of performance enhancement substances in baseball," commissioner Bud Selig
said.

We can only hope so.