CONFIDENTIALITY BREACHED IN NBA DRUG TESTING

The National Basketball Association briefly suspended its new
drug-testing program last week, after union leaders complained that
confidentiality had been breached during the first three weeks of the
program. Leaders of the players association said that a core provision
of the drug-testing effort had been violated, and the entire program
called into question, because a reporter had learned that about a
half-dozen players tested positive for marijuana early this month,
during the first week of tests. N.B.A. officials said that they, too,
were concerned about the disclosure, and they agreed late last week to
halt the drug testing. League officials met Tuesday with Billy Hunter,
the executive director of the players association, and other union
leaders. They decided to resume testing, but participants in the
meeting declined to say why or when. Two people with knowledge of the
tests told The New York Times last week that about a half-dozen
players had tested positive for marijuana among more than 120 players
on the first teams to be tested. Both the union and the league have
separately discussed with their employees their displeasure over the
disclosure and their desire to find out who leaked the information.
"This is the most tense it's been between both sides since we almost
lost the season last January," said a basketball official, who spoke
on the condition of anonymity. "There is a feeling that this whole
matter could end up blowing up the drug agreement."

The drug-testing program is one of the cornerstones of the new
collective bargaining agreement, over which the N.B.A. and the union
fought last year, causing the temporary shutdown of the league. The
new program expanded the number of substances for which players would
be tested. In the past, the league tested players only for cocaine and
heroin. The new program also permits the testing of players for
marijuana, amphetamines, LSD and steroids. For the first time, the new
agreement enabled the league to routinely test all players at least
once each year. Only rookies were tested routinely under the old drug
program.

The agreement calls for banning players who test positive for cocaine,
heroin, amphetamines and LSD, but it has a sliding scale of
progressively more serious punishments for marijuana and steroids. The
idea is to encourage players to get treatment and counseling.

A first-time offender for marijuana can continue to play basketball,
but must enroll in a league-administered treatment program. A second
offense would include a $15,000 fine, along with mandatory treatment,
and a third offense would result in five-game suspension as well as
treatment. Players cannot be dismissed from the league for marijuana
use, but they can serve consecutive five-game suspensions.

Confidentiality is an essential part of the program. Not even the
teams are supposed to be told when a player tests positive for
marijuana the first or second time. When asked about the results from
the first round of tests, the players association said initially that
it had not been notified of the results, nor had the players who
tested positive.

When two players were interviewed, both of whom had been identified by
people familiar with the test results as having tested positive, each
said he had not been told by either the league or the players
association that he had failed the test. One player insisted he had
not used marijuana, and the other declined to discuss whether he had.

"The confidentiality issue is important," Hunter said last week. "The
whole idea is, you want to encourage people to come forward, rather
than being afraid of being caught. The idea is to provide assistance
and help them rehab themselves. If they're fronted, they're subject to
ridicule. This kind of exposure just ruins the whole process."

In all, players on 25 of the 29 teams have now been tested. Under the
agreement between the N.B.A. and the players union, neither the league
nor the union can comment on the test results. Players who tested
positive were to be told about the result when all the tests were
completed. "Neither we nor the players association will be releasing
the results of any tests," said Jeffrey Mishkin, the N.B.A.'s chief
legal counsel and one of the authors of the league's drug agreement.
"They are confidential." The union sent a letter to the more than 400
N.B.A. players last month, warning them that they would be tested in
October during training camp and the preseason.

"If at any time this past summer, you or a player you know has smoked
marijuana, used cocaine, heroin or other hard drugs, or taken
steroids, you must read this," the letter began. The letter encouraged
members who might have problems with drug or steroid abuse to come
forward, so they could get help and avoid penalties.

With about a half-dozen positive tests among the first 120 or so
players, it appears that the proportion of players testing positive is
far less than some current and former players would have expected.
Richard Dumas was the last player suspended by the league for using
cocaine. Dumas, suspended in 1993, once said, "If they tested for
marijuana, there probably wouldn't be no N.B.A." Allan Houston of the
Knicks has a different view. "There were some people out there saying
nearly all ballplayers smoke weed," he said. "It got ridiculous, and I
think we got a bad rap about it. At the same time, it is an illegal
substance. Why should a professional athlete be allowed to use it?
That's what it comes down to. Honestly, I think the testing is going
to help some guys. Am I glad they put it in the agreement? In the long
run, I am." The drug policy has another new and disputed element: for
the first time coaches, assistant coaches and trainers were tested
with the players. Some say angrily that their rights were bargained by
the players association and the league without their consent.

"I don't know how we got lumped in there," Knicks Coach Jeff Van Gundy
said. "I don't think it's necessary. I think it is an infringement on
people's rights." Van Gundy added: "It's not about hiding things.

It's about civil liberties slowly disappearing."