DRUG-RIDDLED SPORTS REAP WHAT THEY'VE SOWN

The last thing American track and field needed was the kick in the teeth it
got yesterday when two of its stars were suspended indefinitely for drug use.

But it's getting exactly what it deserves.

In fact, a lot of sports are beginning to reap what they've sown as we head
toward the new millennium.

And it is a drug-riddled crop devoid of soul.

American sprinter Dennis Mitchell and shot putter Randy Barnes, the Olympic
champ and world record-holder, have both failed out-of-competition random
doping tests, according to the International Amateur Athletics Federation.

The B samples of their tests have yet to be analyzed, but it's more bad news
for a sport that didn't need it.

It comes on the heels of the doping scandal that has wracked the prestigious
Tour de France cycling race.

IAAF boss Primo Nebiolo, in a press release yesterday, called for a world
conference on doping to come up with a strategy to deal with ``this delicate
problem.''

One of the best strategies would be to get rid of sports administrators the
likes of Nebiolo.

Let's start with International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio
Samaranch, who was quoted Sunday that some performance-enhancing drugs
should be legalized. Samaranch said that the list of banned substances
should be ``drastically'' reduced and that drugs which don't damage an
athlete's health should not be prohibited.

It is under the stewardship of such prominent sports officials as Samaranch
and Nebiolo that an atmosphere has been created where many athletes believe
the use of performance-enhancing is being tacitly approved.

Why wouldn't they? Most of the organizations have done little to improve the
standard of testing and have done nothing to truly research the extent of
the problem.

While Canada took a hard look at its problems through the Dubin inquiry,
American track officials were saying: ``We don't have a problem.''

But the Yanks are now learning the hard way that problems don't just go away
when you ignore them. In fact, they often get worse.

The Tour de France is a perfect illustration of this. For years, there's
been speculation that doping was rampant at such cycling events.

This time around, it was confirmed when some riders and officials were
implicated in the widespread use of the banned substance EPO.

The event has taken a public battering. And it's only by hitting these
sports in the pocketbook that those in charge are going to realize they have
to take action.

The reaction to the Tour de France scandal this week indicates that those
who advocate the legalization of doping in sports have badly misread the
public's feeling on the topic.

``On the contrary, controls have to be made tougher,'' said German rider Jan
Ullrich, last year's Tour de France champion.

``It's the only way to get out of the mess.''

It was Nebiolo who led a successful charge last year to have the penalty for
first-time doping offences in track and field dropped from four years to two
years.

In now calling for the worldwide conference, Nebiolo is saying sport is ``at
a crossroads and we cannot afford to take the wrong route.''

``Doping is harmful for the athletes and it can kill a sport,'' said Nebiolo.

Some sports may find out just how lethal it can be.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett