STRICT DRUG RULES FOR SPORTS

The List Of Banned Drugs Is Updated Constantly, And A New Steroid May Be
Included Soon.

Before a NCAA athlete takes the field, steps on the court, jumps in the pool
or warms up on the track, that individual must sign a consent form that says
he or she is willing to be tested for drugs.

It is required for all student-athletes before they compete during the year.
Failure to sign the consent form makes a competitor ineligible unless the
violation occurred because of "institutional administrative error or
oversight, and the student-athlete subsequently signs the form," according
to NCAA Bylaw 14.1.4.1. Testing positive for drugs carries a penalty of a
one-year loss of eligibility.

In 1986, the NCAA approved Proposal No. 30, which created bylaws prohibiting
performance-enhancing drugs and mandating testing to ensure that athletes
are clean.

Athletes are well-aware of the consequences; not only do they stay away from
drugs themselves, they are careful about taking any dietary supplements.

Brandon Hancock, a fullback on the USC football team, said the consent form
is necessary and a self-regulator for athletes in general.

"It's necessary because the NCAA has rules and regulations," Hancock said.
"If you get caught, you risk losing a year. No one wants that, so you have
to be careful. There are supplements out there like Ripped Fuel that have
things in them. By signing the form, the NCAA will have an even playing
field."

The NCAA's list of banned substances fall under six classes: stimulants,
anabolic agents, substances banned for specific sports, diuretics, street
drugs and peptide hormones and analogues.

Each class has a list of banned substances. Under stimulants, substances
such as cocaine, ephedrine (ephedra or ma huang), methamphetamine and others
are banned. Street drugs are heroin, marijuana and THC
(tetrahydrocannabinol).

Athletes are given a list of banned substances and encouraged to be cautious
that their supplements aren't spiked with anything against the rules. The
latter warning is given because oftentimes, an athlete will test positive
for drugs he doesn't know he has taken.

Some supplements, such as Ripped Fuel, contain ephedra. There are no
regulations on such supplements, and they are sold over the counter. Hancock
said athletes always check with their coaches and trainers before taking
supplements.

"Many supplements do have banned substances in them," said Kay Hawes,
associate director of media relations for the NCAA. "Student-athletes are
responsible for what they put in their bodies."

Tyler Haskell of the USC baseball team said, "When you go in for the
testing, they ask you first-off what medications you're taking, and what
supplements you're on."

Haskell said that baseball players are tested once at the beginning of the
school year, and are told they would be tested again later in the academic
year. "Of course," he said, "they don't tell us when."

If any competitor tests positive for drugs, that athlete is declared
ineligible for postseason or regular-season play according to NCAA Bylaw
18.4.1.5.

That can be appealed, but only the results of the test itself can be
questioned. While appealing, an athlete is still ineligible.

"You can appeal whether the test is positive," said Noel Ragsdale, clinical
professor of law at USC. "If you lose that challenge, then that's it."

Ragsdale said there are not that many challenges to the results.

A positive test means a student athlete is ineligible for all sports.

For example, if someone plays football during the fall and plays basketball
in the spring and tests positive, he won't suit up for either squad.

Getting back on the team is not as simple as sitting out a season. A
student-athlete is out of the game until he or she retests negative. Their
eligibility can then be restored by the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance
Cabinet.

Retesting doesn't always get an athlete in the clear. A second positive test
of something other than a street drug results in an athlete losing all
remaining eligibility in all sports.

Positive readings depend on the following: for caffeine, the concentration
of urine exceeds 15 micrograms; for testosterone, the increase in ratio of
concentrated testosterone to that of epitestosterone in urine is greater
than 6:1 - unless there is evidence that the ratio is because of a
physiological or pathological condition; for marijuana and THC, the
concentration in the urine of THC metabolite exceeds 15 nanograms.

There are no favorites when it comes to actually testing athletes. All sign
the same consent form, and the actual testing is done randomly.
Championships come under greater scrutiny, however.

"The NCAA only tests in a context of eligibility of postseason bowl games or
championships," Ragsdale said.

Actually getting caught is a bit difficult. Athletes willingly sign the
consent form and the test is hard to cheat.

"It is sophisticated," USC track and field coach Ron Allice said. "There's a
person who actually walks you down the track to get tested."

The NCAA updates its list of banned products whenever necessary, and one
that might be added soon is tetrahydrogestrinone (THG).

This new designer steroid has made headlines recently because the U.S.
Anti-Doping Agency found out it was a previously undetectable steroid.
Professional athletes such as major league baseball players Barry Bonds of
the San Francisco Giants and Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees, along
with U.S. sprint champion Kelli White and U.S. shot put champion Kevin Toth,
have come under suspicion.

"We are currently working with doctors from UCLA to test for THG," Hawes
said. "It's synthetic and difficult to test. The NCAA will update it
eventually."

Ragsdale said the NCAA added ecstasy to its banned substance list in 2001.

Allice said substance-abuse problems are more prevalent in the professional
ranks because of all the possible money that can spent and made with
supplements, both legal and illegal.

"It isn't an issue at a collegiate level because it's not a big deal,"
Allice said. "Some people just try to get an edge in money."

USC women's basketball coach Chris Gobrecht said coaching a high-profile
sport often adds pressure to players and coaches. Programs that get little
attention often take center stage when failed drug tests are mentioned.

"Our level of scrutiny comes from our players being young people," Gobrecht
said. "Beyond that, there's the issue that these are high-profile athletes."

>From a coach's perspective, Gobrecht said she would like to know if there
was a drug problem with a player before the NCAA finds out.

"Drugs are serious stuff," Gobrecht said. "It's illegal for one thing. But
you don't want to exclude someone when they need you the most. They wouldn't
be involved with drugs unless they had issues to begin with."