Suspension Only Steroid Policy
Last week MLBs drug testing policy came under extreme scrutiny on Capitol Hill. The plan called for a 10-day suspension or up to $10,000 fine for a first positive test, a 30-day suspension or up to $25,000 fine for second positive, a 60-day suspension or up to $50,000 fine for a third positive and a one-year suspension or up to $100,000 fine for the fourth positive. On Sunday MLB and the MLBPA agreed to change the sentencing structure to a suspension only punishment.
The fines were questioned by congress as being too lenient. Ten thousand dollars, while a lot of money to the common man, is just a drop in the bucket to someone making millions of dollars a year. By dropping fines as a possible sentence and leaving suspension as the only sentence MLB is hoping to convince the public that they are truly moving in the right direction as far as steroid use goes.
I have to wonder why it took an inquisition by congress to make baseball make any changes to its policy. If they were truly concerned about what was going on as well as the repercussions of it then the policy would have been stronger to begin with. And even with the new change I still have to question the severity of the punishment. A player who is juiced up is selfish enough to risk the 10 game ban he’d get if he were caught. Besides, if I was caught juiced up by my employer I’d be fired on the spot. Certainly a plan could be implemented with more bite.
I’m realistic enough to know that a lifetime ban on the first offense wouldn’t fly so here’s my proposal:
- 1st offense – 30 day suspension.
- 2nd offense – 1 year suspension.
- 3rd offense – lifetime ban.
It’s a simple 3 strikes and you’re out policy. The punishment for the first offense is strong enough to dissuade the casual user but mild enough to not hurt the team any more than necessary. The punishment for the second offense is obviously quite a bit harsher and forces the player to deal with whatever fallout may occur as a result of a 1-year absence from his team. The third ban is obviously the nail in the coffin that says “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, fool me a third time shame on both of us”. I would also implement a rule that prohibits clauses that plan for contractual issues like what happens if a player missed an incentive as a result of a steroid suspension.
There’s a plan with bite that would go a long way toward mending the public relations fiasco that is going on right now over the steroid issue.
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