BELL LAP #27

ALL DRUG SCANDALS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL (May 31, 2000)

When Ben Johnson flunked that all-important post-race test in Seoul, neon headlines proclaimed a DRUG SCANDAL. And it was a scandal, one that shook the Olympic movement to its roots.

And when police discovered a van filled with a cornucopia of pharaceuticals meant to boost the hemoglobin and speed recovery of endurance cyclists in the Tour de France, that, too, was a DRUG SCANDAL. Deservedly. If cycling takes a lifetime to recover from exposing its squalid backside to the public eye, so be it. They earned that punishment.

But when Kathy Jager, a 56-year-old masters competitor from Phoenix, was found to have followed her doctor's orders in taking medication to regulate hormone levels and relieve postmenopausal symptoms, was that also a DRUG SCANDAL? True, Jager's prescription was for methyltestosterone, one of a slew of anabolic steroids banned in international competition. When tested, Jager wrote down the name of the medication, hiding nothing. Clearly, there was no intent to cheat, leaving Jager nonplussed about her subsequent suspension.

"You don't look at all your medicine and say, 'Gee, what's it got in it?'" she said.

Well, actually you do. Or you should, if you're competing in international sport. Drug testing on the world scene is predicated on the notion that certain substances may not show up in an athlete's system, no matter how they get there. This is crucial, because it takes away excuses that otherwise undermine the system. It may have been the coach's little blue vitamin pills, or a "natural" product available on grocery shelves, or a prescription by your personal physician. It may even have been the result of someone tampering with your toothpaste, a defense invoked by German 5000-meter runner Dieter Baumann. Who knows, maybe someone really did sneak into his flat and spike his Gleem. It doesn't matter. If a banned substance is in your body and testers find it, you're in trouble.

And so Kathy Jager is guilty--but guilty mostly of trusting her physician's knowledge of the rules of international sport. So is her offense, at worst naivete, on a par with Ben Johnson's cheating? Obviously not, and USATF has, as a result, supported Jager's early reinstatement to competition.

The problem is, the media seem to have trouble differentiating one "drug scandal" from another. Or maybe it's just the headline wonks, staffers who can't resist lurid text. Who cares what the real story is if the headline grabs the reader's attention?

Kathy Jager maybe?

Her crime is about as serious as inadvertent course-cutting in a road race. And yes, in the hands of a talended headline writer, even that prosaic mistake might ruin a reputation. COURSE-CUTTING RUNNER STRIPPED OF MEDAL!

With inadvertent drug positives likely to show up again and again in the years ahead, it's time to tone down the reaction. Not all drug positives are scandalous. Some are the result of inattention or, at worst, stupidity. Anyone who wants to point an accusatory finger of shame ought to have to undergo his own test. Let's have a good, close look at that urine of yours. Of course since numerous substances prescribed by doctors for legitimate ailments, or sold in nutrition stores to help "boost energy," or purchased over-the-counter at any corner grocery in the nation can lead to positive tests, you might want to think twice about that.

Meanwhile, to the general media that loves to portray Olympic sport as a haven for drug abusers, here's a headline you can use:

TESTOSTERONE-BOOSTING SLUGGER BREAKS HOME RUN RECORD

Official and media complicity in major league drug abuse. Now there's a scandal worth getting worked up about.