Announcement: Professional Sports Leagues Steroid Policies
Posted by Neil Paine on November 20, 2009
Sports-Reference, with the help of researcher Greg Spira, is proud to present our definitive, comprehensive reference page regarding the performance-enhancing drug policies in place for various North American sports leagues/associations. In it, you'll find a list (in FAQ format) of the various PED regulations in pro sports leagues, in addition to lists of every athlete suspended under each league's policies.
We want this page to be your best source for information about steroid/PED policies in pro sports. However, pages like these are constantly growing and evolving with new information, so if you know of a policy or a suspended athlete not listed on the page, send us an e-mail and we'll be sure to include it on the site.
November 21st, 2009 at 12:34 pm
"An anonymous survey of 2,552 retired NFL players released by the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation reported that 16% of offensive linemen and nearly 15% of defensive linemen said they used PEDs."
Any idea of when that survey took place?
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 am
"A player's first positive test results in a 4-game unpaid suspension (players lose both their salary and a portion of their prorated signing bonus). A second positive test results in a ban of 1 season."
I'm not sure if this is accurate. The league may have changed the rule, but the last that I had heard, the first positive is not made public. It is the second positive that results in the 4 game suspension, and then the 3rd results in one year.
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:40 pm
re: #2
There are two distinct rule sets.
For PEDs, the first positive test for steroids, masking agents, et cetera results in a four-game suspension. The second positive test results in a yearlong ban.
For recreational drugs, the first positive test is not publicly disclosed unless leaked. The player is then subject to more frequent testing after being placed into a substance abuse monitoring program. The second positive test or a missed test results in a four-game suspension. The third positive test or a missed test results in a yearlong ban.
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Vik, Thanks for clearing that up. I didn't realize the difference.
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:08 am
The recreational and PED drug policies are available online:
http://nflplayers.com/user/template.aspx?fmid=181&lmid=338&pid=0&type=n
I was using outdated information. The penalties for a positive PED test are as follows:
1st - minimum suspension of four games
2st - minimum suspension of eight games
3rd - minimum suspension of one year