MLB and the MLBPA Thursday announced that they have completed revisions to their joint program for the prevention and treatment of performance-enhancing drugs. The revisions include:
- Adding HGH blood tests during Spring Training, the offseason and for reasonable cause. The parties also agreed to study expanding HGH testing to the regular season.
- Increasing the number of random tests during the season and offseason.
- Making players suspended for violating the program prior to the All-Star break, including during Spring Training and the offseason, ineligible for the All-Star Game (MLB/MLBPA).
THE "BRAUN" RULES? In N.Y., Teri Thompson notes the revisions also include "modifying the program’s collection procedures" following the arbitration decision in which an independent arbitrator overturned Brewers LF Ryan Braun’s positive test for elevated testosterone because of chain of custody issues involving the collection of his urine sample. The revisions "clarify when collectors must deliver specimens to a courier, and how specimens should be stored prior to delivery to the courier, as well as modifying the appeals procedures of the program, including the circumstances under which procedural deviations will result in the invalidation of test results" (
N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/8). The joint press release from MLB and the MLBPA "specifically cited" the Braun arbitration decision as a reason for additional modifications (
NEWSDAY, 6/8).
THE NEW PROTOCOL: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale notes, "For the first time, MLB will be permitted to announce the specific substance that results in a player's positive test." Also, following Tigers LF Delmon Young's arrest last month on assault charges in N.Y., "protocol was established for evaluating and treating players who suffer from alcohol abuse or have engaged in off-field violent conduct" (USA TODAY, 6/8).
