Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 Source: Florida Times-Union (FL) Copyright: 2007 The Florida Times-Union Contact: http://www.jacksonville.com/aboutus/letters-to-editor.shtml Website: http://www.times-union.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/155 Author: William Bainbridge, The Times-Union Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) TIME HAS COME TO SCREEN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES FOR ILLEGAL DRUGS During the past few weeks, three interesting news stories emerged related to the health and safety of athletes. Two of the stories commanded national media attention. The first focused on Brian DeMarco, old No. 73 of the Jacksonville Jaguars. A seriously crippled DeMarco told a Congressional subcommittee he is broke and uninsured. He claims he can't get the National Football League or the Players' Association to even hear his claim for disability benefits. The following week, a second story involved the late Chris Benoit, the "Canadian Crippler," star of "professional" wrestling. An apparent murder-suicide was committed involving Benoit, his 7-year-old son and wife in the family's Fayetteville, Ga., home. A third related story, with much less national media fanfare, announced the newly enacted law now in effect subjecting some Florida student athletes to random steroid testing. Under the new one-year test legislation, the Florida High School Athletics Association will supervise the testing in its 426 public and 224 private member schools. DeMarco A physically and emotionally broken DeMarco insisted in televised interviews that his applications for disability benefits had gone unanswered. Gene Upshaw, executive director of the National Football League's Players Association, reported his view that DeMarco "had never applied for assistance." DeMarco said he had filed for "line-of-duty" disability in both 2001 and 2002. "How can I have slipped through the cracks? I was homeless and disabled. Of course, I would file for disability, but the disability system is broken," the 35 year-old DeMarco contended. Some NFL union trustees indicated they will look into DeMarco's case. Benoit In the wrestling case, initially it was reported the 40-year-old Benoit had murdered his son, his wife and himself. Then it was learned Benoit's physician was implicated in the bizarre triple murder. Physician Phil Astin was arrested in Atlanta, and faces federal charges of allegedly improperly dispensing painkillers to Benoit. Astin was indicted on seven counts of inappropriately prescribing drugs such as Vicoprofen, Percocet, Xanax and Lorcet, when there was no apparent medical need. In the strange odyssey of pro wrestlers, Benoit enjoyed a good reputation. Many have attributed his actions to what is known as "roid rage," the depression that often comes with use of body enhancing steroids. Steroids were found in the Benoit home. According to the prosecutor, Astin wrote prescriptions for an extreme number of controlled substances during the past two years, including "significant quantities" of an anabolic steroid. Testing High School Athletes The new drug testing action for Florida high school athletes is a one-year pilot. Gov. Charlie Crist said he is "hopeful that through the legislation we will limit the number of high school students struggling with steroid use. It's our responsibility to teach our children the serious health risks that may be involved." The tests will be randomly administered to 1 percent of high school athletes who compete in selected sports during the 2007-2008 school year. The law includes $100,000 in funding to pay for steroid screening. State Rep. Marcelo Llorente, R-Miami, said football, baseball and weightlifting were chosen because they are sports where muscle mass enhances performance most. Under the new law, any high school athlete who does not submit to a urine sampling will be ineligible to participate. Those who test positive would be suspended from the team, but could be reinstated if they pass a follow-up test later. Florida follows New Jersey and Texas with a drug testing policy for high school athletes. High school athletes are still teenagers who need to focus on more than looking strong and winning records. They need first to focus on protecting their bodies, minds and futures. Many damaging habits, including drug abuse, alcohol addiction, smoking and overextending the limits of young, still-growing bodies, often begin in the teen years. The testimony and interviews of DeMarco reinforce the awareness and need for general health and safety in athletics. With the Benoit family tragedy fresh on our minds, there is no doubt the state should play a role in trying to protect teenage high school athletes from steroid abuse, a major problem in many schools. At a time of expanding federal and state government intrusion into all of our lives, it is difficult to be excited about another "big brother" law. However, this safety precaution is clearly within the state's responsibility. This legislation is appropriate and overdue. William L. Bainbridge is St. Augustine-based Distinguished Research Professor for the University of Dayton and President & Chief Executive Officer of SchoolMatch, a national educational auditing, research, and data organization. In the late 1990s, SchoolMatch conducted an audit of the Duval County school system. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman