Ruling on Supplement Still Several Months Away

Baseball is still several months from a decision on whether to ban the muscle-enhancing supplement androstenedione, Commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday.

Selig and union head Donald Fehr agreed Aug. 27 to have a committee study the testosterone-producing pill, which is used by home run champion Mark McGwire, among others. Baseball officials said the panel probably will report back in six to 10 weeks.

“Together with the union, we’ve got the leading experts in this country studying this,” Selig said.

Dr. Robert Millman, a consultant to management’s Player Relations Committee, and Dr. Joel Solomon, a consultant to the Major League Baseball Players Assn., are on the panel.

The union, which generally has taken the position that only illegal substances should be banned, is expected to resist any action against androstenedione (pronounced an-dro-STEEN-die-own) unless doctors conclude it is harmful.

Andro is allowed in baseball but banned in the NFL, Olympics and the NCAA. The pill is legal in the United States but illegal in Canada.

The Toronto Globe and Mail reported Thursday that baseball plans to ban the use of androstenedione. The newspaper cited unidentified sources, who said they expect Selig to formally announce a ban before spring training.

Selig denied the report.

“It’s not only very premature, but very unfair,” Selig said. “None of this should ever diminish from Mark McGwire’s extraordinary season.”