Big Change: First-Time Offenders Will Be Suspended

NEW YORK -- Baseball owners and players announced a stricter agreement on steroid testing and penalties Thursday, a deal the sport believes will stop suspicion and end questions about integrity.

Here is a look at the issue:

Question: What’s the biggest difference in the new steroid agreement?

Answer: Players who test positive the first time will be suspended, without pay, for 10 days and will be publicly identified. In the previous deal, first-time offenders were sent for counseling and their names did not become public.

Q: Will players be tested more often?

A: Yes. In 2004, each player was given one test, which included an initial sample and a follow-up within five to seven days. Starting in 2005, there will be a still unspecified number of players randomly selected for additional tests, and it’s possible a player could be tested two or more times. There also will be off-season testing for the first time.

Q: Did the banned list change?

A: Yes. Diuretics, masking agents, human growth hormone and steroid precursors were added.

Q: What was left out?

A: The biggest omission was amphetamines. There also will be no blood tests for human growth hormone.

Q: Why are some criticizing the agreement?

A: Those in the Olympic movement say it falls short of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code, which calls for a two-year ban for first-time offenders unless there are mitigating circumstances. WADA also has a far wider list of banned substances.

Q: Why didn’t baseball management try to get a deal along the lines of WADA’s?

A: U.S. labor laws, which the Olympic movement is not subject to, leave matters such as steroid testing to the collective bargaining process between management and unions.