![handle is hein.journals/wlmsplj2 and id is 1 raw text is:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL & DRUG TESTING: A LEGAL CRITIQUE OF THE CURRENT
POLICY AND A LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF DRUG TESTING IN THE MLB
Deanna Rusch *
I. INTRODUCTION
Baseball must ascend and aspire to the highest principles - of integrity, of
professionalism, of performance, of fair play within its rules.' Spoken by Bart Giamatti,
former Commissioner of Major League Baseball (hereinafter MLB), that sentiment
seems consistent with most public comments made by the MLB administration, team
owners, union representatives and players. More specifically, the integrity issue often
arises in public efforts to justify and/or promote drug testing within baseball. In a 1997
memorandum on drug policy, prevention and testing, addressed to all MLB clubs, current
MLB Commissioner (then chairman) Bud Selig wrote, [a]s in the past, the health and
welfare of those who work in baseball will continue to be our paramount concern. No
less compelling, however, is the need to maintain the integrity of the game.2
Drug testing in baseball has been established in order to protect and promote the
health and welfare of the players, to guard the integrity of the game, and to encourage
professionalism in a sport that is a career for many. But does the current MLB drug
testing policy actually address these concerns? Does the policy, along with its
consequences, act as enough of a deterrent in order to achieve the goals it was
implemented to accomplish? As Commissioner Selig and others push for a drug testing
*Deanna Rusch, Gonzaga University School of Law, Juris Doctorate Candidate - May 2006. The author
would like to thank Professor Vickie J. Williams for her guidance while writing this article.
1 ROGER I. ABRAMS, LEGAL BASES: BASEBALL AND THE LAW 151 (Temple University Press 1998).
2 Memorandum from Bud Selig, Commissioner of Major League Baseball, to all Major League Baseball
teams, owners and players on the Drug Policy and Prevention Program (May 15, 1997) (on file with the
Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/wlmsplj2&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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