GREENSBORO, N.C. (REUTERS) — American athletes will be banned for life for steroid use, even for a first offense, the board of directors of USA Track & Field unanimously recommended Wednesday.
The proposal, which must be approved by USATF’s legal committee and general session this weekend, is part of a get-tough “Zero Tolerance” program by the U.S. governing body, which has been criticized internationally for its handling of anti-doping cases.
Coaches of athletes who test positive would also be banned for life under the proposal, which is much stronger than the International Association of Athletics Federation’s two-year ban for a first steroid offence.
“We do not want the cloud of negativity to constantly follow us,” sprinter and board member Jon Drummond told reporters. “So we are going to lead the world once again by establishing something, maybe, many other countries will follow.”
Retired heptathlon world-record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee termed the ban “the right way to go.”
“People can see we are serious,” the USATF board member said. “We want our sport to survive.”
Legal challenges
But Joyner-Kersee and fellow board member John Chaplin, who coached the American men’s team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said there could be legal challenges.
“It sends the right signal, but whether it will fly legally (I don’t know),” Chaplin said.
The U.S. Amateur Sports Act, for example, prohibits a governing body from having eligibility criteria more restrictive than its international sports federation.
But USATF executive officer Craig Masback said he believed the ban would withstand legal challenges and meet IAAF approval.
“I’m not aware of any law in the United States that prevents private organizations from creating rules,” said Masback, an attorney.
Masback also said he believed the wording of the Amateur Sports Act to apply only to eligibility to compete, not doping.
But he said USATF had requested that the U.S. Olympic Committee ask Congress to address the issue.
USATF has also formally asked the IAAF to clarify its rule for first-time steroid offences to read that the penalty would be a minimum of two years “up to a maximum of life,” he said
