Umpire's Thoughts

O.K. We’ve heard the arguments for or against the use of steroids in professional sports. But what do the professional umpires and referees have to say on the subject? What is their take on steroids in the sports they officiate?
One of baseball’s major league umpires, Tom McClelland, defended athletes who used the drug in baseball at a fundraiser in February 2009. He has been a Major League Umpire for over 25 years and is one of the more respected umpires of the game. He is known for his fairness and consistency and is top-rated in his field. He has said that he knew baseball players were using the drug for at least 15 years. He has been quoted as saying, “They used it to make themselves better, I can’t fault a player for doing that. It was not against the rules of baseball, so I can’t fault a player for trying to make himself better.”
He also has said that cheating has always been part of the sport. McClelland went as far to say that some in the sport live by the saying that `you're not trying to win if you're not cheating.'
"Norm Cash, who won the batting title (in 1961) said he used to put tacks in his bat," McClelland said. "There have been guys who grooved their bat...guys who have stuck thumb tacks in their glove to scuff the ball. There have been guys who have tried to bend the rules for years and years and years."
In any event, this is one sports official who would like to see the whole scandal over with. He hopes that fans will be able to forgive and forget. Considering the packed stadiums and the price people are willing to pay to see professional games, I think fans have done just that.

Testing Process For Steroids

Steroids are constantly being used in sports to gain an advantage over the competition. In almost every sport using performance enhancing drugs is illegal and will not be tolerated. Because of the rise in steroid use over the past years, many teams will choose to test athletes before they compete and sometimes before they join the team.

Testing for drugs starts off with a urine sample. This may sound simple but it requires a highly regulated procedure to make sure the sample comes from the athlete in person, with no opportunity to tamper with the sample. For the sample to be tested correctly, you must obtain 30ml of urine. You must be sure that the sample is real and actually comes from the athlete. So much is on the line for these athletes that they may go about getting another persons urine and switching it with their own. Acquiring a real sample is very important for the test. The urine is then sent to the lab to be processed and analyzed. If the results come back positive a second test may be taking just to make sure that the first test was correct.

Does this violate the athlete’s rights as a human? Some may say that this protocol seems excessive and violate certain rights of privacy and decency. There are many accounts of athletes using elaborate methods of trying to cheat this test. One way athletes try to do so is by bringing condoms filled urine without and drugs in it.

What do you think? Is this process necessary in sports? Personally I think that these tests need to be given in every single sport, even in high school. It is giving players an unfair advantage and it needs to be stopped.