NFL’s “reasonable” testing not so reasonable

Almost every sports fan knows about the NFL and its issues with players testing positive for banned substances such as steroids and illegal drugs like marijuana.  Several policies have been put into place to test players throughout the season, which must not be a very easy task. 

I say this because I recently discovered that the NFL has a “reasonable cause” testing program that is part of the overall testing policy.  This plan basically consists of testing for a certain list of players that may be more likely to test positive.  Players who have missed tests in the past are also subject to being placed on this list.

To be honest, this is ridiculous.  How can you be more sure about some players testing positive than others?  Sure, if they have tested positive in the past then you want to test them again quite frequently.  But, how could you determine who should be on this list from the vast majority of players who haven’t tested positive?  Those guys are probably just as likely to use an illegal substance than guys who have already been caught once.  Are more linebackers and linemen going to be on this list because they are the biggest guys and need the most strength and body mass?  Quaterbacks could use steroids too for their arms…look at baseball and how many pitchers juice in that sport.  Are they going to test more black players because those players have recently had more frequent marijuana inicidents?  This would be like if at the airport the security people only randomly  searched people of a darker skin color than white…poor judgement.  I can’t believe the NFL would even risk missing some players who are using illegal drugs and substances, especially after what happened in the MLB and how much flack Bud Selig is getting from it.  It’s not enough to have random testing plus this “reasonable cause” list.  Every player should be subject to testing more frequently, even if they know it’s coming.  If testing happens enough, they’ll know they can’t do that stuff because they’ll get caught eventually.  If professional sports leagues are really that serious about cleaning up the problem with steroids, enhancers, and drugs, then they should take a more critical approach, even if it costs some extra money.  Otherwise, they might as well legalize everything…that would make it easier.  I suggest the initial thought:  clean up the league now before the problems get any worse.  You never know, maybe grown men will respond to a harsh policy and it will eventually be regarded as normal protocol.  It’s worth a try.