Baseball Should Heed Lessons From Cycling

In the Congressional Hearings on the Mitchell Report of doping in baseball the inevitable conflict between Major League Baseball (MLB), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) was bound to take center stage. One problem that has surfaced is the need for independent testing of prohibited substances outside of the influence of Major League Baseball (MLB) where possible conflicts of interest may be manifest. The only question is were and by whom? WADA has suggested that MLB become a WADA signatory, accept the WADA prohibited substances list, accept WADA Code and WADA accredited laboratory testing. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, and Baseball Union representative Donald Fehr has been resistant to such an idea, for good reason.

WADA has elected a new president, John Fahey, a man who replaced Dick Pound. Mr. Fahey has been of unknown philosophy but it was a popular hope among anti-doping fanatics that Mr. Fahey would profess more fairness in public statements than his predecessor Dick Pound. Pound succeeded in infuriating athletes, Anti-Doping Organizations, (ADO) and International Federations, (IF). For example, Pound accused the Union Cycliste International (UCI) and UCI President Hein Verbuggen of not taking enough initiative to combat doping in cycling. A bitter war ensued between the UCI and WADA as a result of these statements over control and enforcement of anti-doping efforts in cycling. The apex of the battle was reached when frozen urine samples of 1998-99 Tour de France were unfrozen and retroactively tested for scientific research purposes by Laboratorie National de Depistage (LNDD) in 2004. The research by LNDD was focused on the stability of EPO in urine over time and to determine the presence of EPO in rider samples before a urine test for EPO had been developed. Unfortunately, codes from aliquots were leaked to l'Equipe, a French newspaper owned by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The aliquot codes supposedly matched samples provided by Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. In response to the leaked information and subsequent headlines by l'Equipe of EPO use by Armstrong during the 1999 Tour, Hein Verbuggen, President of the UCI, commissioned an investigation into the lab practices of LNDD by independent Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman. Vrijman wrote a scathing report of LNDD, pointing out errors in data collection, sample storage, lack of chain-of-custody, lack of security, and possible sabotage of samples by disgruntled laboratory personnel or others who had a manifest interest in harming Lance Armstrong or other riders. Vrijman recommended that the UCI take no action against any rider who was declared EPO positive by retroactive testing by LNDD of urine samples provided during the 1998-99 Tour de France. The reaction by Dick Pound and WADA to the Vrijman report was swift and clear. "The Vrijman Report is so lacking in professionalism and objectivity that it borders on farcical," declared an outraged Pound. Contrary to Pound, Lance Armstrong released the following statement: "The [Vrijman] report confirms my innocence, but it also finds that Mr. Pound along with the French lab [LNDD] and the French Ministry have ignored the rules and broken the law. They have also refused to cooperate with the investigation in an effort to conceal the full scope of their wrongdoing. I am now retired, but for the sake of all athletes still competing who deserve a level playing field and a fair system of drug testing, the time has come to take action against these kinds of attacks before they destroy the credibility of WADA and in turn, the international anti-doping system."

To quote MLB Executive Vice President Rob Manfred. "Perhaps Mr. Fahey should become more familiar with the operation of the WADA laboratories before attempting to criticize MLB."

Baseball take note: frozen stored samples and retroactive testing may have a deterrent effect on current human growth hormone (hGH) abuse, since at present a blood serum test for hGH is still in the developmental phase. But retroactive testing also has a potential for abuse by renegade WADA accredited labs. Ask Lance Armstrong.

WADA Criticizes MLB and Union For Continued Evasion of Anti-Doping Reform

WADA released a statement expressing disappointment that MLB wants to keep testing of prohibited substances "in house." WADA did suggest that a more fair and impartial system would be evident if hGH and other drug testing were outsourced to "independent" agencies such as WADA to avoid potential conflicts of interest. WADA also accused MLB of not taking a strong enough stand in the war against doping because MLB does not agree with a WADA assertion that stored blood serum research has progressed enough to ensure reliability and safety in future retroactive testing. MLB obviously does not want or need another Vrijman fiasco, or another ongoing conflict as an IF that is also a WADA signatory, such as the battle that ensued between WADA and the UCI.

WADA seems eager to wage a new war with baseball with a new round of misleading statements about the anti-doping commitment of MLB. To quote Rob Manfred: "These continuing, unprovoked inaccurate publicity stunts by WADA have created an unwillingness to become more involved with WADA and it's affiliates. We were hopeful that false public statements by WADA would end with it's recent change in leadership and we are deeply disappointed that Mr. Fahey is showing the same counterproductive tendencies as his predecessor."

MLB also does not need bogus results reported on players due to degraded samples as has happened in the Floyd Landis testosterone/epitestosterone ratio.

The exact nature of freezing and thawing of samples is still unknown and the effect on processing of samples may result in a large quantity of post-facto false positives due to unknown variables caused by sample degradation. Dr. Gary I. Wadler, professor of medicine at New York University, and WADA committee member comments concerning the state of possible degradation of plasma and serum in hGH when the samples are frozen and thawed for testing purposes. "They are working to determine if the samples will hold up." MLB expert in prohibited substance testing, Dr. Gary Green, was even more pessimistic: "Although some have proposed the storing of serum samples, there are several practical and technological hurdles that would have to be overcome before this approach could be widely implemented."

There is ample concern of MLB to avoid any interaction with WADA. WADA is an organization sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). WADA was started in response to the BALCO scandal with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, WADA has morphed into an arrogant beast that results shop confirmation tests to satisfy the interests of WADA accredited labs. Ask Iban Mayo. WADA accredited labs lack qualified, trained personnel. WADA accredited labs destroy evidence. Ask Floyd Landis. WADA accredited labs should be avoided at all costs if you want to protect your players reputations now and in the future.

John Fahey summed up the problem quite well: "If you are not prepared to put forth testing that gives credibility to your sport, with time, the fans will start to disappear. I believe that baseball will see this." Yes, ask cycling fans. Our riders are tested by WADA accredited labs and we can't believe what we are seeing. WADA lab results are increasingly contested in the Court of Arbitration of Sport by cyclists and other athletes. Certainly all of the fault does not rest with the athlete? Some cycling fans have defected, disgusted. Baseball don't let WADA accredited labs destroy your fan base.

To Commssioner Bud Selig and the Congressional Oversight Committee, find an alternative to WADA.

Jon