"Some 10,000 former East German swimmers have found that they have liver damage, diabetes, cancers and other serious effects of forced steroid drugging by their national trainers." (Wadler, 7/13/03) Dr. Gary Wadler, consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice on anabolic-androgenic steroid use, stresses that "unlike almost all other drugs, all steroid based hormones have one unique characteristic - their dangers may not be manifest for months, years and even decades. Therefore, long after you gave them up you may develop side effects." (Wadler, 7/13/03). These side effects include impotence, menstrual cycle changes, acne, liver damage, heart attacks and strokes, clotting disorders and more. The more steroid use is studied, the more dangerous it reveals itself to be in terms of physical, psychological and behavioral consequences. .
These consequences have resulted in steroid bans by the NBA, NFL, NCAA and Olympics. Yet despite the increased scrutiny of baseball caused by former National League MVP Ken Caminiti's admissions of steroid use and his estimates of its use by over half of all Major League baseball players, Major League Baseball continues to operate without a steroid ban or provisions for drug testing. "Many Major League Baseball players contend, that The Players Association is jepordizing the health of its members by resisting mandatory testing for the use of potentially hazardous drugs."(Freeman and Ollney) The only testing ever in baseball has been testing for controlled substances. This also occured only when players were under suspiction or have just been brought up on drug charges. "In a poll by USA Today last summer, in which 556 major league players answered at least one question, 79 percent of the players said they would accept independent testing for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs."(USA Today Gallop poll) In contract talks this summer, there was an agreement in which the players union agreed to steroid testing for the first time.
