IBAF President commends MLB’s latest measures to promote clean sport
“It is our responsibility as the IF to promote and provide a doping-free sports environment, as laid out in the WADA code, and this agreement is a significant confirmation of our partners' [in the MLB] strong support and alignment in this regard,” says President Fraccari.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Major League Baseball and the Major League Players Association have reached an important agreement to expand their drug testing program, which will introduce random in-competition blood testing for Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and will establish baseline testosterone levels of the league’s players.
According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the policy, which would take effect beginning with the 2013 season, will offer some of the most stringent controls in professional sports.
The new agreement sees the appointment of the WADA Montreal laboratory in establishing a longitudinal profile program for each MLB player.
“MLB has significantly increased the effectiveness of its anti-doping program and enhanced its value in terms of deterrence. An anti-doping program can only be considered effective when it is allowed to monitor players the whole year round, and by making these changes the MLB has set a new standard for the other Pro Leagues to follow,” WADA Director General David Howman said in a statement.
“We are very pleased with WADA’s statement on this agreement; the media response has been very positive, as well,” co-President of the World Baseball Softball Confederation Riccardo Fraccari told Olympics news outlet Around The Rings in a phone interview. “Certainly this adds further momentum [to baseball-softball’s 2020 Olympics bid], but the real issue is that this new policy will allow for the use of the most sophisticated detection techniques in the world to further safeguard the integrity of the game. It is our responsibility as the IF to promote and provide a doping-free sports environment, as laid out in the WADA code, and this agreement is a significant confirmation of our partners' (in the MLB) strong support and alignment in this regard, and we are particularly proud of the leadership that Major League Baseball has shown on this critical issue in recent years” Fraccari added.
“This is a good day for baseball,” MLB Commissioner Allan (Bud) Selig underlined during a press conference in Arizona. “We will continue to do everything we can to maintain a leadership stature in anti-doping efforts in the years ahead,” Selig confirmed.
The Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner said in a statement: “Players want a program that is tough, scientifically accurate, backed by the latest scientific methods and fair; I believe these changes firmly support the players' desires while protecting their legal rights."
All player data will be maintained by the Montreal laboratory with strict protections for confidentiality.
(From IBAF Website)
