It's Time to Blow the Whistle on Performance Enhancing Drugs
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2016
Abstract
Performance enhancing drug (“PED”) use is nothing new to the four major sports leagues in the United States. Nonetheless, these sports leagues struggle to manage PED use because it is a topic that must be negotiated and finalized in a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”), by the players and the league. Players have consistently resisted the inclusion of stringent drug testing in CBAs for fear of the stigma attached to a positive drug test and the potential impact it could have on a player’s career. The time has come, however, to “clean up” PED use within the leagues once and for all. This Article proposes that the best way to diminish PED use within the major sports leagues is to address the issue directly from the inside—leagues should implement whistleblower policies through their respective CBAs. By providing insiders protection to “blow the whistle,” players can report PED use without the fear of being labeled a “rat” or being shunned by teammates. At the same time, a whistleblower policy allows the leagues to effectively “clean up” themselves. With a comprehensive whistleblower policy that this Article suggests, players would likely be inclined to break their silence regarding PED use and anonymously help regulate an issue that has plagued American sports leagues for decades.
Recommended Citation
Winneker, Joshua D. "It's Time to Blow the Whistle on Performance Enhancing Drugs." Lewis & Clark Law Review 20, no. 1 (July 2016): 55-90. https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/22079-lcb201art2winnekerpdf. Please note that the Publication Information provides general citation information and may not be appropriate for your discipline. To receive help in creating a citation based on your discipline, please visit http://libguides.misericordia.edu/citationguide.