Hands off our doping controls, US sport bosses tell lawmakers

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2005

WASHINGTON (AFP) — American sports league commissioners and union leaders unanimously told US lawmakers here to keep their hands off doping control programs and trust them to ensure dope cheats are caught.

Several bosses evoked concerns about giving up authority over US sportsmen to a global organization such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), whose tougher rules would govern US sports under the proposed Drug-Free Sports Act.

"A policy that is the product of an agreement between management and labor will always be superior to one that is imposed from the outside," said National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern.

"The NBA can maintain a sound drug testing policy for steroids and performance-enhancing substances through collective...