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US athletes back lifetime bans for steroid abusers

USA Track & Field delegates on Sunday overwhelmingly approved a lifetime ban for athletes who test positive for steroids, but the policy won't take effect until questions about its legality are resolved.

Because the zero-tolerance plan imposes penalties tougher than mandated by the IAAF, the USATF has asked the world governing body to make sure the new rule is acceptable.

"If IAAF gave us permission to do this tomorrow," the lifetime ban would go into effect immediately, USATF president Bill Roe said.

USATF rules now call for a two-year ban for first-time steroid offenders. Under the plan approved Sunday, first-time offenders -- and their coaches -- could face lifetime bans.

"We want the rest of the world to adopt this so the whole Olympic movement will clean up," said sprinter Jon Drummond, a USATF board member.

Roe told delegates during the final session of the group's annual meeting in Greensboro that the rules change was needed so the spotlight next year "is on our athletes in competition in Athens, not in the courtroom or the media."

Since the summer, USATF has been embroiled in controversy over its handling of a 1999 positive steroid test by runner Jerome Young and athletes' use of the newly detected steroid THG.

The US Olympic Committee has threatened to strip USATF of its Olympic charter if it does not address doping and athlete conduct issues.

Young was cleared to compete at the 2000 Olympics despite the positive test. Young, who has said he never committed a doping offense, went on to win gold as part of the 1,600m relay team in Sydney.

The International Olympic Committee, meeting this week in Lausanne, Switzerland, threatened not to credential USATF administrators for the Athens Games if USATF does not resolve questions about how the Young case was handled.

USATF has repeatedly said it is bound by an arbitration court ruling upholding its decision to maintain secrecy on doping acquittals.

Amid the concern over the sport's future, USATF's 25th annual meeting saw record attendance of 1,120 coaches, athletes and officials.

The zero-tolerance proposal was approved unanimously by USATF's board of directors Wednesday.

As late as Saturday night, though, its status was in doubt. USATF's law and legislation committee recommended that it be tabled because of concern the plan conflicted with the federal Amateur Sports Act, which stipulates that USATF may not have eligibility criteria more restrictive than those of its parallel international federation.

But USATF's athletes advisory committee amended the legislation to allow a lifetime ban "provided that such lifetime suspension does not violate any provision of the Sports Act."
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