No Steroid Testing for Junior College Athletes

Professional sports and the National Collegiate Athletic Association are increasing their efforts to eliminate performance-enhancing drug use amongst their participants. The NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB have tiered-suspension plans for multiple offenders. The NCAA hands out year long suspensions for those that violate the association's drug policy.

With the professional and collegiate ranks trying to clean up their sports, and the known health risk associated with steroids, one has to wonder why there is no testing for performance-enhancing drugs on the community-college level.

"It is a financial issue," said Carlyle Carter, president and CEO of the California Community College Athletic Association. "We don't want people to think we don't have a concern over the health of student-athletes, but we're not a for-profit organization and with the state of the budget crisis we can't afford to test."

The NCAA drug tests are administered by the Missouri-based company Drug Free Sport. Owner Frank Uryasz told ESPN.com the costs for the tests range from $75-$100 an exam, depending on how many substances the athlete is tested for.

NCAA athletes are subject to year-round random tests that include students being sought at home during the summer break. They are given no more than a 48-hour notice prior to providing a urine sample. According to the NCAA, these tests result in one to two percent of student-athletes proving positive for banned substances every year.

Valley College sophomore wide receiver Joel Clements doesn't feel steroids are a problem for the football team, but thinks that all athletes should be tested.

"I've never seen anybody or heard of anybody I've played with using steroids," said Clements. "They need to test for it though because it gives guys an unfair advantage and that's not right."

Athletes want to compete on a level playing field so their opposition to performance-enhancers is understandable. The bigger concern is the health risks that are associated with steroid use. Common side-effects include testicular shrinkage and breast growth in men, baldness, acne, high blood pressure, liver damage, and changes to the left ventricle of the heart.

A 2007 National Institute on Drug Abuse study revealed that 0.8 percent of 8th graders, 1.1 percent of 10th graders, and 1.4 percent of 12th graders had used anabolic steroids within a year of the study. Many of those surveyed were not participating in athletics.

"It's important to note that it's not just the athletes using steroids," said Athletic Department Chair Gary Honjio. "There are guys in my classes, guys in the weightlifting classes that you know are using something so we pull them to the side and try to explain to them the dangers of using steroids."