Texas Set to Test For Steroids

[Bordertown]

Bills are going through both sides of the Texas Legislature which would require the UIL to administer tests for steroids. The House Bill would require 3% of the high school atheletes to be tested (22,000) at an estimated cost of $4,000,000. The specifics of how the measure will be funded are still a bit up in the air but it will be up to UIL to determine. On thought is a ticket tax.

Apparently New Jersey and Florida have testing procedures in place, but the Texas measure will be the most comprehensive in the country.

My initial reaction is this is an over reaction by the legislature. Questions -
1) How widespread do you think this problem is in reality?
2) Do you think testing at the professional level will lessen the abuse down the collegiate and high school levels?
3) How are other states addressing this issue of steroid use in high schools?

 

[pied]

My initial reaction is this is an over reaction by the legislature. Questions -
1) How widespread do you think this problem is in reality?-The line between legal and illegal supplements is pretty thin in places. How widespread, It would not surprise me to see 10-15% of kids taking something against the rules. More than 20%would be very surprising.
2) Do you think testing at the professional level will lessen the abuse down the collegiate and high school levels?-Very little. Those bound to get an unfair advantage will know about the testing and plan accordingly. Some will get caught, but they will be the careless ones by and large.
3) How are other states addressing this issue of steroid use in high schools?

I think drinking and other recreational drugs(and subsequent driving)are a infintely worse probem, but not as hot an issue right now. Not that it is ok, but I think the numbers are well over 50% probably closer to 75% abuse with the other substances. Nearly every school I know has some sort of prohibition about them, and they are largely ignored.

 

[FormerWildcat]

H.S. Steroid Tests Approved in Texas
By JIM VERTUNO

AP Sports Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas public high school athletes would face mandatory random steroid testing under a bill given final approval Monday by the Legislature and sent to Gov. Rick Perry.

If Perry allows the bill to become law — he has not publicly expressed opposition — the state could begin testing tens of thousands of students at the start of the coming football season. It would be the largest high school steroids testing program in the country.

"It will help secure healthy and safe lives for our young people," said Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, the House sponsor of the measure. "Coaches, parents and fans are going to appreciate it."

Steroid testing has been a major component of Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's campaign to protect children. Athletes who test positive, or refuse to be tested, could be suspended from play. Athletes in all sports, from football to wrestling to tennis, could be tested.

"I made steroid testing of high school athletes a priority this session because I believe it will deter young people from putting that poison in their bodies and save lives all across Texas," Dewhurst said.

The House of Representatives voted 140-4 to send the bill to Perry. It requires the state to pay for testing, rather than force schools to raise ticket prices to cover the cost. The University Interscholastic League, the state's governing body for public school sports, will run the program.

The Senate's original plan was to test at least 22,000 students — about 3 percent of the 730,000 of high school athletes — for about $4 million per year.

Budget planners set aside $3 million per year, and the program now requires a "statistically significant sample" of students, said Sen. Kyle Janek, a Houston Republican who sponsored the bill.

The original Senate version would also have put specific penalties for positive tests into the law. Lawmakers instead decided to give UIL officials flexibility to set those rules.

Flynn, however, said he expects athletes to be suspended if they test positive or refuse to take a test.

The Texas High School Coaches Association, the Texas Medical Association, and groups representing public school districts and administrators supported a testing program.

About 130 of Texas' 1,300 public high schools already test for steroids.

New Jersey became the first state in the country to start a statewide testing policy for high school athletes last year. Its initial testing for performance-enhancing drugs among 150 random samples taken last fall didn't produce a positive result, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association reported earlier this year.

Two weeks ago, Florida lawmakers approved a one-year pilot program to test 1 percent of high school athletes who compete in football, baseball and weightlifting.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/shared-gen/ap/Other_Sports/High_Schools_Steroids.html

 

[Bordertown]

The bill passed in Texas and roughly 3% of students involved in Texas High School athletics will be tested. I have mixed feelings on this act. The conservative in me says it is a local matter and does not need a state agency to oversee. I read the other day an athletic director resigned his job at a multi-school district to head the program up for the UIL. I am sure their is a small staff being funded to monitor this program.

The other side of me says if they were going to pass the bill, they did not go far enough. The test should have included other drugs which I agree with Pied are more prevalent in the schools.

I am aware New Jersey has some testing, but what other states are taking a stand at the high school level.

 

[djtomr941]

Governor Charlie Christ just signed a similar bill for Florida.

Looks like Florida will be testing for roids amongst other things.

 

[SLCDad]

Governor Charlie Christ just signed a similar bill for Florida.

Looks like Florida will be testing for roids amongst other things.

Not exactly similar.

Texas will spend $3 million. Florida will spend $100K.



Florida to begin drug testing of prep athletes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida prep athletes participating in football, baseball and weightlifting will be subject to random steroid testing under a one-year pilot program that Gov. Charlie Crist approved Tuesday.
The Florida High School Athletics Association will supervise the testing. Its membership includes 426 public schools and 224 private schools — all subject to the law that takes effect July 1.

"I am hopeful that, through this legislation, we will limit the number of high-school students struggling with steroid use," Crist said. "It's our responsibility to teach our children the serious health risks that may be involved. We can help prevent serious health problems and drug abuse later on."

The tests will be randomly administered to 1% of students who compete in football, baseball and weightlifting during the 2007-2008 school year. The bill (HB 461) included $100,000 in funding to pay for the testing.

 

[pied]

Not exactly similar.

Texas will spend $3 million. Florida will spend $100K.

I wonder which one will be more effective in the long run.

 

[SLCDad]

The articles don't have very much detail so we are probably overlooking something.

The Texas article says it will cost $4 million to test 22,000 students. That works out to $181 per test. That seems reasonable.

If we use the Florida number of $100K divided by $181 per test, that means only 552 kids could be tested each year. That's less than one per high school which would not cover 1% of the kids that are in football, baseball and weight lifting. Perhaps the schools are expected to cover the rest of the cost.

 

[consumerman]

The first thing I Would test would be the brain of the coach of Trinity who made the worst strategy decision in high school history

 

[consumerman]

more of that infamous texas justice

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070620/ap_on_re_us/crash_assault

 

[Bordertown]

Are you trying to get another thread closed? Please explain how either of your posts relate to topic which every other poster has stayed on point.

Your comments belong on this Forum http://www.yappi.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15

If you wish to post a thread on that forum, I would be happy to discuss.

 

[SLCDad]

Consumerman, in the last few days you got shredded by many of the posters on this board. (I was tempted to join the fray but I restrained myself; but I agreed with most of the stuff people were saying about you.) The thread got closed.

Now you do the two posts you just did. What's up with you?

 

[consumerman]

Consumerman, in the last few days you got shredded by many of the posters on this board. (I was tempted to join the fray but I restrained myself; but I agreed with most of the stuff people were saying about you.) The thread got closed.

Now you do the two posts you just did. What's up with you?

Many posters on this board?

no
as usual your FACTS are wrong

bordertown and ridgepride are texas homers that argue anything

concha I have seen on many boards for many years, he doesnt even count as a person worth mentioning

those three are the sum total of your "shredded by many posters on this board"

lmao

now how about that texas justice?

 

[consumerman]

The thread got closed.

The reason the thread got closed could easily have been the numerous personal attacks from ridgepride (documented in the thread - go reread the thread see psot 163), the spam 5 in a row posts by bordertown (go reread the thread), or mr argumentative concha (go reread the thread)

did you jump on them daditis?

we already know the answer


as for my two posts, I thought they were rather humorous

I dont remember you jumping on the poster who said MNW was a team of thugs and convicts

oh - that was not an attack on texas but an attack on florida high schoolers

yawn- such hypocrisy (what's new)

 

[Bordertown]

So what is DLS's steriod testing policy Consumerman. Is California looking at a testing program to protect the health of its youth. I doubt Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) is the only Bay Area supplier of steriods.

By the way, your humor is warped. There is a thread on the tragic story in the forum I directed to your attention. But I saw you chose not to make a humorous post in that forum.

 

[consumerman]

So what is DLS's steriod testing policy Consumerman. Is California looking at a testing program to protect the health of its youth. I doubt Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) is the only Bay Area supplier of steriods.

By the way, your humor is warped. There is a thread on the tragic story in the forum I directed to your attention. But I saw you chose not to make a humorous post in that forum.

dont waste ur energy next time

anywhere you direct me will definitely be a place I WILL NOT GO

 

[Bordertown]

So California is not doing anything? The Texas law was in reponse to the emotional roller coaster the steriods cause. The nephew of Burt Hooten committed suicide from being screwed up emotionally by steriods. His father lead the fight to pass the law in Texas. I think I heard he has quit his job to campaign for similiar laws in other states.

 

[SLCDad]

Many posters on this board?

no
as usual your FACTS are wrong

bordertown and ridgepride are texas homers that argue anything

concha I have seen on many boards for many years, he doesnt even count as a person worth mentioning

those three are the sum total of your "shredded by many posters on this board"

You forgot Pied. I restrainted myself but agreed silently. That makes five.

Whatever the number, I'd say listening to them would be a good thing for you to do.

 

[consumerman]

That makes five.

take that number and multiply by six and that is how many people you have called jerks

 

[consumerman]

Consumerman, in the last few days you got shredded by many of the posters on this board. (I was tempted to join the fray but I restrained myself; but I agreed with most of the stuff people were saying about you.) The thread got closed.

Now you do the two posts you just did. What's up with you?

go ahead and document where pied shredded me in the thread that was closed

document the post number

what was said

and how that qualifies as shredding me

ok daditis?

 

[consumerman]

I'd say listening to them would be a good thing for you to do.


listening to bordertown would be a good idea?
listening to ridgepride?
concha? who no one respects on any board he has ever been?

your advice is poor

 

[Bordertown]

Consumerman, I am going to ask you politely - Please get off my thread. You have contributed nothing to the topic, even though I have attempted to engage you in the conversation - you insist on demonstrating you have nothing to contribute.

The topic is about steriod testing in high schools. The topic is not about:
- a call by a football coach
- texas justice (I must admit the first thing that came to my mind was the violence after the Rodney King verdict and a truck driver being beat on national television.
- it is not about MNW vs SLC
- it is not about namecalling or who likes who on this board

The topic is Steriod testing. That is not the same as a hemroid. Steriods are often used to treat hemroids.

 

[consumerman]

Consumerman, I am going to ask you politely - Please get off my thread. You have contributed nothing to the topic, even though I have attempted to engage you in the conversation - you insist on demonstrating you have nothing to contribute.

The topic is about steriod testing in high schools. The topic is not about:
- a call by a football coach
- texas justice (I must admit the first thing that came to my mind was the violence after the Rodney King verdict and a truck driver being beat on national television.
- it is not about MNW vs SLC
- it is not about namecalling or who likes who on this board

The topic is Steriod testing. That is not the same as a hemroid. Steriods are often used to treat hemroids.

look mr hypocrite

here is a post from you on a thread BY ME about usa today rankings

let's see the relevance of your post

You know, we could bid together and not have to give our services away. Would you settle on $75,000? If so we could bid it together so $150,000 plus expenses and both go to Maui.


please inform me how this post fits into a thread about usa today rankings

you should take your own advice and stay off everybody's threads

H Y P O C R I T E

 

[Bordertown]

Yes I remember that post. It was the #140 post of the thread from Dec & January which meandered through many topics including how teams would fair in the Herbie, DLS's 143 game winning streaking, etc... The post was in response to this invitation:

so you hate the california system
you organize ten sections into a state playoff then

I was not going to give my services away. I was going to charge a fee to fix the system for you. Uncle Baldy was wanting to be against me and I thought a joint bid might be better.

But please go re-read the thread and see how many times you deviated from the topic before I even posted on the thread.

I take it that California has no plans to test for steriods. Do you think California should test high school students for steriods?

 

[naughty]

Bills are going through both sides of the Texas Legislature which would require the UIL to administer tests for steroids. The House Bill would require 3% of the high school atheletes to be tested (22,000) at an estimated cost of $4,000,000. The specifics of how the measure will be funded are still a bit up in the air but it will be up to UIL to determine. On thought is a ticket tax.

Apparently New Jersey and Florida have testing procedures in place, but the Texas measure will be the most comprehensive in the country.

My initial reaction is this is an over reaction by the legislature. Questions -
1) How widespread do you think this problem is in reality?
2) Do you think testing at the professional level will lessen the abuse down the collegiate and high school levels?
3) How are other states addressing this issue of steroid use in high schools?

You are dumb. It is needed all around the country. And over reaction. Hmm maybe a team your cheering for is pumped with steroids. Because thats the only way i see anyone could have a problem with it.

 

[consumerman]

bordertown

little stupid settle for 75,00 and trips to maui have as much relevance as wha tI posted on your thread

you are a true hypocrite

 

[Bordertown]

You are dumb. It is needed all around the country. And over reaction. Hmm maybe a team your cheering for is pumped with steroids. Because thats the only way i see anyone could have a problem with it.

I may be dumb. But I don't think it is a problem on the team I am cheer for on Friday nights than recreational drugs and alcohol. I think it is probably a bigger issue with teams I cheer for on Saturday & Sundays as athletes are competing at a higher level.

Texas did not have Statewide testing for illegal drugs and marijuana, which I perceive as a much bigger problem in schools. The impact on body of meth, cocaine, and other drugs may have a more detrimental impact on the health of student than steriods. I view steriods in the same light. Steriods is one of many drugs that students involved in extracurricular activities should be tested.

Texas courts have ruled a school cannot have random drug tests on the student bodies, but may drug test students wishing to be involved in extracurricular activities. It has been a local option and many districts do random drug tests on their athletes. Why do you need to create a state beaucracy to run a statewide drug testing for steriods? An athlete director for a school district resigned to take a job at the UIL to administer this steriod testing program. Some times the issue is can local control do as good a job and do it cheaper than a centralized system. Will their be folks that abuse a decentralized system? Yes, but look at the abuses that occur every day in our centralized government. Sometimes your core political beliefs enter even in high school athletics. As dumb as that may seem.

Naughty, tell me about the Florida plan. $100,000 budget sounds like the plan my be cosmetic and not substantive. What is being comtemplated in Florida.

 

[naughty]

I may be dumb. But I don't think it is a problem on the team I am cheer for on Friday nights than recreational drugs and alcohol. I think it is probably a bigger issue with teams I cheer for on Saturday & Sundays as athletes are competing at a higher level.

Texas did not have Statewide testing for illegal drugs and marijuana, which I perceive as a much bigger problem in schools. The impact on body of meth, cocaine, and other drugs may have a more detrimental impact on the health of student than steriods. I view steriods in the same light. Steriods is one of many drugs that students involved in extracurricular activities should be tested.

Texas courts have ruled a school cannot have random drug tests on the student bodies, but may drug test students wishing to be involved in extracurricular activities. It has been a local option and many districts do random drug tests on their athletes. Why do you need to create a state beaucracy to run a statewide drug testing for steriods? An athlete director for a school district resigned to take a job at the UIL to administer this steriod testing program. Some times the issue is can local control do as good a job and do it cheaper than a centralized system. Will their be folks that abuse a decentralized system? Yes, but look at the abuses that occur every day in our centralized government. Sometimes your core political beliefs enter even in high school athletics. As dumb as that may seem.

Naughty, tell me about the Florida plan. $100,000 budget sounds like the plan my be cosmetic and not substantive. What is being comtemplated in Florida.

To tell you the truth i have no clue. But it can only get better. You sitting up there saying what you did. Heck the way i read it is like you disagree with the whole thing. Meaning you know someone using, becasue if you dont then you should be happy they are going to do this. And the system about sending in this and that and taking 3% of the students, "what the the you know what." That can be worked around and messed with so no one gets caught. I have no clue what florida is doing, but as I said it can only get better. And the states stepping up to do something about this situation. :clap: :clap:. You mean people really do care about the students well being sometimes.

 

[Bordertown]

I disagree with Texas rule as written. I would prefer it to be a school district option and districts be encourage to do them. But if you are going to have a statewide system, then why limit what we are testing.

By the way, the school I follow has a drug dog. Several years back before the State Semi-Final game, they did a search in the student parking lot. Guess whose car had a positive hit - the starting QB. Quess who did not play and was in alternative school - the starting QB. Quess who won the game - not my team. Interesting the kid who started the game with little practice taking snaps was a freshman named Ryan Mallett.

 

[LittleCardsDad]

If the legislatures knew anything about anabolic/androgenic steroids (AAS), and the inherent flaws and difficulties with testing this demographic (15-18yo males), they would be spending their money somewhere else. Don't expect much for your 3 million.