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Whether they will also avoid some kind of discipline by organized baseball is not yet clear. Baseball has punished some of its drug users in the past, including former Los Angeles Dodger Pitcher Steve Howe, who was suspended from the sport for a year at the end of 1983. Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, who has called drug abuse the most serious problem facing baseball, refused to comment on the Pittsburgh trial. Apparently anticipating the revelations, he publicly announced last spring a tough policy of mandatory testing for drugs among minor league players and umpires, but his plan could not be applied to major leaguers because of a contractual agreement between the club owners and players' union that provides only for voluntary testing. Says Don Fehr, head of the players' union: "Chemical abuse is a medical problem and should be treated like one, presupposing the doctor-client relationship and its confidentiality."
Baseball, of course, is not the only professional sport with a drug problem. The National Football League has had numerous publicized cases of drug abuse recently. Just last week the N.F.L. suspended Minnesota Vikings Running Back Chuck Muncie because he failed to attend two therapy sessions after completing a basic drug-treatment program. The league's policy permits club owners to order on-the-spot drug tests if they have "reasonable cause" to do so. If a player refuses to submit, he can be suspended and then appeal the suspension to a grievance board. The National Basketball Association permits a player to seek voluntary treatment without any penalty, but anyone who does not do so and is found by the owners to be a drug user can be prohibited from playing.
Baseball's defenders were quick to point out that last week's drug revelations related to earlier offenses. "These are old cases that give no cause for new concern," insisted Robert Fishel, executive vice president of the major league players relations committee, which represents the owners. Indeed, some baseball insiders feel that cocaine use is declining, in part because of recent publicity.
Ueberroth has explained that his object is to "get rid of drugs, not players." Thus his emphasis has been on treatment rather than punishment. Some of the players are beginning to favor the commissioner's mandatory testing program as they see the damage that the cocaine scandal is doing to their sport. "There is a growing faction of players that are tired of protecting drug users," St. Louis Cardinals Second Baseman Tommy Herr, the team's player representative, said last week.
While preferring the voluntary system, Steve Garvey of the San Diego Padres concedes that strong measures should be taken against any player who is given a second chance and fails it. "I'm most concerned about influencing the next generation of fans," he explains. "If we allow players to take drugs and come back, what does that tell the kids?"