
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 15, 1990                   TAG: 9003152238
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From The New York Times, The Associated Press and San Francisco
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NFL CRACKS DOWN/ TAGLIABUE INSTITUTES NEW STEROID POLICY

The NFL cracked down further on steroids Wednesday when Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced that the league will test players year-round.

Citing the need for a strengthened steroid-testing program - the league previously had tested players only during training camp - Tagliabue said an undetermined number of players on each team would be tested on at least four dates during the regular season, once during the playoffs and also during the off-season.

"Given the luck of the draw, you could be tested once, twice, maybe not at all during the season, maybe all four times," Tagliabue said. "But the deterrent effect is there, because you're subject to the tests."

The new plan replaces one instituted last year by Tagliabue's predecessor, Pete Rozelle. That one included only a training camp test and resulted in 13 four-week suspensions.

The penalties for using steroids remain the same. A first offense draws an automatic 30-day suspension and makes the player subject to reasonable-cause testing.

A second positive test results in suspension for the remainder of the season, including the postseason, and review by the league after the season.

Tagliabue said he had consulted with Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, and with Bill Fralic, an offensive lineman with the Atlanta Falcons and chairman of the union's safety and health committee.

Tagliabue said Fralic, an outspoken critic of steroid use in sports, and doctors advised him that the current steroid policy had too many loopholes.

"We would be prepared to go to court over this," Tagliabue said.

In other NFL business, Tagliabue named Jack Donlan, executive director of the Management Council, as the chairman of a collective-bargaining committee that includes Steve Gutman, the Jets' president; Bill Polian, the Buffalo Bills' general manager; John Shaw, the Los Angeles Rams' executive vice president, and Mike Lynn, the Minnesota Vikings' executive vice president and general manager.

Their task is to find alternative proposals and financial costs that the Management Council should consider in an effort to reopen collective-bargaining talks and reach an agreement with the players' union.

Keywords:
FOOTBALL

by CNB