1.This Act may be cited as the
Clean Sports Act of
2005
.
2.
(a)Congress
finds the following:
(1)The use of
anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances by minors is a
public health problem of national significance.
(2)Experts estimate
that over 500,000 teenagers have used performance-enhancing substances, which
medical experts warn can cause a litany of health problems for individuals who
take them, in particular children and teenagers.
(3)The adverse
health effects caused by steroids and other performance-enhancing substances
include stunted growth, scarring acne, hair loss, dramatic mood swings,
hormonal and metabolic imbalances, liver damage, a higher risk of heart disease
and stroke later in life, as well as an increased propensity to demonstrate
aggressive behavior, commit suicide, and commit crimes.
(4)Professional
athletes are role models for young athletes and influence the behavior of
children and teenagers.
(5)Congressional
testimony by parents of minors who used performance enhancing drugs, as well as
medical and health experts, indicates that the actual or alleged use of
performance-enhancing substances by professional athletes results in the
increased use of these substances by children and teenagers.
(6)Surveys and
studies suggest a connection between the actual or alleged use of
performance-enhancing substances by college and professional athletes and the
increased use of these substances by children and teenagers.
(7)The real or
perceived tolerance of the use of performance-enhancing substances by
professional athletes has resulted in both increased pressure on children and
teenagers to use performance-enhancing drugs in order to advance their athletic
careers and to professional sports loss of integrity.
(8)The adoption by
professional sports leagues of strong policies to eliminate the use of
performance-enhancing substances would result in the reduced use of these
substances by children and teenagers.
(9)Minimum drug
testing standards for professional sports established by Federal law would
ensure the adoption of strong policies to eliminate the use of
performance-enhancing substances in professional sports.
(10)Minimum drug
testing standards for professional sports established by Federal law would help
return integrity to professional sports.
(11)Congress has for
several years expressed a strong interest in the problem of the role of
performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports and other levels of
sports.
(12)Congress has for
several years regulated the use of anabolic steroids and other
performance-enhancing substances.
(13)Recent Federal
laws regulating the use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing
substances were enacted in large part to reduce the prevalence of these
substances in sports.
(14)Congress has for
several years regulated both professional and amateur sports.
(b)The purpose of this Act is to protect the
integrity of professional sports and the health and safety of athletes
generally by establishing minimum standards for the testing of steroids and
other performance-enhancing substances by professional sports leagues.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term anti-doping code means the doping
control standards established in the United States Anti-Doping Agency Protocol
for Olympic Movement Testing (excluding substances or methods prohibited in a
particular sport, as defined in such protocol).
(2)The
term Commission
means the Federal Trade Commission.
(3)The
term Director means the Director of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy.
(4)Major
professional leagueThe term
major professional league
means Major League Baseball, the
National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and the National
Hockey League or any successor organization to those leagues.
(5)The term off-season means the
period of time in each calendar year outside of the season of play for each
major professional league.
(6)The term professional athlete means an
individual who competes in a major professional league.
(7)The term
professional game means any game held in the United States between
any professional teams of a major professional league.
(8)Prohibited
method or substance
(A)The term prohibited method means a method
listed and described in the Anti-Doping Code.
(B)The term prohibited substance means a
substance listed and described in the Anti-Doping Code.
(C)A substance prohibited in-competition by the
Anti-Doping Code shall be a prohibited substance only during the season of
play. Only a substance or method prohibited out-of-competition by the
Anti-Doping Code shall be a prohibited substance or method during the
off-season.
(9)
(A)The term season of play for each major
professional league means the period of time in each calendar year beginning
with the date on which professional athletes of that major professional league
are collectively obligated to report to their teams in preparation for play and
ending with the last game of the major professional league's regular
season.
(B)The
season of play shall include post-season play for an athlete who is a member of
a team that remains active in post-season play.
4.
Minimum uniform testing standards
(a)It shall be unlawful for a major professional league
to arrange, promote, organize, or produce a professional game without meeting
the requirements in subsection (b).
(b)Minimum testing
requirementsEach major
professional league shall implement policies and procedures for the testing of
the use of prohibited substances by professional athletes who compete in each
respective major professional league which shall be independently administered
and shall be consistent with and as stringent as the doping control standard
established by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and which shall, at
minimum, include the following:
(1)Timing and
frequency of testing
(A)Each professional athlete shall be tested a minimum of 5
times each calendar year that such athlete is competing in games organized by
the major professional league.
(B)Each
athlete shall be tested—
(i)at least 3 times,
each with no advance notice, during each season of play; and
(ii)at least 2 times,
each with no advance notice, during the off-season.
(2)Test
distribution planningEach major professional league shall
certify to the Director on or prior to December 31 of each year that it has
consulted with the United States Anti-Doping Agency in the development of its
test distribution plan for both season of play and off-season testing.
(3)Each major professional league shall certify to the
Director on or prior to December 31 of each year that it has consulted with the
United States Anti-Doping Agency in the development of its drug testing
protocols for both season of play and off-season testing.
(4)Each professional athlete shall be tested for all
prohibited substances at the time of each test. A major professional league may
make exceptions for any prohibited substances that have been properly
prescribed by a doctor of medicine licensed in the United States for legitimate
and documented therapeutic purposes.
(5)Each sample provided
shall be analyzed by a laboratory approved by the United States Anti-Doping
Agency.
(6)
(A)A positive test shall consist of the presence in the
sample of any prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers, or evidence
of the use of a prohibited method, unless that substance was prescribed to the
athlete in accordance with paragraph (4).
(B)A
refusal by a professional athlete to submit to a test or a failure of a
professional athlete to submit to a test without compelling justification shall
also be considered a positive test.
(7)
(A)
(i)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a professional
athlete who tests positive shall be immediately suspended for a minimum of 2
years for a first violation. All suspensions shall include a loss of pay for
the period of the suspension.
(ii)A second violation shall result in a lifetime ban of
the professional athlete from all major professional leagues.
(B)
(i)A major professional league may impose a lesser
penalty than provided in subparagraph (A) or no penalty if the professional
athlete establishes that he did not know or suspect, and could not reasonably
have known or suspected even with the exercise of utmost caution, that he had
used the prohibited substance.
(ii)Assistance in
identifying violationsA major professional league may impose a
lesser penalty than provided in subparagraph (A) if the professional athlete
provides substantial assistance to the major professional league in identifying
violations of the league's drug testing policy by other professional athletes
or assistance in violations of the league's drug testing policy by any coach,
trainer, manager, agent, team staff, official, medical, or other personnel
working with or treating professional athletes participating in or preparing
for sports competition.
(8)
(A)Each
major professional league shall certify to the Director on or prior to December
31 of each year that it has consulted with the United States Anti-Doping Agency
in the development of its adjudication process.
(B)If a professional athlete tests positive, the
professional athlete shall have the right to notice, a fair, timely, and
expedited hearing, representation by counsel and appeal.
(C)During
the pendency of any proceedings the professional athlete shall be suspended
from participating in any professional game.
(9)
(A)A
major professional league shall publicly disclose the identity of any
professional player who has tested positive as well as the prohibited substance
or prohibited method for which he tested positive not later than 30 days after
receiving the test results.
(B)A
major professional league shall publicly disclose the name of any penalized
athlete, the penalty imposed, the substance for which the player tested
positive, and the reason for the penalty not later than 15 days after the final
disposition of the player's case.
5.Promulgation of
standards by the director of the office of national drug control
policy
(a)The Director shall
have the authority to promulgate standards that would modify the provisions of
section 4 as they apply to an individual major professional league for
exceptional circumstances or for other good cause.
(b)A modification
under subsection (a) shall not—
(1)reduce the effectiveness of the standards
in eliminating the use of steroids or other performance-enhancing substances in
any major professional league; or
(2)diminish the leadership role of the United
States in eliminating the use of steroids or other performance-enhancing
substances in sports.
(c)Inclusion of
Additional LeaguesThe Director may include an additional
professional sporting league or the colleges and athletes participating in
Division I or Division II of the NCAA as a major professional league if the
Director determines that such additions would prevent the use of
performance-enhancing substances by high school, college, or professional
athletes.
(d)The Director may delegate the
administration of this Act to any other appropriate agency of the Federal
Government.
6.Enforcement by
the Federal Trade Commission
(a)Unfair or
deceptive acts or practicesA violation of section 4 shall be
treated as a violation of section 18 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C.
57a) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
(b)
(1)The Commission shall issue and enforce the regulations
for the enforcement of section 4 in the same manner, by the same means, and
with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms
and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission
Act (15
U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of
this Act. Any person who violates such regulations shall be subject to the
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in that
Act.
(2)Enhanced
penalty for violationsNotwithstanding subsection (a) and the
Federal Trade Commission Act, in the case of a person who violates section 4,
the Commission may, in its discretion, seek a civil penalty for such violation
in an amount, as determined by the Commission, of not more than $1,000,000 for
each violation of section 4.
(3)Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the
authority of the Commission under any other provision of law.
7.
(a)
(1)Not later than 6
months after completion of a professional sports league's first season of play
after the effective date of this Act, each major professional league shall
transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Government
Reform of the House of Representatives, a report on its testing policies and
procedures.
(2)The report required by this subsection
shall contain—
(A)a comparison of the major professional
league's testing policy (including its adjudication procedures) to that of the
United States Anti-Doping Agency, emphasizing the differences between the
policies and the rationales for the differences; and
(B)aggregate data on the number of
professional players tested by the major professional league and the prohibited
substances detected in samples or prohibited methods, including the number of
tests conducted during the season of play and during the off-season.
(b)Each major
professional league shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the
Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives, on a biennial
basis, a report containing the data and analysis required in subsection (a) for
each of the 2 prior years.
(c)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, and subsequently thereafter as determined appropriate by the Director, the
Director shall report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on
Government Reform of the House of Representatives, recommendations for
improving any Federal law governing controlled substances as may be necessary
for reducing the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing
substances.
8.Promulgation of
standards by United States boxing commissionUpon the latter of 12 months after enactment
of this Act or 12 months after the establishment of the United States Boxing
Commission pursuant to Federal law, that commission shall, in consultation with
the Association of Boxing Commissions and the United States Anti-Doping Agency,
promulgate uniform performance-enhancing substance testing standards for
professional boxing that are consistent with section 4.
9.Study on college
testing policies and procedures
(a)The
Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study on the use of
performance-enhancing substances by college athletes which shall examine the
prohibited substance policies and testing procedures of intercollegiate
athletic associations and college and university athletic departments.
(b)
(1)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Government Accountability Office shall transmit a report to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the
Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Government Reform of the
House of Representatives.
(2)The
report required by this subsection shall—
(A)assess the
adequacy of the testing policies and procedures described in subsection (a) in
detecting and preventing the use of performance-enhancing substances;
and
(B)include
recommendations to Congress regarding expanding the application of the
regulations issued pursuant to this Act to such intercollegiate and
interscholastic athletic associations.
10.Commission on
high school and collegiate athletics
(a)The Director shall establish a commission
on high school and collegiate athletics.
(b)Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the commission shall report to Congress—
(1)findings on the use of steroids and other
performance-enhancing substances in high school and collegiate sports;
and
(2)recommendations for reducing their
use.
11.It is the sense of
Congress that—
(1)professional sports leagues not regulated
by this Act should adhere to the drug testing standards established in this
Act;
(2)all professional
sports should implement policies and procedures for the testing of the use of
prohibited substances or the detection of prohibited methods by professional
athletes that ensure that American professional sports leagues are world
leaders in the effort to keep steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs
out of sports;
(3)all professional
sports should implement policies and procedures that address the development of
designer steroids and emerging methods for doping, including gene doping, that
enhance sports performance, are potential or actual health risks, and are
contrary to the spirit of the sport; and
(4)each major
professional league should produce and publicize public service announcements
regarding the health and safety consequences of steroids and other similar
performance-enhancing substances on children and teenagers.
12.This Act shall take
effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.