We talked yesterday about how the mere fact of positive drug tests does not support the claim that baseball’s drug testing program is faulty. In fact, positive tests and punished players is actually evidence that it is working. To argue that it isn’t working, you have to point out the flaws in the program itself.
Former BALCO mastermind-turned supplement and training king Victor Conte was on NBC SportsTalk last night. And he did just that. He says that there is a big loophole in baseball’s drug testing program: the offseason. During that time, baseball tests only 5% of all players despite the fact that they have the right to test as many as 30% of players:
Baseball has dismissed Conte’s claim, but not with specifics. Rather, they just call him a huckster and a fraud. And maybe he is. But if Conte is right and only a fraction of eligible players are being tested between October and February, baseball should explain why that is.
Less compelling: Conte’s assertion that he knows that many players are using.