In case you missed it over the weekend, the feds have agreed not to appeal the ruling that investigators illegally seized a list of baseball players who allegedly tested positive for steroids back in 2004. Welcome news, even if it’s too late for Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa and the other 101 players who still stand the risk of having their putatively anonymous employee drug tests released by whoever it was who leaked the other names. Because that person still has the list, of course.
Throughout this entire drama, a large number of baseball fans have demanded that all of the names of those who tested positive be released. “Release the names!” “Get it all out there!” “Clear the air!” they’ve cried, ignoring the fact that their “right” to know the drug test results of baseball players does not supersede the rights conferred by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. It has long been clear to me that such an approach is madness, because to do so would be to validate an illegal government search and would constitute a violation of players’ privacy rights. Now even the government agrees with this, and there is no one who matters in the relevant litigation who believes that the search was anything other than a gross abuse of governmental power.
So, given that even the feds now agree that the search was unconstitutional, is there anyone out there who still thinks the names should simply come out? If so, I’d love to hear the rationale. If you have one, be sure to explain how that rationale outweighs the Constitution. It would also help if you could explain why your employer shouldn’t release your employee drug tests to the media and the general public as well.