Hopkins to start athlete drug tests

The Hopkins athletic department is updating their drug testing policy this year to include an institutional policy that would help to better ensure the safety of all of it’s athletes. At present Hopkins athletes only are subject to drug testing by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA.)

“Our athletes participate in the NCAA sanctioned drug testing policy that all student athletes at every NCAA institution in the country participate in,” Mike Mattia, Associate Director of Athletics, wrote in an email to The News-Letter.

Under the NCAA drug testing policy, Divison I athletes are subject to being randomly tested by the NCAA year round, and those in Division III during NCAA championship participation.

“We were told at the beginning of the season that all athletes would be subject to random drug testing,” Freshman Fencer Jackie Heath said.

While Hopkins does not have a specific institutional drug policy, the University has put in action an initiative to implement such a plan. There is currently an institutional drug policy which is in the process of being finalized.

“More than 90 percent of all NCAA Division I athletic programs throughout the country already have institutional policies in place,” Mattia said. “And 119 NCAA Division III athletic departments have a similar program to the Division I policies at their individual institutions.”

All Hopkins athletic teams, except Lacrosse which plays Division I, are a member of the NCAA Division III.

“As far as I know there has been no policy put into effect as of yet in regards to the drug testing that the school does,” water polo player Junior Mark Strickland said. “When we got here in the early fall they were waiting for all of the logistics to get cleared.”

Some athletes call for more transparency in the drug testing process at Hopkins.

“The school implemented this new system in which they say that at any point all year they are allowed to test a team for drugs,” sophomore water polo player Alex Whittam said. “As a team we are kind of left in the dark about this, and nobody really knows when they will do this.”

These policies that are enacted by other universities are “not about holding our student-athletes to a higher standard,” Mattia said. “It is about educating them on the dangers involved with the use of illegal substances.

“Everything our athletic department does has the health and safety of our student athletes in mind.”

In fact, at present the athletic department already has an alcohol education program in place, stressing the education component to both drugs and alcohol use.

Some student athletes do not share the same sentiment as the athletic faculty.

“It’s a dumb idea and I question why the school would drug test us. It costs a lot of money and in a time [when] they want to cut sports or cut team budgets, drug testing seems pointless,”  Whittam said. “What’s the benefit? You get your own students in trouble? Just seems pointless to me.”

Until the University fully implements its own institutional drug policy, athletes are held to the NCAA drug policy’s list of banned substances.

“Pretty much the NCAA tells all athletes than all illegal drugs and supplements will not be tolerated,” said Whittam.

This includes, as stated on the NCAA website, certain types of protein drinks (muscle milk,) stimulants, anabolic agents, street drugs (heroin, marijuana, cocaine) peptide hormones and analogues, anti-estrogens and Beta-2 agents.

Additionally, there are a number of drugs and procedures subject to restrictions, including blood doping, some local anesthetics, manipulation of urine samples and extremely high caffeine concentration.

As stated on NCAA consent to testing forms, DIII athletes consent to testing if an athlete participates in any NCAA championship or postseason football game, and year-round as well if an athlete participates in a Division I sport.

Hopkins water polo has not been tested by the NCAA since Whittam has been on the team.

Freshman wrestler Henry Stauber explained what this means for his team, explaining that “they test the NCAA champion as well as three other random wrestlers in each weight class.”

Stauber also noted that if there is “suspicion about the use of performance enhancing drugs then you may be tested.”

Freshman football player Will Kelly agreed, adding that “[I’ve heard] from the older guys . . . that it only happens if we make it to the play-offs.”

As also indicated on the NCAA website, there are a number of strict consequences for those who are found to be violating NCAA substance-abuse policy.

While a student-athlete who tests positive does have the opportunity to appeal the test, any student-athlete who tests positive, according to the website: “Shall be withheld from competition in all sports for a minimum of 365 days from the drug-test collection date and shall lose a year of eligibility.”

“If we tested positive for any drugs there would be a suspension for a certain amount of time from the sport,” Heath said. “I haven’t personally witnessed anyone getting drug tested but I know that you are disqualified from NCAA competition.”

The use of street drugs is an important issue, as they are typically prevalent on college campuses, and thus carry a slightly different standard.

The NCAA explains that a “student-athlete who tests positive a second time for the use of any drug other than a ‘street drug’ shall lose all remaining regular-season and postseason eligibility in all sports.”

The website continues that “a combination of two positive tests involving street drugs (marijuana, THC or heroin), in whatever order, will result in the loss of an additional year of eligibility.”

The penalty for missing a scheduled drug test is the same as the penalty for testing positive for the use of a banned drug other than a street drug.