At the beginning of this semester, Hopkins’s athletic department announced a new drug testing plan for athletes. All student athletes, both Division 1 and Division 3, will now be randomly drug tested under the new policy.
The independently administered tests will come in addition to regular NCAA tests. Under current NCAA rules, D1 teams are subject to random drug testing at any point in the season, while D3 teams are only subject to drug tests if they make play-off tournaments.
All student-athletes, D1 and D3, are included in the new random testing.
“This policy is about educating our student athletes on the dangers involved with the use of illegal drugs,” Associate Director of Athletics Mike Mattia, speaking on behalf of the department, wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter. “Everything our athletic department does has the health and safety of our student-athletes in mind.”
The change in policy has incited discontent from some students, both athletes and non-athletes.
“Athletes should be able to use drugs whenever they want, there is no difference between us and students,” a senior athlete who wished to remain anonymous said. “Screw drug testing.”
There are those who are unfazed by the new regulation.
“It doesn’t bother me. I don’t do drugs,” freshman baseball player Edward Bryner said.
One freshman believed drug testing was a good thing, as it helps
prepare students for the real world.
“Marijuana ruined my chances at a security clearance with government companies doing defense contracts. If drug policies are so strict in the real world, they should be as strict for the athletes,” he said. “Drug tests being administered on [a] college level will prepare students for future careers and endeavors.”
Concerns regarding whether or not an athlete is on a scholarship or not were also raised.
“If they are here on an athletic scholarship, then the school is investing money in them so, yes. But, if not, then the testing is not justified,” freshman Rachel Gebreyesus said.
The drug tests taken by Hopkins Athletes are administered by a testing agency called Drug Free Sports. The tests screen for the eight classes of drugs that are banned by the NCAA; Stimulants, Anabolic Agents, Alcohol and Beta Blockers, Diuretics, Street Drugs, Peptide Hormones and Analogues, Anti-Estrogens and Beta-2 Agonist.
More opposition exists against the tests because of the screening of street drugs, such as marijuana and alcohol — substances that are a major part of college social life.
Athletes believe that the athletic department is not justified in testing for these drugs since they have no positive effect on a player’s performance.
“They should only test for performance enhancing drugs, rather than the consumption of alcohol,” a senior athlete who wished to remain anonymous said. “Drinking beer does not give me an advantage over the other team.”
The expense of hiring a company to implement drug tests also became a point of contention.
“The department is always telling our coach that we are low on funding,” the senior said. “Drug testing is expensive, so why would they waste more money on that?”
Not so, says Mattia.
“Drug testing is built into our current budget for this year. It is not an additional cost and we’ve already planned for it . . . The health and safety of our student athletes is the best use of our funding at any time.”
The tests will be randomized and not under the control of the University.
“The selection of who is tested is done by Drug Free Sports, separate from anyone involved with the athletic department or the University,” he wrote.
The drug tests continue to be random, even if an athlete’s test comes back positive. According to policy, the individual must follow a treatment plan, and be retested at a later time.
Despite opposition, drug testing is now a policy that must be upheld by all athletes attending Hopkins.
Over 100 other schools have taken this step in drug testing D3 teams, according to Mattia.
“This isn’t just a Johns Hopkins thing; this is pretty well known throughout the NCAA at all levels,” he wrote.
However, the new policy is subject to change.
“We will re-evaluate this policy each year and see if any modifications need to be made for the following year,” Mattia wrote.
