Instead Of This, How About Random Viagra Tests In The Lege?

Leave it to Republicans to turn tragic death into a reason to call for needless legislation:

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst today called for mandatory random testing of Texas public high school athletes for performance-enhancing drugs.

Dewhurst, a Republican running for re-election next month, said the tests would be a strong deterrent to steer young athletes away from illegal steroids and other performance boosters.
Dewhurst was joined by Don Hooton, a Plano father whose son was a promising baseball player who killed himself in 2003 at age 17 after using steroids to become a bigger and better pitcher. His parents and doctors believe he plunged into a deep depression after using the muscle-building drugs.

Dewhurst offered few details of his plan. He said he would work with the University Interscholastic League to determine when students would be tested and the consequences for a positive test.

First off, this is a terrible tragedy. Second, requiring steroid testing in high schools doesn’t fix the problem; it only creates another unfunded mandate for school districts. Even though Dewhurst says he’s going to ask the Lege to pay for these tests (at $100 a pop), that will not happen.
What would really help more with this issue is, surprise, parental involvement and less pushing by coaches. I’ve also heard of instances where coaches encouraged the use of body building substances and/or turned their head when they knew it was going on. Perhaps a specific penal code statute establishing a penalty for that or a requirement in the health and safety code that coaches be required to report suspected steroid use to parents and school nurses.

Sadly, it’s another election year stunt from Dewhurst.

Bookmark It