The case for testing

It's a cliché, of course, but then clichés have the shelf-life they do for one very good reason - they're comprised of a good deal of truth.

So here it goes: If it saves just one life...

You know the rest.

It's true, though, isn't it?

Drug testing is worthwhile because it can save lives. Maybe that sounds overly dramatic, but there are far too many parents in this country who can tell you that, indirectly and directly, performance-enhancing drugs took their children's lives.

You want names? Cubs fans might remember pitcher Burt Hooton. His 17-year-old son Tyler committed suicide in 2003. Burt Hooton later testified before Congress, blaming steroids for his son's suicide.

Oakland Raiders fans might remember defensive end Lyle Alzado. No suicide here. His premature death was blamed directly on steroids.

Ken Caminiti anyone?

In 2005 California high school sports officials decided to require coach be educated in the effects of steroids; make parents, players and school officials sign a contract banning steroidal use; and regulate what dietary supplements coaches could hand out to athletes.

They did this, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, at the urging of Frank Marrero, whose son Efrain killed himself after becoming addicted to steroids.

Should they have taken the next step? Yes.

Is it expensive? Yes, there will be some cost to the program, and in this economy it will be especially hard to implement, when funding was already so hard to come by.

Is it intrusive? Yes, but it's a small price to pay, and there is precedent for being intrusive in students' lives. In 1995 the U.S. Supreme Court decided random drug testing of high school student-athletes does not violate their Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

In an ideal world drug testing wouldn't be necessary. It can't be a whole lot of fun for coaches and administrators to be involved with. But it beats burying another teenager.

And that's the truth.

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